"What is man but a mass of thawing clay?" (Final Part of Walden)

In the final portion of Thoreau's, Walden, Walden writes of both Wintertime and Spring. By this point in the novel Thoreau becomes much more likable. In the chapters on the winter months titled "Former Inhabitants", "Winter Visitors", "Winter Animals", and "The Pond in the Winter", Thoreau writes about exactly what the chapter titles entail. In "Winters Visitors", Thoreau talks about his friends who come to visit him during the lonesome winter months including William Ellery Channing, Amos Bronson Alcott, and possibly he most notable of all visitors, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who Thoreau identifies as "Old Immortal". It is always really interesting to me reading about interactions between two literary figure heads, you always hear in that they where friends or what not but thinking about their conversations and interactions, even the dynamics of their relationship is really odd. Thoreau also talks about, of course, descriptions of nature. This includes the pond in the wintertime and the animals and acres of land that surround his cabin. This is more interesting than what he describes in past chapters (The Bean Fields) because he describes the winter air and desolate landscape in a really interesting way. During "The Pond in Winter" Thoreau begins to ponder eternity and the "infinite" Walden Pond; Thoreau comes to the conclusion that heaven is both "under our feet as well as over our heads". Thoreau's thoughts and ideas about infinity are what I really like to hear about much more than monotonous descriptions. His philosophical viewpoints really make me like him much more. In the final chapters of Walden, Thoreau speaks about ore philosophical beliefs and such, he also sneaks in quite a few biblical references that remind you that no matter how nuanced Thoreau sounds, he still is deeply wrapped up in religion as everyone was in this era. It is easy to forget that some had such religious beliefs because people who model Thoreau in modern time (Hippies) tend to not be very religious. Thoreau becomes much more intense in the last bit and is really trying to convey that this book is meant to change the mind of many. I really liked Walden all together, even if at times it was really boring, The whole transcendentalist ideas and concepts are really brilliant and I think that their impact on writing is definitely still seen today.