Abstract

Henry David Thoreau is one of the greatest American transcendentalists, writers, philosophers and naturalists in the 19th century. Thoreau expresses the ideas on the relation between man and nature, which arouses many scholars’ academic interest. This thesis aims to testify the significance of Walden on American literature historically. Firstly, the advent of Walden in the 1850s evoked people’s instinct thinking on their life. Secondly, from the 1940s to the 1970s, Thoreau’s ecological ideology in Walden became the inspiration to eco-criticism, consequently several systematic theories came into being, such as Earth Ethics and Deep ecology. Lastly, from the 1970s to now, Walden provides natural writers with a new way of experiencing life and a new perspective of collecting resources and promotes the development of ecological criticism. 

Keywords: Thoreau; Walden; nature; eco-criticism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. The Critique of Industrialization-3

3.1 Challenging human dominance over nature-3

3.2 Criticism of industrialization-4

4. Walden’s Inspiration to Eco-criticism-6

4.1 Land ethics-6

4.2 Deep ecology-7

5. The Ecological Implications in Walden-9

5.1 The implications on nature writing-9

5.2 The rising and development of eco-criticism-11

6. Conclusion-12

Works Cited-14