The purpose of Henry David Thoreau's opposition to the modern way of life is to point out that, despite

everything, one can live in a much simple way. In Walden, Thoreau writes “What everybody echoes or in
silence passes by as true today may turn out to be falsehood tomorrow, mere smoke of opinion, which
some had trusted for a cloud that would sprinkle fertilizing rain on their fields.” (856) this being, from
my point of view, something liberating because the laws that govern our behavior are temporary
conventions, they are simply arbitrary. The way of living that Thoreau chooses is simplicity, thus being
able to save many penalties. This was the strategy that the writer chose to face the follies of modern
society. This idea of the author, of choosing simplicity as a way of life is present in Walden, where
Thoreau says “Fuel, except to cook his food, is then unnecessary; the sun is his fire, and many of the
fruits are sufficiently cooked by its rays; while food generally is more various, and more easily obtained,
and clothing and shelter are wholly or half unnecessary.” (859) In my opinion it is possible to relate it to
the idea that objects are not recognizable in themselves, but only through the spatial and temporal
structure that projects them onto the world, a fundamental idea of transcendentalism. During the time
he was living in Walden he had very few things such as: a bed, a table, a lamp, etc. For Thoreau the most
important thing was freedom and the basic needs were shelter and food. That is why he did not buy a
house, but preferred to build it with his own hands, because the basic needs to survive, can be obtained
without having wealth, even having very little, always looking for simplicity.