Revisiting Thoreau: Nature and Natural in the Literary Imagination

Thoreau's corpus of writings celebrates nature and the natural. Nature, for Thoreau, is a spiritual vehicle and a living entity. He considers “man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society” (2000, p. 627). As a foundational text for environmentalism and ecocriticism, Thoreau's Walden (1854) accentuates the importance of nature as an inalienable entity for the human existence. His influential essay “Walking” (1862) demonstrates the significance of nature for the “physical, mental, and spiritual” well-being of human beings. Another essay “Paradise (to be) Regained” (1843) critiques the technological advancement at the cost of nature and manipulation of the natural ecosystem. This paper seeks to locate nature and the natural in the literary imagination of Thoreau's three influential texts Walden, “Walking”, and “Paradise (to be) Regained”.