horeau. In 1854, Walden was published by Ticknor and Fields and sold verywell. Over the next few years Thoreau took many trips to Cape Cod, New England, NewJersey, and the Maine Woods. He met many new interesting people such as John Brownand Walt Whitman. In 1859, Thoreau's father died and he inherited the pencil factory. Atthis time, he was giving lectures and writing essays. In 1860, Thoreau's final illness beganto fall. He still wanted to work. He continued to write poems such as "Wild Apples" and"Autumnal Tints" which consisted of his transcendental views which remained constantthroughout his career as an artist. In 1860, Thoreau contracted bronchitis and went toMinnesota to find a drier climate, however, he returned home when the change did notseem to help. On May 6, 1862, Thoreau died in Concord (Schneider 9,11-14,16,19,21).Thoreau spent his life trying to understand the illusions of the material world and see pastthem and understand truth. His life is a contrast between two extremes, puretranscendentalism and surface ideals. It is said that only in Walden did he express abalance between the real world and his art (23).Thoreau was an incredible American author. According to his journal, he thought ofhimself as a poet, though Stern tells us his prose was much better than his verse. Thoreauhad the ability to read people for who they really were. He had high expectations of peopleand could barely meet these expectations himself. His life was full of searching for truth,beauty, and honest understanding for a better life for mankind (Stern 15). This searchingwas due to his doubt and unanswered questions. Many thought Thoreau was stuck up, buthe was simply self-critical. As Thoreau says, "I never dreamed of any enormity greaterthan I have committed. I never knew and never shall know, a worse man than myself"(16). In this quote from Walden, we see his utter disgust with himself. Much of Thoreau'sdisappointment in himself stemmed from his...
