
Thoreau Was Actually Funny - samclemens
http://lithub.com/thoreau-was-actually-funny-as-hell/
======
pjungwir
I discovered Thoreau in 9th grade and responded much as the author describes.
I loved the clarity, the independence, the disdain for the crowd, the longing
for nature, and the commitment to a moral, self-examined life. I think his
message only continues to grow in importance.

And yet I don't think the author has really proved his point. Having a sense
of humor doesn't make Thoreau any less painfully earnest. Martin Luther liked
bawdy jokes too, and that in no way lessened his seriousness. If anything,
joking about peeing on the bushes seems to confirm Thoreau's boorishness. I
still feel a kind of adolescent immaturity in him: a lack of self-doubt, and a
preponderance of self-importance.

It is not easy to find a good balance of gravity and levity. Those concepts
are too clumsy, I think, because you need both---in the right measures, at the
right times, and towards the right things. And I think in general the world
could use more gravity towards the things Thoreau loved. And on the other hand
the world could also use more self-doubt, more understanding toward your
neighbor's weakness, more charity, but that is hard to find in Thoreau.

This article is just the introduction to a book, so perhaps later the author
better proves his point, although it sounds like a hard thing to do, because
the argument looks like a non sequitor. Did Jesus' jokes suggest he didn't
mean it?

. . .

By the way, I do like the author's approach in looking for humor where we have
been taught not to expect it. That is a great way to ready Moby Dick, I think:
things like sharing a bed with a savage, but also the long digressions about
rigging or scrimshaw or whatever. It helps to feel some indulgence toward the
author, and trust that he is leading us on a detour to show us something
"cool", but also something personal, like a private joke.

A good friend once suggested that the Book of Jonah is an early specimen of
Jewish humor, and I think he was on to something. What if its genre is _joke_?
(It could still be no less divine Scripture for that.) That last bit sure
sounds to me like a punchline: "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great
city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left; and also much cattle?"

------
hoodwink
Thoreau is obviously a tad extreme, particularly in _Walden_ , but his
messages are timeless. These quotes profoundly impacted my life:

> I also have in my mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly
> impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to
> use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver
> fetters.

and

> "I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances
> confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life
> which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common
> hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new,
> universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around
> and within him; or the old laws will be expanded, and interpreted in his
> favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher
> order of beings. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be
> lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

Among other influences, these quotes helped me to break free of my "golden
fetters." I quit my high-paying and "prestigious" career, which was sucking my
soul, and escaped the big city in favor of a simpler lifestyle. Haven't looked
back once.

------
hkt
I found Thoreau through 'Where I lived, what I lived for'. I was bitterly
disappointed: his attitude was that of a puerile individualist, and the only
thing he had in any abundance was arrogance. He was a lesser person than I'd
been told. So I sincerely hope he has some work that was of a higher quality.
Suggestions? 'Walden' seems to be a recommendation based on high quality
social commentary, so maybe I'll start there.

~~~
empath75
I think if you read the essay you might get the idea that he wasn't being
entirely serious and re-read it again in that light.

~~~
kurthr
I fear we have run into Poe's law here... that sufficiently advanced
humor/sarcasm is indistinguishable from arrogance. If his contemporaries truly
reviewed him as a humorist,

 _“done in an admirable manner, in a strain of exquisite humor, with a strong
undercurrent of delicate satire against the follies of the times. Then there
were the interspersed observations, speculations, and suggestions upon dress,
fashions, food, dwellings, furniture, &c., &c., sufficiently queer to keep the
audience in almost constant mirth…The performance has created ‘quite a
sensation’ amongst lyceum goers.”_

then it does truly seem that I've learned (and been taught) the very
antithesis of his meaning. The joke was on us!

------
aaachilless
I didn't interpret Walden as an exceedingly subtle "joke," but as a
lamentation of the nature of cultural, intellectual, technological,
governmental, etc. progress. The space between lamentation and comedy is small
enough for misinterpretation (in either direction). More specifically, I read
Walden as a commentary on the accelerating erosion of individualism and self-
reliance as we progress along those (cultural, technological, etc.) axes.

I might be projecting a bit, biased by personal struggles with (what I think
are) the same issues today.

------
galago
I live in MA and swim in Walden pond on occasion in the Summer; it makes this
discussion somewhat less abstract. The primary source (contemporary newspaper
article) does make my think less of him.
[http://historyofmassachusetts.org/henry-david-thoreau-
woods-...](http://historyofmassachusetts.org/henry-david-thoreau-woods-
burner/)

~~~
GuiA
I wish that school did more to convey the fact that even the most prominent
authors are flawed people like everyone else, and that some of them can be
outright assholes - no matter the quality of their writing. Instead,
literature classes often put authors on pedestals.

There's undeniably some great insights in Thoreau's work, but many parts -
such as the one you linked to - show that he was kind of a douche.

The first time I realized that someone whose work I deeply admired was a total
asshole, many years ago, was eye opening for me. The art can be sublime, and
the artist can be the lowest of scum. It makes talented people with a lovely
personality that even more admirable.

(Also reminds me of one of my favorite quotes for people working in
prestigious, competitive environments: "we're all talented here -
differentiate yourself by being kind")

------
leoc
Similar to [https://newrepublic.com/article/123162/everybody-hates-
henry...](https://newrepublic.com/article/123162/everybody-hates-henry-david-
thoreau) . (Can't comment on their accuracy as I haven't read Thoreau.)

~~~
tingol
Seems pretty similar to what I've picked up from Thoreau's work.

What irks me is that most people delve to much into if Thoreau did this or
that, if what he wrote resonates with you, take it as it is.

You don't need to agree with a person fully to find nuggets of wisdom in their
work that can last you a lifetime.

