Thoreaus ideas Essay Example

Thoreaus ideas Essay Example Thoreaus ideas Essay Thoreaus ideas Essay 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Can you find examples of Thoreaus ideas that are utilitarianthat if carried out would provide the most useful approach to human needs and problems?Henry David Thoreau frequently asks rhetorical and often metaphorical questions trying to make his readers think. Book â€Å"Walden†, mainly part â€Å"Economy†, is full of such ideas and statements. Most of this chapter deals with how Henry Thoreau redefines and obtains necessaries of life so that he feels the need for nothing else. In such a way, he can buy himself the broad margin of time which he needs spiritually and intellectually. For Thoreau, such necessities are Food, Shelter, Clothing and Fuel. According to Thoreau, these four things are the ones each person needs to live a complete and mature life. All other things are just the bargain of life which can be refused from.One of the examples of Thoreaus ideas that are utilitarian might be a story about Indian man who learnt how to make baskets. He thinks that if he made the baskets, thus, it is the responsibility of white man to purchase them. However, Indian man did not realize that he did good thing only for himself (learnt skills to make baskets) since white man did not need those baskets at all, whether they are done of high or poor quality. Thoreau considers this problem as the main one in everyday life and tells the readers that one thing which is good for one person is not always good for another one.Another example of utilitarian ideas is clothing which serves â€Å"first, to retain the vital heat, and secondly, in this state of society, to cover nakedness†. However, Henry Thoreau was not prude about clothes and treated it as a simple mean of life (not a treasure as noble people might think).2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How useful, how reasonable, how appealing do you think Thoreaus ideas are today? What lessons (if any) does Thoreau have to teach us? How can we apply such lessons to the modern era?Many ideas of T horeau can be applied to everyday life in modern era. For example, his statement in â€Å"Economy† part of the book â€Å"the mass of men led lives of quiet desperation† can be referred to most readers who feel quietly desperate about the way daily life seems to restrict them. Certainly, every person decides what his/her life necessities and restrictions are. However, because of routine in life many people have â€Å"no time to be anything but a machine†. That is why, Thoreau advises to be a free man â€Å"like the cypress† realizing the most useful and necessary things in life while refusing from things that make our life dull. His phrase â€Å"look through each other’s eyes† inspires readers to look at their lives from other corner and rethink it as Thoreau himself was rethinking his own life.One of his other thoughts is that Nature has adapted to us no matter what our strengths and weaknesses are. This statement should be implemented in a ny time. The same as Nature, we should adapt to its changes and treat it with the same level of respect. Because of Nature we are what we are. Thoreau’s opinion about Nature is especially important nowadays when climate conditions change dramatically in some regions. Considering his opinion, our unwise actions are the main reason of Nature harmful changes.Thoreau’s statement â€Å"men have become the tools of their tools† is even true nowadays because we are dependent on high tech, computers, electricity, and other innovations. Under the conditions of modern era, people stop observing and respecting basic things like nature, human relations, and other being mostly influenced by rapid technical development of the country they live in.All statements and ideas of Henry Thoreau come to one paradox which is typical for him – â€Å"The more you have of such things the poorer you are†. This paradox depends on wealth and poverty definitions of Thoreau made during the whole chapter â€Å"Economy†. Thoreau suggests that â€Å"it is the best to avoid the beginnings of the evil† when we have at least opportunity to stop this process until it is too late.