Thoreau, Henry David, Natural History Essays →

Thoreau’s essays suggest that the universe holds higher sources of meaning and that man might get closer to those accurate sources by getting closer to nature.

His writing is often referred to as being intended for “other nations.” Perhaps this is simply that he was letting the rest of the world know about America, but it seems to fit the idea that he was showing connections between humans and the natural world.

Literary naturalists intend to transcend political boundaries, social concerns, and historical relationships. Thoreau wrote in Huckleberries: “I think that each town should have a park, or rather a primitive forest, of five hundred or a thousand acres, either in one body or several- where a stick should never be cut for fuel- nor the navy, nor to make wagons, but stand and decay for higher uses - a common possession forever, for instruction and recreation.”

Thoreau’s ideas embrace the natural side of history and life but leave a great deal of mystery about who lives in that world.