Title: Henry%20David%20Thoreau
1Henry David Thoreau
2Place of birth
Date of birth
3Date of death
Place of death
Burial location
- Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, MA
- (Bonus who else is buried here?)
4Interesting facts about childhood
- He worked in his fathers pencil factory
- Graduated from Harvard
- Never married
5Place(s) where this author lived. Include dates
and explain how each place influenced them.
- Concord, MA childhood
- Boston, MA went to Harvard 1833-37
- Lived w/Emerson 1841-44, 1847-48 E was mentor
- Walden Pond 1845-47 wrote Walden
6How did this author become inspired to write?
- Nature
- Individualism
- Abolitionism
7Where applicable, explain any obstacles this
writer faced
- His first two books didnt sell well (A Week on
the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and Walden). - Critics didnt take him seriously as a writer
during his lifetime
8How successful was this author during his/her
lifetime?
- First two books didnt sell well
- Critics didnt take him seriously
- However, lived according to his own principle of
simplicity
9If the author wasnt successful or popular at the
time of their death, explain how and why they are
still well known today
- Biography published in England in 1890
- Mahatma Gandhi read Walden in 1906 and
recommended widely - Other famous leaders have cited Walden as an
influence
10Why is this author considered influential?
- Creator of the idea of civil disobedience
- Many leaders and activists have borrowed his
ideas, including - Gandhi
- MLK
- Nelson Mandela
- Vietnam War activists
11Identify five (5) characteristics of this author
and give specific examples
- Loved nature inspired by it
- Thoughtful philosophical essays
- Innovative improved pencil making
- Independent lived life on his own terms