Thoreau/Walden Comparison

Essay
Brenna Levitan-Garr
CAP9 RED PD8
November 19, 2014

Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, and Stephen Crane, in Maggie:

A Girl of the Streets, have similar views on philanthropists but differing
views on self reliance and whether life is made by fate or choices. In
Walden, Thoreau explains all of his thoughts and experiences, going
into detail about his life in isolation at Walden Pond. In Maggie, Crane
tells the story of a struggling girl living in the back allies and rotting
apartment buildings of New York at the turn of the century.
Thoreau and Crane would agree on their views of philanthropists.
Thoreau believes that philanthropists are motivated not by helping
people, but by how good they feel when they help people. Philanthropy
is for a selfish reason, not a selfless reason. Thoreau writes that,
Philanthropy is almost the only virtue which is sufficiently appreciated
by mankind. Nay, it is greatly overrated; and it is our selfishness that
overrates it (63). According to Thoreau, justice is obscured by
philanthropy. Thoreau also says, I would not subtract anything from
the praise that is due to philanthropy, but merely demand justice for all
who by their lives and works are a blessing to mankind (63). Thoreau
doesnt want the praise of philanthropy to be all that is important. The
philanthropist should be helping others for reasons that dont always
benefit the philanthropist. The people who truly do it for the good of
others are a blessing to mankind (63). Similarly, Crane believes
that people do something philanthropic when they want the praise, or
when they have nothing to lose. In Maggie, when the old woman takes

Maggie in, she says, Well, come in an stay wid me teh- night. I ain
got no moral standin (84). She acts as if taking Maggie into her care,
as an act of philanthropy, would otherwise hurt her reputation, but
because she is already of low social standing, she allows Maggie to
stay with her. She has nothing to lose. Another example is when
Maggie meets a man on the street and he offers her comfort, He
responded in tones of philanthropy. He pressed her arm with an air of
reassuring proprietorship (73). The philanthropist acts as if his actions
make him better than everyone else. He may be comforting Maggie
but because he is comforting her with and air of proprietorship, or
ownership, the act of philanthropy becomes about the praise of the act
instead of the act itself. Crane and Thoreau both believe
philanthropists act for praise, self-benefit, and to feel a sense of selfworth.
While Thoreau and Crane have similar views on philanthropists,
their views on self-reliance are not alike. With respect to self-reliance,
Thoreau believes that one cannot depend on on other people and
therefore, one must fully rely on oneself. Thoreau says, both by faith
and experienceto maintain ones self (59). Thoreau believes that it
is more valuable to have first-hand experiences rather than to always
learn from others. A man must find his occasions in himself (Thoreau
91) and not in others because a man cannot depend on others to
provide for himself. Crane, on the other hand, believes that to survive

it is necessary to rely on others for help and protection from danger.

Crane writes of the old woman who protects Maggie and Jimmy when
their parents are fighting. She says, ere yehs are back again, are
yehs? An deyve kicked yehs out? Well, come in an stay wid me tehnight (84).
The two children rely on this old woman when they need her instead of
having to provide for themselves. Crane talks about how hard Maggie
and Jimmys living situation is because their parents are always drunk
and fighting. He describes Maggies life at home, She stood shivering
beneath the torrent of her mothers wrath (82). Maggie cannot rely on
her parents for anything and that is what makes life so hard for her.
The ability to rely on others as well as yourself is important to Crane.
Thoreau and Crane also have contrasting views on the question
of life being controlled by fate or due to ones own choices. Thoreau
believes that everyone decides how his or her life will turn out; it is not
controlled by fate. Thoreau says, Every path but your own is the path
of fate (95). Furthermore, he goes on to say that, What a man thinks
of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate
(10). The way someone thinks about himself impacts ones life. While
Thoreau does not believe that fate controls ones life, Crane does. All of
Cranes characters seem to be set on paths for their lives that are
unchangeable, as if their fate is set in stone. Crane writes that Jimmie,
was burdened with disdain for the inevitable and contempt for

anything that fate might compel him to endure (52). Crane believes
fate is already set, that our lives have already been written out. Maggie
does try to go out and change her fate, but Crane writes that it was
impossible to change. Crane suggests that because Maggie grows up in
this horrible place, her fate is destined to be something horrible as
well. When Maggie is walking through the streets Crane describes how,
The varied sounds of life, made joyous by distance and seeming
unapproachableness, came faintly and died away to a silence (89).
Maggie can see the positive aspects of life in other people but she will
never have them herself because Crane has given her a destiny and
the lives of these other people are unapproachable to her.
In conclusion, Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, and Stephen
Crane, in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, have similar views on
philanthropists but differing views on self reliance and whether life is
made by fate or choices. They both agree that philanthropists are
selfishly driven. Thoreau believes that self-reliance is important, while
Crane believes that in order to survive one must rely on others to an
extent. Thoreau also believes that ones choices make up their lives,
while Crane believes there is a destined fate for everyone to live out.
Though the two authors are from different time periods and never met,
they agree on philanthropists, but they disagree on self-reliance and
the question of fate versus choice.

Works Cited
Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Boston: Emily Berleth, 1999. Print.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York City: Barnes &
Noble Classics, 2005. Print.