Henry David Thoreau: A Logical Counterpart to Olmsted’s Views of Nature
Thoreau as a young Transcendentalist
Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian. Had enough?
What about a leading Transcendentalist best known for his book, Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
It is this particular quote that inspired me to turn Mr. Cook, Christopher’s English teacher in Central Park Story, into a mouthpiece for the Transcendentalist philosophy and a mentor for Christopher as he struggles on his way through school.
