The Village-Chapter 8

In chapter eight of Walden, Thoreau describes in great detail his daily routine. He gives observations of life in the village, located nearby his home in the woods. He relates his observations of the village to nature, which provides his readers with a serene, transcendental feeling. Thoreau’s tone is curious and calm. He examines this village closely, almost as if he was a critic who is supposed to inspect the village. He describes the village as a “news room”, where people are constantly gossiping. “I observed that the vitals of the village were the grocery, the bar-room, the post-office, and the bank; and, as a necessary part of the machinery, they kept a bell, a big gun, and a fire-engine, at convenient places; and the houses were so arranged as to make the most of mankind, in lanes and fronting one another, so that every traveller had to run the gauntlet, and every man, woman, and child might get a lick at him.” Thoreau’s depicts the village with so much imagery, so that his readers can paint a picture in their minds and see how the village would look. The lifestyle is structured and organized. Houses are lined up and arranged the same. People are conforming in this village. This village would be a place where Thoreau would like to spread his ideas of Transcendentalism. Thoreau relates his observations through characteristics of nature. “In one direction from my house there was a colony of muskrats in the river meadows; under the grove of elms and buttonwoods in the other horizon was a village of busy men, as curious to me as if they had been prairie-dogs, each sitting at the mouth of its burrow, or running over to a neighbor's to gossip” (Thoreau). He compares these men to prairie dogs who spend their days gossiping. Thoreau’s home in the woods is a refuge, where he can escape and hide from all the noisy neighbors, gossiping townspeople and the rest of society. “I was let out through the rear avenues, and so escaped to the woods again” (Thoreau). It is a place where Thoreau can be alone with his one true friend, Nature and where he can be a transcendentalist. He can do anything he wants to do and is not required to conform to the actions of others. In this comforting environment, Thoreau can be the man he wants to be. The woods is Thoreau’s home. “Sometimes, after coming home thus late in a dark and muggy night, when my feet felt the path which my eyes could not see, dreaming and absent-minded all the way, until I was aroused by having to raise my hand to lift the latch, I have not been able to recall a single step of my walk, and I have thought that perhaps my body would find its way home if its master should forsake it, as the hand finds its way to the mouth without assistance” (Thoreau). Thoreau had gone through the woods some many times, that he subconsciously is able to find his way home. I have heard of many going astray even in the village streets” (Thoreau). Thoreau appreciates nature and can easily find his way home, unlike village people who can’t even find their way through their own neighborhood. They don’t take the time to appreciate and identify their surroundings, like Thoreau does. This chapter of Walden was descriptive of both society and nature. It reflected his observations on his neighboring village and his knowledge and love for the woods.