“Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free” (Thoreau 603)
In “Walking” Thoreau mentions specifically the outline of his walks to be that of a “parabola” likening his path through the woods to the orbit of the planets. The point he makes with this comparison is that like the orbit of the planets, the human race *naturally* migrates in a fixed path and to go against this path is in a sense, unnatural. He repeatedly proclaims that the path eastward is to the politics of the city, but to travel westward is to freedom. At the time Thoreau was writing this essay, the west was an untamed wilderness. Europeans had traveled west to discover the new land of the Americas and many immigrants flocked to this land of opportunity creating a melting pot of cultures. America represented a new and exciting civilization brimming with potential while Europe remained an established culture full of history. However, the eastern coast of America had developed into an established and bustling civilization and settlements were slowly expanding westward. In his lifetime, Thoreau did not see the full expansion and settling of the west (which still remained untamed for many decades). Therefore, the west to Thoreau represented opportunity, freedom, and most importantly beauty in its most natural state in a way that we today can only understand in historical context. Thoreau believed firmly that “we go westward into the future” which could easily be a slogan for the majority of United States history. However, how does Thoreau’s philosophy on the west still hold true today when the “wild west” has been tamed? The modern reader may still interpret the essence of Thoreau’s thoughts without the same understanding of eastern vs. western culture. Today the east is still traditionally richer in history; and the west is the home of radical new ideas (think Southern California in the 1960’s where the “free-love” and anti-war movements flourished).
The image below is of a car driving along a Southern California highway. I think it demonstrates what is difficult to put into words; a certain contradiction of the freedom Thoreau saw in the west (which we experience much differently today) and the development that inevitably came with the journey westward.
Intriguing post, particularly given the photo that accompanies it. The conflation of technology, progress, civilization, freedom, spirituality, carbon emissions, etc. is, in my opinion, a wonderful image of today's "wild" notions. Think also that once we (Americans) reached the west coast, north became the expansionist's dream. Alaska's slogan, for example, is "North to the Future!"
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