Thoreau starts out the book by saying that he wrote it because so many people had asked him questions about his stay at Walden Pond. He says he wants to explain the spirituality and richness of his stay there and at the same time show people the shortcomings of their own lives. By living at Walden Pond, Thoreau was able to get a perspective on normal life that could only be gotten by taking himself out of the regular life of that time. Once out, he clearly saw that most other people of the time were wasting their lives away by chasing after money and social status, things that only gave a person a false feeling of happiness and could never make him truly happy. He says that most people of the time (no matter what profession) are so consumed in making money that they do not make time for anything else in life. He says even farming, the most basic of professions, has just become another way to gain wealth and property.

Thoreau says that no one has to live a life of unhappiness based on making money. He says that anyone can hope for a better life. The first step they have to take, however, before they can start to achieve this goal is self-criticism. He says there is hope for any man if he is willing to criticize his own life, which is not an easy thing to do, as Thoreau has done. Thoreau thinks that once a man looks at his life critically, he will find that there are some major things keeping him from being truly happy. One is the acceptance of certain things just because his grandparents or parents accepted them. Thoreau says that too many people accept things just because others have before them, and this is a major problem. He says that everyone should try to get a new outlook on life, such as he has done, so they can truly know what they believe. He says that no one should let society tell them what they are or are not, but they should live life simply and basically to understand themselves. Thoreau said if he had kept those same ideas that were fed to him by society, he would not have been able to grow spiritually as he did.

Next, Thoreau talks about how the emphasis placed on property can corrupt us. He says the want for property can enslave someone. Thoreau also says that one can not truly look at life critically until he has gotten rid of all his belongings except those he needs to live. He says that if someone has all these material items around them, they can not concentrate on truly fulfilling their life. Thoreau talks about how he kept only the things he truly needed, so the list of items he owned was extremely short. He borrowed an ax and built a simple cabin for only $28.12½. He had a small garden where he grew most of his food and even had some produce left over to make some profit. If he ever needed money, he got it from doing odd jobs here and there. Thoreau found out by living this way that a man can support himself for a year on what he makes in only a few weeks. Once out of society, Thoreau said one can enjoy life’s true pleasures such as learning, meditating, and just enjoying nature. Thoreau says that once someone has decided to change their life as he has done, they should turn to themselves and find out what they are capable of doing.

Thoreau says that for many years he thought about buying a farm in the Concord countryside. He even debated the price of a few farms with their owners. He eventually decided not to buy one, though, because it would just complicate his life. Also, he decided he did not need a farm. Everything that he would get spiritually from living on a farm, he could get for free where he lives now. The thing he did like about a farm was that he would be a long way from town and even his closest neighbor. He did not like the idea of paying such a large sum for one, though, so he built his own "farm" on the shore of Walden. When he moved into this hut, he declared himself free from society and mortgages. Here, he found himself free to be inspired by nature. Thoreau said he especially enjoyed his mornings at Walden. He found it wonderful to be around things that were all so simple. These things inspired him to be more simple. As he took a bath in the morning, he realized he was not just waking up to the day, but to life.

Thoreau wonders why people want to live such complicated lives that just bog them down when their lives can be a joyful celebration. He says that people do too many, things which split their personalities in many ways. He says that people should forget about all of life’s little trivialities and be concerned with the genuine things in life. He said people should stop reading newspapers filled with gossip and look for the real truths of life.

Thoreau says that even though people should get rid of all ideas and material possessions that have just been passed down to them, they should not get rid of great books. He says books are too spiritually valuable to just throw away. He thinks that the expression of truth found in literature is an absolute necessity to spiritual growth. Next, Thoreau talks about the people in society who do not read much if any. He criticizes them for their unwillingness to gain from reading and their eagerness to read shallow, popular fiction. He says that most men waste their mind away on easy reading when they could be expanding their mind on great literature. Thoreau says it is no wonder that men are so spiritually dead. Poor literature, he says, can only create poor minds. Thoreau then criticizes society for not providing a culture that would encourage people to read great works. Thoreau says a new society dedicated to human culture among other things needs to be created. He says people should focus more on culture in order to one day have more noble men.

Thoreau cautions people not to rely too much on literature because although it does offer paths to truth, literature is just expressions of a certain author’s perception of reality and should can not be a substitute for reality itself. To know reality, one must experience the richness of life firsthand. Thoreau said that he did not read books the first summer he was at Walden. He hoed beans. Thoreau says that he experienced nature directly at the pond every day. He says he loved to sit in his doorway and enjoy the beauty of a summer morning. He said he was not phased by the fact that his peers would label his life as being idle. He said they didn’t know what they were missing. While he is thinking, a train whistle interrupts him. He tries at first to think about the value of the train to man and how he admires the American sense of enterprise and industry. The longer he considers it, though, the more irritated he becomes. He realizes that society is getting more industrialized and the agrarian society is going away. Life such as he lives is being displaced every day. After the train passes, Thoreau gets back into his good mood. He sits and listens all day to the sounds around him, such as the bells in distant towns and the wind in the whippoorwills. When night comes, he hears a new sound. He hears an owl which makes him think of the dark and tearful side of music, not like the sounds of the day. He is not depressed, though. He knows that in the morning, the cock will once again crow and the beautiful music of the day’s sounds will return. He says that all sadness will only last a short time when living close to nature.

At this point, Thoreau feels very in tune with nature to the point that he feels he is one with "her." He is so enveloped in the bliss and joy of nature that he can barely express himself. His thoughts that sadness would only last a short time when close to nature are confirmed because as he was sad the night before, he is extremely joyful now. He says that people in town had made the remark to him that they thought he would be lonesome out in the woods and would want more people around him for company. This is ironic because the truth of the matter is just the opposite. Thoreau has been fulfilled by nature’s company. Nature offers a contentment not found in human society. He asks what value there is in living around others and seeing them all the time. Thoreau says that we see each other so much that we are not any more valuable to each other the first time we see one another each day than the last. Thoreau chooses to place himself in an environment that is always nourishing him spiritually. He can not find this in town, but he can find it in nature. With nature all around him, Thoreau says loneliness is not a concern. Thoreau feels so in touch with nature that if you asked him if he were lonely, he says it would be like asking any other object in nature (a loon in the pond or Walden Pond itself) if it were lonely.

Thoreau says he is not a hermit and loves society as much as most. Even though much of his time at Walden was spent alone with nature, he did have guests over from time to time. Once, he had twenty-five people in his cabin at one time. For the most part, though, because Walden was so far from town, he only met people that were worth meeting. No one came to him on trivial business. One of Thoreau’s favorite visitors was a Canadian woodchopper. He liked being around the woodchopper because he was simple and honest. Thoreau thought that the woodchopper led a perfect life. He lived so close to nature that birds perched on his shoulders as he ate lunch. Thoreau soon noticed a significant defect in the woodchopper, though. He was content living in nature and did not suffer from the want of society, but the spiritual man in him was not seen. Thoreau did have other visitors while at Walden. Regular men from town came but did not enjoy themselves because they were so wrapped up in the economic world that they could not feel the beauty of nature. Others called social reformers came to Walden to try to preach at Thoreau. He did not enjoy their company because they tried to reform others before first reforming themselves. The only visitors who truly seemed to like the journey to Walden were young girls and boys who had not been corrupted by society yet. Thoreau is glad to see that there are others who can still see beauty in simplicity and nature.

One of Thoreau’s main activities was caring for his bean-field. It was a large bean-field and provided him with food and a source of cash. Each morning he dug up the weeds with his hoe and examined any arrowheads or bits of pottery that turned up. He enjoyed doing this very much. It was more than just work to him; it was an opportunity to experience nature for long periods of time. It was another chance to enjoy life to the fullest extent. Thoreau criticizes any farmer who farms solely for the purpose of making money. Thoreau believes that his crops are more valuable than barns full of crops which were farmed just to make money. Thoreau thinks that if he approaches nature with a spiritual harvest in mind, he will cease from anxiety. He says that fulfillment, contentment, and tranquillity are the real produce that he got from farming.

Every day after hoeing, reading, or writing before noon Thoreau bathed. Every day or two, he would also go to Concord to hear the latest news. He found that the news of the town was really as refreshing in its way to the rustle of the leaves. He noticed while in town, though, how addicted people were to news. He saw that the street was lined with bored men waiting for the latest news. Thoreau was upset by the people in the street who stared at him. He was also disturbed by the advertising which seemed to try and draw him back into the life he had left behind. Thoreau tried to keep his mind on "high things" as he walked down the street.

When he got back to the woods, Thoreau noticed it was easier to think about "high things." Thoreau says that one does not appreciate nature until one is completely lost or turned around. He said to create a new life one must see a new world, as though one were lost and seeing the this world for the first time. Thoreau says that one main obstacle in creating a new life is the state and society that supports it. Thoreau moved to Walden because he wanted a life very different from the life of one who lives in normal society. He says that wherever one goes, others will follow him and try to make him become part of their society. He tells about a time when he was arrested because he did not pay his tax to the state because he did not think slavery was right. Thoreau says that slavery is not a part of his new vision of life, and he resents the government for trying to make it a part of that vision. He doesn’t think a government should force anyone to believe anything. He thinks that if a government wishes to try and guide men, it should do so by good example alone.

After returning to the woods and going back his solitary life, Thoreau spent most of his time being refreshed by walking around the surrounding countryside. He climbed Fair-Haven Hill and enjoyed the flavors of ripe huckleberries and blueberries. Sometimes, after he was finished, hoeing, he went fishing. Sometimes he would go with an elderly fisherman who also liked the pond. On some warm evenings, Thoreau would just let his boat drift while he played his flute and watched the fish below him. Thoreau then describes the center of all his happy activity, Walden Pond. He then goes on to describe other ponds of the area, none of which equal Walden.

As Thoreau roams the countryside, he is fascinated with the beauty of the land. It is like a dreamland to him. Everything is so perfect and beautiful. Thoreau says that this beauty is nature expressing herself. He says that such magnificence makes the observer forget about his home. From here, Thoreau goes to the dingy, depressing hut of John Field, an Irish immigrant an common laborer. Thoreau says John is an honest, hard-working man and his wife is nice, but at the present they are just trying to make ends meet. Thoreau tries to tell John about how he lives and how it could make life more enjoyable, but John said he came to America because of the luxuries he could not get in Ireland. He thinks luxuries are worth the hard work, but Thoreau observes that he is not content and is wasting his life. Thoreau gives up trying to convince John that what he is doing is not good for himself, so he returns to his own happy life. Right after leaving, Thoreau runs down a hill determined to enjoy the land but not own it. He is determined to make life an adventure and not just take part in dull, conventional living.

One night while Thoreau was coming home from fishing, a feeling of wildness comes over him. He sees a woodchuck cross his path and feels an urge to capture it and eat it raw. This feeling had come over him before at times. Sometimes he would be walking through the forest, and would start looking for some kind of venison that he could kill and eat. Thoreau says that he is not actually hungry when he gets these feelings, but he is just wanting to experience the wildness of nature. Thoreau then talks about another instinctive urge that he got sometimes. He had an instinct towards a higher, spiritual life. He says that he does not like one of the instincts more than the other, but he does say that his animal instincts are inferior and conflict with his spiritual instincts.

While Thoreau was trying to develop his spirituality, he ate more spiritual foods as a part of cleansing himself. He gave up hunting and fishing because eating flesh seemed unclean. He still says, though, that the urge to hunt and eat flesh is still a big part of him. Thoreau says his animal nature can be controlled, but it can not be gotten rid of. Thoreau believes that as time goes on, man will change from a more animal state to a more spiritual state. He thinks that eventually, the human race will stop eating animals all together. Thoreau talks about how he hunted as a boy, but as he got older, he gave up hunting for animals and began seeking more spiritual things. He sees this change as natural. Thoreau says that once an individual lessens his animality, he will become more spiritual and more fulfilled.

This chapter starts with a Hermit and a Poet talking. The Hermit is sitting alone thinking when the Poet walks up and asks if he would like to go fishing. The Hermit thinks about it for a while and considers whether he should stay and meditate to grow spiritually or go fishing with the Poet. Eventually he decides to go fishing with the poet and meditate another time. After this, Thoreau begins to talk about the various animals that live together at Walden. He talks about a mouse that climbed up his sleeve and eats crumbs that Thoreau gives him. A phoebe (a type of bird) built her nest in his shed, and a robin lives in the pine tree next to his cabin. Partridges lived under his window, and the woods was always filled with animal activity. Thoreau talks about otters, raccoons, woodcocks, turtledoves, squirrels, jays, and many other animals. He even observed a fight between red and black ants. Thoreau then begins thinking and compares the ants to the republicans and the imperialists. He then brings up the question of whether battles between ants are any less significant than battles between men. Thoreau then talks about a loon that he spent much time observing. Sometimes he even rows out to try and catch the loon. He also watched the ducks that circled the pond for many hours.

When October comes, Thoreau begins to prepare himself for the winter months that are to come. He gathers grapes, collects half a bushel of chestnuts, and brings in a small store of wild apples. Gradually the weather gets colder, and Thoreau decided it was time to move indoors to the warmth of his fireplace. He then goes on to talk about how he built his chimney. Thoreau enjoyed building the chimney very much. He did everything himself. The fire was like a friend during the winter, and when he was finished plastering the walls, the cabin was a comfortable place where he withdraw into. During the time that Thoreau was completing his cabin, Walden began to freeze. Thoreau liked the ice and enjoyed looking at the water through the thin, ice covering. He enjoyed watching the bubbles that came to the underside of the ice and were trapped there. He liked the designs that they made.

Thoreau tries to keep the same spiritual state of mind in the winter that he had during the summer. He tries to make the best of his situation, but it is hard for him to stay happy and cheerful because much of nature has stopped around him. He rarely has visits from friends now because of the deep snow. He is forced to turn to his memory to keep his mind busy, so he thinks about the former inhabitants of the Walden area. He talks about three former slaves, an older woman named Zilpha, and a few families that all used to live in the area. He talks about a few people who once had wells but not any longer. The thought that a place where water was once oozing but was now covered in grass made him sad, so he decided to go to sleep.

Thoreau spent much of his time walking across the winter countryside, observing the little nature that was still out and about. He found an owl which flew away when he got too close. The farther he went, the more signs of nature he saw even in the middle of winter. When Thoreau got back to his cabin from these walks, he sometimes found that a friend was waiting for him. One time a farmer was waiting for him, and they discussed the old days when times were more simple. He was also visited by a poet and a philosopher. Thoreau felt inspired after talking to the philosopher and thought he was more spiritually filled.

Since all the ponds in the area were frozen, the narrator found new paths to roam the countryside. By standing in the middle of ponds, he got a new viewpoint that he had never had before. It was a new way for him to enjoy the landscape. At night, he could hear an owl from a long way off, and it mad him somewhat sad again. Sometimes the owl was interrupted by geese honking. Thoreau then talks about the animal life that was all around him in the winter. He hears foxes walking over the snow at night, red squirrels running across his roof, jays screaming from the trees, chickadees eating the crumbs left on his doorstep, and hounds chasing a fox in the distance. One day Thoreau comes across a hare in bad condition. It depresses him to see something in nature looking so bad, but all of a sudden it jumped up and took off into the distance, running as if not hurt at all. This made Thoreau feel better.

One morning after Thoreau wakes up in the morning, he is kind of confused from not sleeping well. He feels as though someone has asked him a question and he has been thinking hard about it in his sleep. It has been a long winter and he has been disturbed about his spiritual life. At that time, though, he looked out the window and saw nature starting to bloom once again. He immediately got up and went outside to start searching for water underneath the ice. He cut a hole in the ice to get water from and enjoyed looking through the hole into the water below. He then was surprised and delighted by movement of fish under the water. Thoreau then tells about how he charted the bottom of Walden before the ice broke up. He found that Walden is one hundred seven feet deep.

One day in January, Thoreau looks outside and sees a hundred Irish laborers and Yankee foremen cutting out the ice on Walden to sell. At first, Thoreau is upset that they were taking part of Walden, but then he becomes happy when he realizes that many people would be drinking from Walden after the ice was sold.

After winter has finally passed and spring has started, Thoreau feels as though he, like the ice on Walden is thawing physically, is thawing spiritually. Not long after the ice on Walden has melted, many animals start appearing around the pond. Thoreau becomes very excited when he sees these new signs of life showing themselves. One occurrence of spring that Thoreau particularly enjoys watching was when the mud and clay next to the railroad tracks mix with the melting ice to form a mush that flows down the bank similar to the way lava does. It seems to come to life and make shapes, and Thoreau thoroughly enjoys watching it. Thoreau talks about how more and more each day he comes upon signs that nature is starting to get back into motion. He sees his first sparrow of the spring, a hawk, and a marsh hawk. As it gets later, Thoreau is surprised by the honking of the returning geese. He notices that the trees which drooped during the winter have started to stand up more and are turning green again. Later in spring, nature is in full bloom and Thoreau feels a new spirit inside him. Thoreau feels alive once again in nature and talks about the strong energy that nature is once again giving off.

In the conclusion, Thoreau urges people to begin a new life as he did. He does not want them to settle for living the same kind of typical, materialistic life everyone else does. He wants everyone to live a spiritual life close to nature. He says that just because people live in one place doesn’t mean their lives have to be limited to that one place. He also says, though, that one doesn’t need to travel around the world to have an interesting life. He wants people to go on more spiritual journeys where they find out about themselves. Thoreau says that a man can be whatever he wants to be. He just has to look inside and first and see what he needs to change so he can do it. He believes that if one truly follows his dreams to the best of his ability, he will eventually meet up with them. Thoreau says that we need to get away from the past and take our own path. He says not to do what everyone else has done before. He wants everyone to take their own path. Thoreau also cautions people to avoid conformity. He questions the reasoning to do something just because others are doing it also. Once again, he encourages people to do what he has done and get away from normal life. Thoreau believes every man has the possibility to do anything he wishes. All he has to do is take himself out of the limiting cycle of the modern world, and all potential can be unlocked.

Thoreau begins this essay by stating that he believes that the government is best which governs least, and since the least you can govern is not at all, he also believes that the government is best which doesn’t govern at all. He then goes on to talk about how the government is not fair because only a few people make the decisions for a great number. He says that the government hasn’t done anything for this country. They haven’t developed technology or made other good things happen. It is the character in the American people that has made things happen. Thoreau then says that he doesn’t want an absence of government, he just wants a better government at once. He says that a majority government is not right. He asks why we have consciences if we are just going to let legislators make the decisions for us. He says that we do not have to have a respect for the law. The only obligation we have is to do what is right.

Thoreau says that armies are no good because the men in them are not there to help with their minds. They are just machines that the government uses. Politicians and lawyers, Thoreau says, many times only serve with their heads and by doing this serve the devil. He says that individuals in these positions must serve with their conscience to do any real good. He says they can only be useful if they are not "clay" that can be easily molded by others. By this he means that they can’t just do what others want them to do not to cause trouble. Next, Thoreau says that he does not accept any government that supports slavery.

Thoreau says that this country is supposed to be a refuge of liberty, yet one sixth of the population is slaves. Thoreau thinks that men need to step up to rebel against and revolutionize the country. Thoreau talks about how people are just interested in money even though there are much larger things to be concerned with such as slavery and the war in Mexico. He says many people oppose slavery in opinion, but they do not do anything about it. He says that many are patrons of virtue, but few are virtuous; it is much better to be virtuous.

Next, Thoreau talks about voting. He believes voting is a game of chance where one feebly expresses what he thinks. Yet, he also says we have no better system than voting, so if no one votes nothing is accomplished. Thoreau believes, though, that if one feels a certain way about something, he should vote on the idea now, not when it becomes popular. He says that when voting or doing anything else, one must follow his own ideals and let others follow theirs. He says that if one disagrees with something the law says, disobey it. Don’t follow the law. He does not believe that one should make a lot of trouble while in the process, though. Thoreau thinks the laws are stupid, anyway. Some people who don’t pay their taxes are put in jail for much longer than those who steal much more than that from the state. Thoreau believes that everyone should fight against any laws they disagree with. It doesn’t matter what one does or who is on his side.

Thoreau goes on to talk about the night he stayed in jail for not paying his poll tax. He did not believe it was his duty to pay this tax because he did not totally support the government. When was in jail, though, he did not feel like he was confined. Although the walls were very thick, he was probably more spiritually free than anyone else in town. He felt like it was a waste to throw him in that cell. He thought if the government were smart, it would put him to work doing something for them. When he got put in jail, his cell was very neat and clean because the person who was in that cell with him was very clean. Thoreau thought the man who he stayed with was very nice and intelligent. The next day, though, someone paid Thoreau’s tax, and he was let out of jail. He then goes back and talks about how legislators and the state do not do as good of a job as they could do running the country. He wonders why some of them haven’t let the wisdom of the New Testament lead them in their political actions.

Thoreau says he will submit to the government whether or not those who run it know better than him and even though it is impure. He imagines a government where all people are treated equally and everyone respects everyone else. In this government, as long as one treats others well, he is allowed to live in peace. If one chooses to live away from society, he can do that. The government allowing people to do this will make for an even more perfect government later. Thoreau says he has imagined this government also, but he has never seen it.