Winter Animals

In the fifteenth chapter of Thoreau’s Walden, entitled “Winter Animals,” Thoreau describes changes he discerns in his wilderness haven. He focuses on the different animals he notices during the winter months at Walden, and uses his observations to relate to the society his audience is familiar with. Thoreau writes this chapter with an air of wonderment and veneration for his first cold season in his new home and the animals that visit him. His work is intended to educate all those who may not understand the sensational simplicity of his adopted lifestyle. This piece is still relevant to audiences today, because it allows insight into Thoreau’s nature habitat and his thought process.

“Winter Animals” is aptly titled because it delves into the species of animals Thoreau encountered with the changing of the seasons. This chapter of Walden is particularly important for Thoreau’s readers’ understanding of nature, because, with the exception of hunters, his contemporaries did not venture far past their homes in the winter months. He explains the behavioral nuances of animals such as the owl, the fox, the red squirrel, the partridge, and the hare with such affection that he reminds one of a transcendentalist Snow White. His lengthy descriptions of these animals show not only his love for nature but the excessive amount of time he had to enjoy it. During the winter time, Thoreau would have had little to do besides observe nature, because there would have been no bean patch to tend. Therefore, he extensively analyzes each animal and develops a set of characteristics for it accordingly. For instance, when describing the red squirrel, Thoreau states, “So the little impudent fellow would waste many an ear in a forenoon’ till at last, seizing some longer and plumper one, considerably bigger than himself, and skillfully balancing it, he would set out with it to the woods,” (Thoreau 5). This quote shows the fondness Thoreau felt towards the squirrel, and the amusement he felt towards its brazenness, through the words “little impudent fellow.” Thoreau then expresses his distaste for the jay birds in comparison to the squirrels, saying, “They were manifestly thieves, and I had not much respect for them; but the squirrels, though at first shy, went on to work as if they were taking what was their own,” (Thoreau 6). Thoreau uses the animals to comment on his opinions of society, comparing the jay to the sniveling men he disapproves of and the squirrels to the self-assured men he appreciates.

While this chapter contains adequate details of the winter animals at Walden, Thoreau subtly inserts his opinions of society into the work. A prime example of this is when he compares a fox being chased by hounds to a man, writing, “They seemed to me to be rudimental, burrowing men, still standing on their defence, awaiting their transformation,” (Thoreau 4). He recognizes the primal instincts of men in the fox, and notes that man’s essential desire should be to free himself from society, like the fox’s wish is to be free from the hound. The hound, in this instance, represents conformity; it incessantly chases the fox. However, the fox is able to escape the hound, proving Thoreau’s belief that every man can be free of conformity.

Throughout this “Winter Animals,” Thoreau displays his love of nature and all of its inhabitants. This work is truly a collection of his thoughts, as it reads as such. Each sentence appears to be a cluster Thoreau’s most intimate observations and annotations. This chapter provides thorough knowledge of Thoreau’s life at Walden, but it also adds to the reader’s understanding of his viewpoint on nature and on society.