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Walden, Amended

Introduction (continued)

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Another example is this 130 word sentence from “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”:

 

"If I should only give a few pulls at the parish bell-rope, as for a fire, that is, without setting the bell, there is hardly a man on his farm in the outskirts of Concord, notwithstanding that press of engagements which was his excuse so many times this morning, nor a boy, nor a woman, I might almost say, but would forsake all and follow that sound, not mainly to save property from the flames, but, if we will confess the truth, much more to see it burn, since burn it must, and we, be it known, did not set it on fire,—or to see it put out, and have a hand in it, if that is done as handsomely; yes, even if it were the parish church itself."

 

This one highlights the impediments Walden too often presents to the reader—multiple ideas and barely relevant asides woven together into a long, indecipherable sentence. Clarification requires restructuring as well as dividing the passage into several smaller, more direct sentences with only restrained additional wording for continuity:

 

"Without setting the bell, if I should only give a few pulls at the parish bell-rope, as for a fire, there is hardly a man on his farm in the outskirts of Concord, nor a boy nor a woman, but would forsake all and follow that sound. Notwithstanding that press of engagements which was his excuse so many times this morning, I might almost say he would follow that sound not mainly to save property from the flames. If we will confess the truth, he would follow that sound much more to see the property burn, since burn it must. Or he would see it put out, and have a hand in it, if that is done as handsomely. We, be it known, did not set it on fire. All would do this, yes, even if it were the parish church itself."

 

Despite the greater degree of editing in this example, by keeping Thoreau’s words overall I endeavored to preserve his voice as well as intent.

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So we must ask: Is it better to skip and never read the convoluted passages of the original or encounter them in an approachable, modified form? Walden, Amended is not for purists and some may call it sacrilegious; yet, even Shakespeare’s plays are routinely cut and edited for modern performances. This book is for the person who, with all earnestness, wishes to read Walden but put it down and never picked it up again. Such benign neglect is a shame, for when Thoreau is good, he is very good. How else could he have made insights such as these:

 

"I never found a companion so companionable as solitude."

 

"To be awake is to be alive."

 

". . . speech is for the convenience of those who are hard of hearing; but there are many fine things which we cannot say if we have to shout."

 

Or written this modest but resonant observation about his favorite meal:

 

"And pray what more can a reasonable man desire, in peaceful times, in ordinary noons, than a sufficient number of ears of green sweet-corn, with the addition of salt? Even the little variety I used was yielding to the demands of appetite, and not of health."

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