Essay Topic on Henry David Thoreau

Essay Topic on Henry David ThoreauIf you are looking for essay topics to help improve your grades in your school, you might want to look at the essay on Henry David Thoreau. This particular essay was given to students at Merrimack College in the 1930s and has only a few flaws.Thomas Sheehan was a writer and editor for Scribner's Magazine when he was assigned to write the essay on Henry David Thoreau. Sheehan wrote the essay on his own, but he did not fully re-write it. In fact, Sheehan left some things out of the original version.Thoreau began writing in earnest during his first year at Harvard University. He wrote his first essay in a journal that he kept at his home. During this time, he wrote about different topics that he was interested in, such as boredom, sadness, his garden, and other issues that he considered important.One of the most interesting sections in Sheehan's essay is the section entitled 'A Day in the Life of Henry David Thoreau.' Thoreau spends his day sitting in t he lawn under the shade of a giant, pine tree. Thoreau went to sleep at six in the morning, walked to his own house in Concord, and wrote and edited his work throughout the day. He woke up at four o'clock in the afternoon, ate breakfast, walked back to his house, ate lunch, and spent the next two hours writing and reading his notes.Sheehan felt that Thoreau's day was quite interesting because he went to his work in a day. However, he didn't feel that he accomplished anything while he was doing this. Sheehan felt that by going to work, Thoreau was making a strong statement, 'Thoreau was not a clever man; hewas a builder of sentences,' and by going to work he was helping society.It is hard to know exactly what Thoreau's objective was in writing this essay. In many ways, it appears that he was just plain bored, as if he did not want to be there in the first place. While reading this essay, one would conclude that Thoreau was simply bored. But, on the other hand, Thoreau's thoughts are very important, and they helped create our modern society.Many teachers today love this essay, because it helps them to see a person who was not always so clever. Because Thoreau was more creative than most people today, he ended up writing a very interesting essay. But, this doesn't mean that he wasn't clever.In addition to this essay, I recommend that you take a look at the essay on Thoreau. While not perfect, it does contain some good lessons that you can apply to your life. Do read it, and you will find it inspiring.