Walden

Detailed Summary & Analysis

Economy Where I Lived, and What I Lived For Reading Sounds Solitude Visitors The Bean-Field The Village The Ponds Baker Farm Higher Laws Brute Neighbors House-Warming Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors Winter Animals The Pond in Winter Spring Conclusion

Themes

All Themes Self-Reliance Work Simplicity Over "Progress" Solitude and Society Nature Transcendentalism, Spirituality, and the Good Life

Quotes

Characters

All Characters Henry David Thoreau Canadian woodchopper John Field

Symbols

All Symbols Walden Pond The Bean-Field

Upgrade to LitCharts A⁺

Instant downloads of all 1202 LitChart PDFs (including Walden).

LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does.

Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.

The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play.

LitCharts From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.

Shakespeare Translations

Walden

Henry David Thoreau

Upgrade to A⁺

Download this LitChart! (PDF)

Introduction

Plot Summary

Detailed Summary
& Analysis

Economy
Where I Lived, and What I Lived For
Reading
Sounds
Solitude
Visitors
The Bean-Field
The Village
The Ponds
Baker Farm
Higher Laws
Brute Neighbors
House-Warming
Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors
Winter Animals
The Pond in Winter
Spring
Conclusion

Themes

All Themes
Self-Reliance
Work
Simplicity Over "Progress"
Solitude and Society
Nature
Transcendentalism, Spirituality, and the Good Life

Quotes

Characters

All Characters
Henry David Thoreau
Canadian woodchopper
John Field

Symbols

All Symbols
Walden Pond
The Bean-Field

Theme Wheel

Walden Study Guide

It's easy to cite LitCharts for use in academic papers and reports.

MLA

Saviano, Andrew. "Walden." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 15 Sep 2013. Web. 18 Jan 2020.

Chicago

Saviano, Andrew. "Walden." LitCharts LLC, September 15, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2020. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/walden.

Download this Chart (PDF)

The printed PDF version of the LitChart on Walden

“Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”

Download!

Get the Teacher Edition

The Teacher Edition of the LitChart on Walden

“This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”

Get it!

Which guides should we add? Request one!

How can we improve? Tell us!

LitCharts is hiring.

Company

About Us Our Story Jobs

Connect

Help Contact Blog Facebook Twitter

Mobile Apps

iOS Android

Legal

Home About Story Contact Help

LitCharts is hiring!

Terms Privacy GDPR

LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.