Henry David Thoreau's writings convey meaningful ideas that can potentially change a reader's mindset toward the outside world. In an excerpt from chapter two of his widely influential book Walden, Thoreau describes his expressions of simplicity at all cost. He blatantly states that humanity is moving at a rapid pace. While the idea of a fast-paced society can be considered a positive by many, Thoreau believes it to be detrimental to our natural human thought process. He writes "we are determined to be starved before we are hungry" raising the assumption that we live in such an unnecessary hurry and waste life in doing so. Thoreau also focuses heavily on the negative effects of external influences, exclaiming that we should observe our realities only and not allow ourselves to be deluded by unimportant details. Essentially, there is no need for the fluff (gossip) that people in today's modern world deal with on a daily basis, whether it be through news channels or social media. It forces us into an unbreakable cage that subjects us to the desires of the media. We become spoon-fed by these outside forces and see only what they want us to see. These are the main ideas Thoreau spread throughout the transcendentalist movement. However, it was not only the depth of his ideas that made him well-known, but also the rhetorical strategies of his literary works. The great influence that Walden carries even today suggests that his efforts were successful in empowering readers to think beneath the surface and follow their individual paths. .
Thoreau constantly sought to express his ideas with the same intimacy he had experienced in his life. His rhetorical strategies seem to create a conversational experience for the reader through his avid use of paradox. While his thoughts toward the use of railroads or even the post office are contrary to accepted traditional ideas and might seem absurd to the average reader, a deeper look reveals latent truth.