Comparative analysis of two literary authors

¶ … Walden and Other Writings" by Henry David Thoreau and "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl. Specifically it will discuss the two author's very different approaches to searching for wisdom. Frankl was relocated to a concentration camp during World War II, while Thoreau chose to remove himself from society and live alone for two years. These two very different experiences led to both men developing their own wisdom and philosophies that worked in their circumstances.

Thoreau's quest for wisdom at Walden Pond in Massachusetts is legendary, and so is some of the wisdom he discovered there. For example, he writes, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation" (Thoreau 7). This is a very famous quote, and it shows that even then, life was too harried and stressful for many people, including Thoreau, which is why he chose to spend two years apart from his family at the pond. He approached his quest by removing himself from daily life, and spending it instead with nature and the natural world, which he came to appreciate and support even more after the time he spent there. He went to the woods to seek wisdom and spiritual growth. He writes, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived" (Thoreau 81). Thoreau approaches his quest by isolating himself and by living with the natural world, while Frankl has to interact with the extremely hostile and demeaning world of a concentration camp. He approaches his search by seeking a reason for living in this hellish environment, while Thoreau seeks spiritual growth and knowledge. In other words, Thoreau had a choice, and Frankl had none, so Frankl has to find a reason for being, while Thoreau has to find reason.

Both of these men are searching for themselves and for meaning in life, but one chooses his position, while the other is forced into it through evil means. They both are seeking wisdom and spiritual growth, but for very different reasons. Frankl has to find some kind of order and reason in his experience, or he will either go mad or die. Thoreau's spiritual quest is one of peace and harmony, while Frankl's is one of duress and oppression. He writes, "What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment" (Frankl 171). At that given moment in time, Frankl's life did not mean anything to anyone but himself, and he used this experience to develop his own philosophy on life and wisdom, just as Thoreau used his experience to develop his own philosophy. The two men had the same goals, but reached them very differently due to their circumstances.