Henry David Thoreau's Quest for Reformation While strolling through the forests near Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau stumbled across a man and his family. The father, John Field had moved to America from Ireland with his wife and his son in order to "improve [their] condition one day" (Walden, 139). Henry listened intently to what John had to say about his life in America and his plans for the future, and then he offered up his …
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…routine that had to be followed with do or die dedication in order to have advanced his position. In reality (Thoreau's reality), John wasn't making any progress, in fact he was digressing from the goal he was attempting to achieve because he was approaching his life in an inappropriate fashion. Henry David Thoreau's metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly is analogous with his crusade to transform himself into a perfect being through his immersion in nature.