Henry David Thoreau
The writer and narrator of Walden. Thoreau moves to the woods by Walden Pond in order to experience solitude, and the book is principally a record of his thoughts and observations. A believer in…
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Canadian woodchopper
A man who happens upon Thoreau's house. Thoreau spends a bit of time getting to know him, describing him as a stout, simple man who likes to hunt and eat woodchucks and other wild game…
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John Field
An Irishman and neighbor of Thoreau's living at Baker Farm. Once, in a rainstorm, Thoreau retreats into a hut for shelter and finds John and his family there. John complains about how hard he works…
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Minor Characters
The Hermit
A recluse of the woods and Thoreau's occasional fishing partner. He is isolated from society and, like Thoreau, a critic of it, believing in the value of a simple, independent existence.
James Collins
A railroad worker whose shanty Thoreau buys and tears down in order to build his house with the timber.
Cato Ingraham
A former inhabitant of the woods near Walden Pond. A slave who was given a house and permission to live in Walden Woods by his master.
Zilpha
A former inhabitant of the woods near Walden Pond. A black woman who liked to sing and sew but whose house was burned down by English soldiers during the war of 1812.
Brister Freeman
A former inhabitant of the woods near Walden Pond. A former slave. Fenda's husband.
Fenda
A former inhabitant of the woods near Walden Pond. Brister Freeman's wife. She was large and liked to tell fortunes.
Stratten family
Former inhabitants of the woods near Walden Pond. A family whose orchards used to cover the hills.
Breed family
Former inhabitants of the woods near Walden Pond. A family whose house was burned down, Thoreau thinks, by mischievous boys. Thoreau finds their only surviving member one night sifting through the rubble of the burned house.
Wyman the potter
A former inhabitant of the woods near Walden Pond. A poor man who made earthenware and paid his taxes with chips of pots, having nothing else to give.
Hugh Quoil
A former inhabitants of the woods near Walden Pond. An Irishman who was, according to rumor, a soldier at Waterloo.
