Question

According to this excerpt from Walden, in which subject area did the transcendentalist thinker Thoreau most likely find his inspiration? This small lake was of most value as a neighbor in the intervals of a gentle rain-storm in August, when, both air and water being perfectly still, but the sky overcast, mid-afternoon had all the serenity of evening, and the wood thrush sang around, and was heard from shore to shore. A lake like this is never smoother than at such a time; and the clear portion of the air above it being, shallow and darkened by clouds, the water, full of light and reflections, becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important. From a hill-top near by, where the wood had been recently cut off, there was a pleasing vista southward across the pond, through a wide indentation in the hills which form the shore there, where their opposite sides sloping toward each other suggested a stream flowing out in that direction through a wooded valley, but stream there was none. That way I looked between and over the near green hills to some distant and higher ones in the horizon, tinged with blue. human behavior nature civil war history nonconformity

Answer 1

The correct answer is: Nature.

"Walden" was a book reflecting Thoreau's thoughts upon living a simple life in natural surroundings.

Thoreau was a transcendalist thinker, meaning that he believed in the inherent goodness of people and nature.

In this excerpt, Thoreau talks about a beautiful lake and how it is lit and darkned by the sun and the clouds until it resembles a "lower heaven."

Answer 2

The answer is "Nature"
The scene described in Walden focuses heavily, if not exclusively, on nature and the effect that the natural wonder of Walden Pond had on Thoreau. This is also the most key element of Transcendentalism: the search for enlightenment not in man-made society but in the natural world.