梭罗

山 东 工 商 学 院

SHANDONG INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

毕业论文(设计)

GRADUATION THESIS （DESIGN）

论文（设计）题目 浅论拉尔夫?沃尔多?爱默生的《自然》对生态文Title Of Thesis（Design） 学及生态批评的启示

分院（系别） Department 外国语学院 英语 董博 姜君丽 班级 Class 专 业 Speciality 102 2014年5月 副教授

论文（设计）作者 Author of Thesis（Design） 论文完成日期 Date 论文（设计）指导教师 Advisor 指导教师职称 The Title of Advisor

论文题目：

An Ecological Analysis in Walden

探究《瓦尔登湖》的生态思想

学 生 姓 名：董博

学 科 专 业：英语语言文学 研 究 方 向：美国文学 学 位 级 别：学 士 指 导 教 师：姜君丽 完 成 时 间：2014年5月

An Ecological Analysis in Walden

A Thesis Presented to

The College of Foreign Studies

Shandong Institute of Business & Technology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

For the Degree of Bachelor of Arts

By

Under the Supervision of

Jiang Junli

May, 2014

指导教师对毕业论文（设计）的评语

Advisor’s Comments on Graduation Thesis (Design)

评语：

指导教师（签章）

of Advisor

日期

Signature

Date

山东工商学院外国语学院2014届英语本科毕业论文

1.0 Introduction

Henry David Thoreau is one of the greatest American authors of the nineteenth century and his masterpiece Walden has gained universal popularity for long time. Thoreau’s era is in the boom of Industrial Revolution happened in the States. During the middle of the 19th century, America’s economy develops with high speed and many industrial circles are in flourish. At that time, a vast number of people are only feverish about material life. However, Thoreau speaks ahead of his time and he tries to move away from the rush and bustle of American social life which is, to him, getting more and more sadly materialistic-oriented. He desires a simple and self-sufficient lifestyle and he practices this by building a cabin nearby the Walden Pond when he gets Emersion’s permission. Walden is a faith record of Thoreau’s reflections when he is in solitary communion with the nature.

This masterpiece can be many things and it can be read on more than one level. The book conveys Thoreau’s ideas on man-nature relationship which is considered as one of the greatest classics in the ecological literature field. Ecology has a long history in Europe and America and it can be deprived in the 19th century put up by a German biologist E. H. Hackel. During 20th century, with the booming of industrial civilization, environmental and ecological crisis was becoming worse and worse. Thus literary development was also influenced by this issue. Thus, ecological literature and eco-criticism was gradually emphasized by millions of people. Lawrence Buell, an American eco-critic and professor of Harvard, once predicts that the most emergent issue is probably the endurance of globe. In the mid-1980s, scholars began to work collectively to establish ecocritism as a genre so that The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment was set up. It is an international organization, involved thousands of people around the world. It often holds some seminars to publish some related journals and introduce latest eco-criticism works.

In 1979, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was firstly published in China, which marked that ecologism was introduced in China. Nowadays, more and more Chinese people are aware of the importance of ecology along with the social development. Especially in recent years, the frequencies of some extreme weather, such as haze or torridness make people realize that ecological balance is closely related with their daily life. Eco-criticism is progressing in China increasingly. Many people are interested in ecological literature and they try to obtain some illuminations from these works. Thoreau has been regarded as a

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pioneer of environmental protection philosopher of ecology. Thoreau’s philosophy and his works are widely accepted by modern people. He is now more widely read and researched than any other novelist.

2.0 Overview of Thoreau and his life in the Walden Pond

Thoreau is an active Transcendentalist and he is by no means a recluse but is intensely involved in the life of his day. In his own time, America is enjoying the blossom of the Industrial Revolution. Many people are busy making money and they are enthusiastic about the life of bustle. Thus, he is considered as an eccentric. On the contrary to others, Thoreau has faith in the inner virtue and inward, spiritual grace of man. He holds the negative opinion to the modern civilization. He moves to a shabby cabin beside the Walden Pond, living there in a very simple manner for a little over two years. As a nature lover, he reckons that man should live harmoniously with and he indulges to be a participant in the nature.

2.1 Brief introduction of Thoreau’s era

Henry David Thoreau (1817—1862) born in Concord, Massachusetts. His era, the 19th century is an important turning point in America’s history. Americans lose no time in industrializing their new nation and in building trade with other countries after gaining independence from the Great Britain. And the territory of America expands a lot by means of invasion, wars or purchasing. In 1807, President Jefferson of the U.S. carried out the Embargo Act, which was intended as a short-term measure. The Embargo Act forbade all exports from the U.S. to any country and import came to a halt as well. This policy, to some degree, helped encourage its national industrial to develop faster than ever before. All these factors accelerate the economic development of America. Subsequently great changes take place in the States and modern civilization is full of the country while at the same time, wild nature is decreasing at a fast speed because of human exploitation.

A glimpse of the changes occurred in the New England forest cover can well show us the deterioration of the environment. When Concord was settled in 1638, its gently rolling terrain was densely shade by an almost unbroken green canopy. Plants, such as white and pitch pines, hemlocks, chestnuts, maples, birches, and oaks, sprouted and matured here. However, ever since the Puritans came, they quickly set about taming this rampant wildness

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and make it a decent home for pious Christian. By 1700, more than half a million acres of New England woodlands had been cleared for farming. A century later, little remained of the original forest cover in the inhabited area: where the tree still stood, they were usually second or third growth. By 1800, only 40 percent of Massachusetts could be classified as wooded land. The vanishing of the forests would inevitably endanger their wild creatures.

Thoreau goes oppositely with people at that time. Although people living in the 19th century are labeled as adventurous or aggressive, they are fanatical about economic developing and become more and more material-oriented. However, when capitalism and materialism are violently prevalent, traditional value will be lost. Apparently, Thoreau is incompatible with them. Thoreau criticizes human’s dominance over the nature. He escapes from the hurry and bustle of social life, sinking himself in the wholesome atmosphere of the nature.

2.2 Thoreau’s thoughts and his life in the Walden Pond

When it comes to talk about Thoreau, we have to mention something about Ralph Waldo Emerson at first. In 1836, a little book came out which made a tremendous impact on social life in America. It is entitled Nature by him. It says, “The Universe is composed of Nature and the Soul.” Thoreau is a friend of Emerson’s and his junior by some fourteen years. He embraces Emerson’s ideas and his works are much influenced by him. He helps Emerson to edit the Transcendentalist journals, the Dial and is susceptible to Oriental influences such as Hinduism and Confucianism.

Thoreau thinks the relationship between man and nature should be equal. Like other kinds of living beings, we humans are a fraction of the whole environment. In order to get communion the nature, Thoreau builds a cabin on a piece of Emerson’s property on Walden Pond and moves in on July 4th. He loves nature so much that he criticizes human’s dominance over nature. Moreover, Thoreau distastes modern civilization and he does not appreciate the changes brought by the scientific and technological revolution. When he begins to reside in the pond, the Industrial Revolution is in full force. Its impact upon life is best illustrated in Walden by the locomotive which passes daily by the pond, its whistles and rumbling contrasting with the natural sounds of the birds. Village life now runs at a faster pace. Thoreau considers that these changes have negative influence on people’s lives and the environment. The purity of the ecology is polluted and destroyed.

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2.2.1 Simple and self-sufficient lifestyles

He records how he tries to minimize his own needs on the Walden Pond. It has been found that without the luxuries he could live more freely and happily. He has so simple furniture in his house. As he describes, “My furniture, part of which I made myself and the rest cost me nothing of which I have got rendered an account-consisted of a bed, a table, a desk, three chairs, a looking-glass three inches in diameter, a pair of tongs and andirons, a kettle, a skillet, and a frying-pan, a dipper, a washbowl, two knives and forks, three plates, one spoon, a jug for oil, a jug for molasses, and a japanned lamp.”

There on the Pond, he tends to be self-sufficient in everything, spending, as he tells us, about six weeks a year, planning beans etc and eke out a scanty yet decent livelihood, but writing and enjoying nature most of the time for the rest of the year. Thoreau prefers these farm works.

“What was the meaning of this is so ready and self-respecting, this small Herculean labor, I knew not. I came to love my rows, my beans, though so many more than I wanted.” “What shall I learn of beans or beans of me? I cherish them, I hoe them, early and late I have an eye to them; and this is my day’s work. It is a fine broad leaf to look on.” Thoreau’s life there is so primitive that most source of his food come from planning, collecting or fishing. “In October I went a-graping to the river meadows, and loaded myself with clusters more precious for their beauty and fragrance than for food.” “The barberry’s brilliant fruit was likewise for my food merely; but I collected a small store of wild apples for coddling, which the proprietor and travelers had overlooked. When chestnuts were ripe I laid up half a bushel for winter. It was very exciting at that season to roam the then boundless chestnut woods of Lincoln,--they now sleep their long sleep under the railroads,--with a bag on my shoulder, and a stick to open burrs with in my hand, for I did not always wait for the frost, amid the rusting of leaves and loud reproofs of the red-squirrels and the jays, whose half-consumed nuts I sometimes stole, for the burrs which had selected were sure to contain sound ones. Thoreau’s life is full of simplicity and meagerness while he indulges the natural and cozy the Pond life.

2.2.2 Be friends with forest creatures

Thoreau lived in the Walden Pond for two and a little and he is enchants by the

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glamour of the picturesque and tranquil surroundings of the pond as well as the forest nearby. The love of nature that is evident in his vivid description in Walden. That is one of the most powerful aspects of the book. Images and comparisons based on his studies of animal behavior, of the life circles of plants, and of the features of the changing seasons illustrate and enliven the ideas he put forth in Walden. Here is a detailed episode concerned with the Bake Farm. “Sometime, I rambled to pine groves, standing like temples, or like fleets at sea, full-rigged, with wavy boughs, and ripping with light, so soft and green and shady that the Druids would have forsaken their oaks to worship in them; or to the cedar wood beyond Flint’s pond, where the trees, covered with hoary blue berries, spiring higher and higher, are fit to stand before Valhalla, and the creeping juniper covers the ground with wreaths full of fruit; or to swamps where the usnea lichen hangs in festoons from the white-spruce trees, and toad-stools, round tables of the swamp gods, cover the ground, and more beautiful fungi adorn the stumps, like butterflies or shells, vegetable winkles; where the swamp--pink and dogwood grow, the red alder--berry glows like eyes of imps, the waxwork grooves and crushes the hardest woods in its folds, and the wild-holly berries make the beholder forget his home with their beauty, and he is dazzled and tempted by nameless other wild forbidden fruits, too fair for mortal taste.”

Thoreau witnesses every tiny change by the pond, noticing the water rising and falling. No body in his age knows more about Walden than he does. He appreciates the pond with different weather conditions or moments. In his eyes, the pond reflects diverse charms with its changing. “Concord waters have two colors at least, one when views at a distance, and another, more proper, close at hand. The first depends more on light, and follows the sky. In clear weather, in summer, they appear blue at a little distance, especially if agitated, and at a great distance all appear alike. In stormy weather they are sometime color.”… “The phenomena of the year take place every day in a pond on a small scale. Every morning, generally speaking, the shallow water is being warmed more rapidly than the deep, through it may not be so warm after all, and every evening it is being cooled rapidly until the morning. The day is an epitome of the year. The night is the water, the morning and the evening are the spring and fall, and the noon is the summer. The cracking and booming of the ice indicate a change of the temperature.” These sentences show Thoreau’s affection to Walden. He lives there, and regards himself as a part of nature. He plays with the animals and even lives together with them. “The wasps came by thousands to my lodge in October,

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as to winter quarters, and settled on my windows within and on the walls over--head, sometimes deterring visitors from entering. Each morning, when they were numbed with cold, I swept some of them out, but I did not trouble myself much to get rid of them; I even felt complimented by their regarding my house as a desirable shelter.” For most people, it is astonished to live around with such dangerous animals, while Thoreau believes that animals exist for their own sake.

Walden depicts a picture that human shall the environment harmoniously with wild creatures. Humans and animals are both indispensable parts of the nature. One should not be over other. The ecological system does not exist without flora and fauna. Thus, it is reasonable to shall the space or even invite them as guests. He is in such a imitate relationship with animals that mice and birds choose to be his neighbors without wariness. “The mice which haunted my house were not the common ones, which are said to have been introduced into the country, but a wild native kind not found in the village.” ... “At length, as I leaned with my elbow on the bench one day, it ran up my clothes, and along my sleeve, and round and round the paper which held my dinner, while I kept the latter close, and dodged and played at bo--peep with it; and when at last I held still a piece of cheese between my thumb and finger, it came and nibbled it, sitting in my hand, and afterward cleaned its face and paws, like a fly, and walked away. A phoebe soon built in my shed, and a robin for protection in a pine which grew against the house. In June the partridge, which is so shy a bird, led her brood past my window, from the woods in the rear to the front of my house, clucking and calling to them like a hen, and in all her behavior proving herself the hen of the woods.”

Thoreau spends all his time in the pond and forest, seeking for a complete harmony with the environment. No one knows better than him does. He percepts the movements of each kind of animal in four season; he cares and tends the plants around Walden. In his world, the Walden itself is a natural arena. He sometimes is an active explorer, sometime becomes dutiful observer. He admires every sound or dance step shown by these creatures. “Near the hand, upon the topmost spray of a birch, sings the brown-thrasher--or red mavis, as some love to call him--all the morning, glad of your society, that would find out another farmer’s field if yours were not here. While you are planning the seed, he cries,--drop it, drop it,--cover it up, cover it up,--pull it up, pull it up, pull it up.”... “You may wonder what his rigmarole, his amateur Paganini performances on one string or on twenty, have to do

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with your planning, and yet prefer it to leached ashes or plaster. It was a cheap sort of top dressing in which I had entire faith.”… “for all the motion of a squirrel, even in the most solitary recesses of the forest, imply spectators as much as those of a dancing girl, -- wasting more time in delay and circumspection than would have sufficed to walk the whole distance, --I never saw one walk,--and then suddenly, before you could say Jack Robinson, he would be in the top of a young pitch-pine, winding up his clock and chiding all imaginary spectators, soliloquizing and talking to all the universe at the same time, --for no person that I could ever detect, or he himself was aware of, I suspect.”

Thoreau enjoys becoming neighbors living or playing with them whenever in the morning or the afternoon, wherever in the fields or at his home. Those are episodes recording Thoreau’s lives in Walden. Undoubtedly, there is a trend that more and more young people are aspiring to follow suit. It is a very obvious view that numerous parents like to bring their children to countryside to enjoy old great days, planting, fishing or gathering fruits. They want to escape the rush and bustle of urban lives.

3.0 Ecological thoughts in Walden

As a well-known transcendentalist, he is more practical and objective, for he gains experiences in the real nature. From his records in the book, we can see that Thoreau has affection to everything in nature, and communicates with it bodily and psychologically.

The book, Walden can be imagined as a nocturne which is consisting of every music notes, including humans, animals, plant and the pond. All of them are the indispensable parts and they are equal and correlative with each other. We human being is an element of the whole ecological system. He is aware that the value of each natural elements. These are most significant and intensive ecological thoughts contained in Walden. Thoreau strongly criticizes human dominance and the adverse impacts caused by modern civilization over the nature. Along with the development of environmentalism in the late 20th century, Thoreau was rediscovered and his works have become the focal research of many literary critic. He has set an example that people could live harmoniously with environment which make a contrast with modern people. His masterpiece Walden appeals to more and more readers for eco-criticism connotations.

3.1The development of eco-criticism

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Eco-criticism, the study of literature from environmental perspective, originated in America and has only recently become as a distinct literature criticism. It is one of the newest interdisciplinary fields that have emerged in literary and cultural studies. It shows us the way we should think about the relationship between human beings and the environment. It firstly began in 1970s. In 1974, an American scholar Joseph Mcckcr initially came up with “literary ecology” and he proposed that we should discover literary effects toward human behaviors and environment. Cheryll Glotfery, the founder of eco-criticism, defines it as “the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment”.

Eco-criticism stresses the connection between literary texts and the real natural world under the background of the ecological crisis and global movement of environmentalism. In the early phrase of eco-criticism, it is not a genre, there are only some writings which describe nature and show people’s concern about the environmental crisis and pollution problems. In mid 1980s, scholars began to work collectively to establish it as a genre, primarily through the work of the Western Literature Association which revalues nature writing as a non-fiction literature genre. After the mind-1990s, many important research books on eco-criticism were published in America, the two significant ones among which were Lawrence Buell’s The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture and The Eco-criticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology collaborated by Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. In recent years, eco-criticism has attracted more and more scholars in different countries. And many Chinese scholars have begun to pay attention to this new literary theory and take it as their research focus.

The ultimate goal of eco-criticism is making people aware of that all the living forms should live a harmonious life with nature and the environment is important to all living beings in this world. Besides researching how does literature reflect nature, we should pay more attention to analyzing all the social and cultural factors which decide human’s attitude toward nature and human’s behaviors in nature. Eco-criticism is still a young literary theory and has a lot of growing to do in the future. There is no doubt that eco-criticism could give us direction to live wholesomely and it will gain wider prevalence.

3.2 The Value of nature

Reading Thoreau, we find that he describe nature as incessantly running rivers, birds, lakes, animals, swamps, flowers etc, beautiful and lively. Thoreau is regarded an eccentric

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during his own times so he tries to get the true meaning in the nature. The value of nature in Walden can be divided into two parts, the first one is anesthetic value and the other one is recreational value. Nature always offers him with constant inspirations

Writers have tendency to take the nature as the auxiliary means or stage when expresses human wishes or heroism. However, criticizing and changing this tendency is one crucial element of eco-criticism. He is attracted by nature and nature becomes his materials, the character, and the subject of his writings.

“ The forest has never so good a setting, nor is so distinctly beautiful, as when seen from a small lake amid hills which rises from the water’s edge; for the water in which it is reflected not only makes the best background in such a case, but with its winding shore, the most natural and agreeable boundary to it.” For Thoreau, the lake is “earth’s eyes” and “the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.

The Walden Pond as well as the forest around is just like an idyllic painting. The infinite charm and the aesthetic value of natural world are completely displayed by the description mentioned above.

Readers also consider Thoreau’s Walden as their spiritual retreats with its recreational value, and by reading this book, people can feel pleasant and amused from nature. Nature relaxes one’s heart, and influences one’s character. People, being in a crazy world, can not always avoid being distracted by external affairs, occasionally conforming to personal benefits like reputation, wealth, social status, etc. At the core of Thoreau’s consciousness is the question of self-realization. He goes to nature and fronts “only the essential facts of life”, in order to magnify the self, to have sensation of infinitude, to thrum with the excitement of the universe”.

The original motivation to push Thoreau move to Walden is to escape bustle of city life and get the true meaning of one’s life by having a communion with nature. Thoreau holds that man is a part of life. He believes that union with nature is indispensable to reach self-realization. In the Walden Pond, Thoreau chooses to be a participant instead of an observer in nature. In his opinion, if we have a close and harmonious relationship with nature, nature gives people the opportunity to achieve self-realization. Therefore, he claims clearly in Walden that people should “anticipate, not the sunrise and the dawn merely, hut if possible, Nature herself.”

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3.3 Modern man’s dominance over nature

Thoreau looks highly upon the value of all natural elements’ existence. When most of his peers are enjoying the profits brought by industrial development, he keenly sees the limitations of science and technology and strongly criticizes human’s dominance over the ecology system.

“With such huge and lumbering civility the country hands a chair to the city. All the Indian huckleberry hills are stripped, all the cranberry meadow are raked into the city.” People’s crazes to economic benefits make them become slaves of fortunate. In his eyes, those farmers are no more than inhabitants of the nature but robbers. “Ancient poetry and mythology suggest, at least, that husbandry was once a sacred art; but it is pursued with irreverent haste and heedlessness by us, our object being to have large farms and large crops merely…He knows nature but as a robber”. Thoreau sees humans are participants of nature and questions human’s right to rule nature. Humans are higher animals in the ecological system but that does not mean they are entitled to exploit nature for their exclusive use. “No human beings, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature, which holds its life by the same tenure that he does. The hare in its extremity cries like a child.” Ecological thoughts in Walden focus on importance and permanency of nature which are derive from his respect to nature. Railroads were once been praised as the greatest accomplishment in the 19th century. However, Thoreau regards that these advanced accomplishments destroy ecological balance and he strongly rebukes that modern civilization fades people’s inner holiness or reverence of nature.

3.4 Human is a part of the nature

I have shown you that Thoreau’s harmonious life in the above parts. Being neighbor with mice, hearing the birds’ singing and watching squirrel’s dancing, all of these detailed things written in Walden want to reflect that the nature is an organic whole. The ecological system is made up with many inhabitants and we human is only a fraction of it.

Thoreau sees nature as a living web of life embracing mankind. Everything is a living being to Thoreau. He expressed clearly his view of man’s relationship with nature—rather than being the minister of nature, man is an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of nature. The Walden Pond is endowed with life, power and character of purity in his book.

Thoreau believes that there is an immoral life or soul permeating in nature, and so,

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References

Henry David Thoreau. Walden [M]. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1971

Philip，. Thoreau’s Living Ethics: Walden and the Pursuit of Virtue. Athens: The University of Georgia Press. 2004

Doren, Mark Van. Henry David Thoreau: A Critical Study Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916. Harding, Walter & Michael Meyer. The New Thoreau Handbook. New York: New York University Press, 1980.

Krutch, Joseph Wood. Henry David Thoreau. New York: William Sloane, 1948

Worster, Donald. The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imagination. New York: Oxford UP, 1993

徐迟译，梭罗著，《瓦尔登湖》，上海：上海译文出版社，2004。 常耀信，《美国文学简史》， 天津：南开大学出版社，2002。

马会娟，管兴忠译， 罗伯特?米尔德著，《重塑梭罗》， 北京：东方出版社，2002。 王诺：《欧美生态文学》， 北京：北京大学出版社，2003。 胡友红，回归自然——梭罗的环境伦理思想研究， 南京林业大学。 黄幼，《瓦尔登湖》：重塑梭罗的深层生态学思想， 南京师范大学。

吕志军，试论梭罗的环境思想——对梭罗《瓦尔登湖》的思考， 山东师范大学，2008。 苏贤贵，梭罗的自然思想及其生态伦理意蕴[J]， 北京大学学报， 2002年02期。 李武娟，《瓦尔登湖》的生态思想[J]，西安文理学院，2010。

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nature grows steadily and eternally, though in a gradual and sometimes even imperceptible manner. He says, “Nature never makes haste; her system revolve at an even pace. The bud swells imperceptiblely, without hurry or confusion, as though the short spring day were an eternity.” Nature is a great living organism that never dies. Within nature, there is a never-dying fire, as he puts it, there is a “slumbering subterranean fire which never goes our, and which no cold can chill.”

For Thoreau, the most characteristic feature of the state of eternity of nature is the cycle of the seasons that brings about the perennial return of life in nature. The idea of the cycle of nature is the central part of Thoreau’s concept of nature as an organism. And it is intensively shown in Walden. In the book, Thoreau expresses his two years’ experience into one year. And different seasons are represented by various features as it is written in the book. In spring, the butterflies, the birds, the grass and the trees are seen as “on the hillside like a spring fire,” and the songs of birds and brooks, the “sinking sound of melting snow” are heard. In summer, we catch the sight of the booming grains and woods, the hill with trees everywhere, and birds flying over the water. In autumn, the crops and fruit are productive, leaves are falling from trees. In winter, when there is heavy snow, lakes are frozen, wind is always whistling. He even linked his own inner growth to that of a plant or a tree, “I grew in those seasons like corns in the night”.

Thoreau’s focus is on becoming, on life and growth, on organic forms—the seed, the leaf, the fruit, the tree and so on in nature. He sees the pine not only as a single tree that is structurally a part of the woods, but also as the result of an animating process in which the work of nature is conceived as one growth. The seed symbols endless cycle and eternity of nature.

4.0 Thoreau’s influence to us

Reputed as the pioneer of environmentalism, Thoreau’s ideas can be found in many of his masterpiece. Walden reflected eco-criticism, concepts of nature and philosophy of life which are consistent with the underlying principles of modern ecological philosophy, especially Land Ethic and Deep Ecology which are quite the important sources of eco-criticism. Deep ecology emphasized that nature has intrinsic value and every creatures should be allowed to flourish and fulfill their evolutionary destinies. And they state human beings should live in harmony with the nature and not destroy it for the sake of money. It

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contains his profound ecological implication, deep ecological consciousness and his mode of life which might light up to people’s hearts, and made human being think more about what is the relationship between themselves and nature and what is the connection between man and nature, makes people realize their living situation and care the earth in crisis. It also provides cultural reference and theoretical implication for alleviating environmental crisis, building harmonious society, building ecological civilization and achieving sustainable development.

4.1 Environmental and ecological problems in China

The development of China has been centered with economy for several decades. Be inherent deficiency of natural conditions, high population pressure as well as excessive use of resources, these are factors China dealing with. Along with progress of the social development and improvement of people’s living conditions, the ecological environment has been devastated simultaneously.

Ecological problems in China is becoming more and more severe and most of are result from human beings’ unreasonable activities. People in the rural areas of western China are feed on farming and pasturing. In the past decades, they did not keep the awareness of ecological balance and they overgrazed. Today, many natural pastures in western China are becoming deserts and sand storms take place more frequently than ever before.

Here, I want to give you another case that Cyanobacteria Break-Out occurred in 2007. Wuxi, a beautiful city, located beside the Taihu Lake, is famous for manufacturing and commerce. Pleasant climate and flourish business environment attract countless enterprisers’ eyes. The lakeshore gathers large quantities of factories. They discharge industrial sewage into the Taihu Lake without purification. The water eutrophication destroys triggers the outbreaks of Cyanobacteria bloom which cause that water quality deteriorate seriously. The contaminated water can not reach the standards of potable water and tens of thousands residents’ water supply is suspended subsequently.

We used to try to transform nature or even conquer nature. Now, we are suffering what we did to the nature. Environmental and ecological problems in our country can not be negligible.

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山东工商学院外国语学院2014届英语本科毕业论文

4.2 Significance of ecological construction

There is no disputed that the ecological construction is very significant. I reckon that there are two main reasons. For one thing, it is closely related and interacted with our daily life. For another, it is a crucial channel to achieve permanent or sustainable development.

During the end of last year, PM Index gradually came to be familiar to many Chinese. Haze Weather hit many areas of northern and eastern parts of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and some major cities. People have to bring masks when they are in the outside. In Nanjing, the local government claimed that primary schools should suspend their courses. Moreover, the possibility of exacerbating respiratory diseases is surging. Nowadays, people’s awareness of environmental protection and ecological civilization has been in strengthened a lot. They not only emphasize on material conditions but the environment around them. The Internet has launched an elected activity named Top Happiness Cities. The AQI (Air Quality Index) is an important factor involved. Obviously, the construction of ecological civilization has a close relationship with our daily life. In China, a lot of cities try to search for a schema to accomplish industrial optimization. The ecological construction is crucial approach. Jiaozhuo, a resource-based city, locates in Henan Province. In the past, many industrials of the city are centered with exploitation of coal mine. In order to achieve permanent and sustainable development, people there start to pay attention to protection of tourism environment. They set up nature reserve around Yuntai Mountains and make efforts to restore the destroyed areas. They amplify the propaganda and education work of the ecological balance. Furthermore, they make comprehensive appraisals before developing Yuntai Mountains so as to avoid unreasonable human activities. Now, Jiaozhuo is changing from a resource-based city to a tourism-oriented city. Tourism now is the chief industrial and occupies larger proportion. It brings more job opportunities and promotes the social development there. More importantly, it provides a good solution to achieve harmonious and sustainable development. From this case, we can learn a lesson that economic development is not contradictory with environment. On the contrary, if we can live harmoniously with the nature and keep the ecology balanced, our society could develop much better. Ecological construction is the channel to make sure that our country can be long prosperous, achieving sustainable development.

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山东工商学院外国语学院2014届英语本科毕业论文

5.0 Conclusion

Thoreau is dismissed as a minor writer, but nowadays Thoreau is discovered again and his works about nature have become the research focus of many literary critics. Through Walden, Thoreau tells human being that they should be responsible for the future and themselves. People, regardless, countries or races, should treat nature and environment well and fair. Thoreau is just like rooster, waking up the environmental consciousness by his works and life. In this masterpiece, he explores the deep relationship between man and nature and tries to lead high-quality life. His care for nature life and evocation for spiritual life also provide future generations with a point of view from which they could reconsider their life.

In the contemporary society, the earth has been devastated by human behavior and the ecological crisis has become a global consensus. The crisis of ecology and environment give birth to unprecedented prosperity of ecological literature. With the unique knowledge structure and keen understanding penetration, Thoreau increases the ecological dimension of his works. He is known as the pioneer of environmentalism and enjoys the good name of “green saint”. Thoreau’s ecological mind gives many followers examples and aspiration. Some of his thoughts even leave profound implications to American literature and other countries. The main thesis of this book is to reveal the relationship between nature and human beings. Actually, as a part of nature, human beings belong to nature. We should live together and make peace with it.

Thoreau and Walden impart to us profoundly. Recently, from reports of 17th National Committee of CPC, construction of harmonious society and achieve sustainable development were put forward. In 2012, the 18th National Congress of CPC, construction of ecological civilization was listed as Top five layouts which were priority to develop. These are actually Walden reflecting. It has become the green Bible for modern people who want to have a wholesome and meaningful life.

Thoreau, the nature lover, is undoubtedly one of the pioneers of environmentalism and forerunners of western ecological philosophies. Of course, Walden is not the total of Thoreau, it is a thoughts treasure for human being to promote consciousness advocate green concepts, determine green ethic and construct our green homes in the future.

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山东工商学院外国语学院2014届英语本科毕业论文

Acknowledgements

In the process of writing this thesis, I was fortunate to have received the assistance and encouragement from many teachers and friends. First and foremost, I would like to give my special gratitude to Mrs. Zhang Lihua, my supervisor who has provided me with lots of guidance and instruction which I have benefited a lot.

Next, I am also grateful to all my teachers of the English major who have helped me to develop the fundamental and essential academic competence.

Last but not at least, I would like extend my thanks to my parents who always work hard to support me and to my friends as well as my classmates for their encouragements.

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山东工商学院外国语学院2014届英语本科毕业论文

References

Henry David Thoreau. Walden [M]. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1971

Philip，. Thoreau’s Living Ethics: Walden and the Pursuit of Virtue. Athens: The University of Georgia Press. 2004

Doren, Mark Van. Henry David Thoreau: A Critical Study Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916. Harding, Walter & Michael Meyer. The New Thoreau Handbook. New York: New York University Press, 1980.

Krutch, Joseph Wood. Henry David Thoreau. New York: William Sloane, 1948

Worster, Donald. The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imagination. New York: Oxford UP, 1993

徐迟译，梭罗著，《瓦尔登湖》，上海：上海译文出版社，2004。 常耀信，《美国文学简史》， 天津：南开大学出版社，2002。

马会娟，管兴忠译， 罗伯特?米尔德著，《重塑梭罗》， 北京：东方出版社，2002。 王诺：《欧美生态文学》， 北京：北京大学出版社，2003。 胡友红，回归自然——梭罗的环境伦理思想研究， 南京林业大学。 黄幼，《瓦尔登湖》：重塑梭罗的深层生态学思想， 南京师范大学。

吕志军，试论梭罗的环境思想——对梭罗《瓦尔登湖》的思考， 山东师范大学，2008。 苏贤贵，梭罗的自然思想及其生态伦理意蕴[J]， 北京大学学报， 2002年02期。 李武娟，《瓦尔登湖》的生态思想[J]，西安文理学院，2010。

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