Your Horse or Mine? : An essay on Walden

Your horse or mine? Henry David Thoreau to much of the literary world was one of the greatest writers of all time. His philosophy, experiments, theories and opinions are considered genius even by today's standards. Thoreau does, however, manage to stump even the best of the english and literature scholars with one phrase in his book Walden. "I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and I am still on …

…to find them again. Scholars may argue over what he meant in using the 3 animals, but nobody can be absolutely sure. Johnsons essay offered an incredible view point in that Thoreau lived for deep meaning and customized his lifestyle to fit his philosophies. He wants society to get back to thinking for itself, which, is exactly why the hound, the bay horse, and the turtle dove are just as much Thoreau's as they are mine.