Being Henry David

Renowned 19th century Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden lends Being Henry David its literary context. Published in 1854, Walden depicts Thoreau’s experiences living in the woods outside of Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau stayed in a small cabin in this rural location to connect with the natural world and to discover himself outside the context of society’s rigid structures. In Walden, Thoreau valorizes self-reliance and self-knowledge. In Being Henry David, Danny Henderson relies upon Walden to give his life meaning and purpose. Thoreau’s transcendentalist and minimalist philosophies help Danny to quiet his anxious, busy mind and to find personal strength. Furthermore, he connects with Walden because it offers him a new way of understanding himself as a perfectly autonomous near-adult—someone who can form an identity in the absence of even the memory of his past. Of course, like Thoreau himself—who actually quite frequently interrupted his vaunted solitude with social visits of many different sorts—Danny cannot help but seek out human connection and friendship.

However, reading Walden while exploring the Walden Pond woods does help Danny to see himself outside the context of his traumatic past and recent violent experiences. In the woods, he feels “like the last person left on earth” (78). His resulting seclusion causes him to look inward in much the same way that this experience did for Thoreau. Furthermore, Danny’s photographic memory of the text allows him to recall crucial lessons from Thoreau’s writings even when he isn’t in nature or immersed in the book. In these ways, recurring allusions to Walden throughout Being Henry David enrich the novel’s overall thematic explorations and provide philosophical insight into Danny’s unique journey toward healing and personal reinvention.