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Herman Melville and Henry David Thoreau

This paper provides a discussion of the critique of capitalism and industrialism provided respectively by Herman Melville in “The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids” and Henry David Thoreau in Walden.

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Herman Melville Henry David Thoreau Introduction The eighteenth century Industrial Revolution and the rise ofcapitalism gave way to a number of critiques of the detrimental impact ofthese forces on human nature and society In Herman Melville's TheParadise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids the author demonstratesthe disparities in lifestyle between owner and working classes and thedeadening impact of industrial labor on the human soul In Walden HenryDavid Thoreau provides a sometimes hostile and scathing examination of thesocial conventions and values associated

Herman Melville's essay "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarusof Maids" is also a critique of industrialism and capitalism. He saw capitalism ascreating social injustice by creating a privileged class and anunderprivileged class they exploited. Not only is the exterior and environment of capitalism painted inthese hellish tones by Melville, so is the soul-crushing impact ofindustrialism on human souls who must man the mechanized factories. What is wild and free is good, butThoreau (1854) maintains "The mass of men are still and always young inthis respect." In each of the various sections of Walden, Thoreau rejects theAmerican mania for material possessions whose meaningless collectionbecomes the focal point of human activity. In stark contrast to the Temple, the reward for the "haves" orprivileged class that capitalism and industrialism create Melville showsthe soul-deadening forces of industrialism and capitalism on the poor,female laborers in the factories of mass production. Focusing on the acquisition of goods, individuals becamedistanced from the simple life required to be happy and connected tonature. Thoreau views capitalismand industrialism as alienating human beings from this pursuit and,therefore, happiness. The narratorlingers and is the last guest. Melville believed industrialism swallowed up the human soul,turning individuals into cogs in the machine. Human beings willalways need to be immersed in work if they continue to focus on theacquisition of material possessions. Herman Melville & Henry David Thoreau Introduction The eighteenth century Industrial Revolution and the rise ofcapitalism gave way to a number of critiques of the detrimental impact ofthese forces on human nature and society. http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden .html Walden. Works CitedMelville, Herman. At the foundation of each of Thoreau's higher lawson economy, work, success and social conventions is the assertion that wesimply need less in order to be more fully alive. Conclusion In conclusion, Thoreau and Melville both viewed industrialism andcapitalism as negative forces on the human soul and psyche. Itillustrates the double-standard in society for single women and single menin the industrial age, and it highlights the quite different lifestyles ofthe "haves" and the "have nots" in a capitalist society. This is in directconflict with the focus on mass production of industrialism and rabidconsumerism associated with capitalism and materialism. It is a culture Thoreau considers increasingly industrial, onethat alienates individuals from their work and from many of the values theauthor finds essential as a condition of happiness. Thoreauprovides a number of "Higher Laws" that all connect human beings to naturewhile reducing their dependence on the machine-age of industrialism and itsmaterialistic products. When one adheres to Thoreau's (1854) view, "Allnature is your congratulations, and you have causes momentarily to blessyourself." For those locked into the mechanized daily labor of capitalismand industrialism, tirelessly working to pile up meaningless materialpossessions, these joys will never be known. The pursuit of materialgoods and the fervor for mechanized production and manufacturing alienatedindividuals from their work and from the basic values Thoreau findsnecessary for human happiness. In "The Paradiseof Bachelors" Melville (671) describes an ideal environment for youngbachelors of means, the Temple community of the Knights-Templar. Though industrialismand capitalism would witness the rise of American wealth and power, bothMelville and Thoreau viewed them as having a negative impact on the humansoul that these benefits could not excuse. Anotheris common throughout Walden, Thoreau's harsh criticism of those who collectmaterial "things" as their primary activity and use them as the primarymeasure of their own status and that of others. At onepoint the narrator describes the drone-like and numb factory workers, meantas a critique by Melville (675) of the negative impact of industrialism andcapitalism on the human soul: "The human voice was banished from the spot.Machinery-that vaunted slave of humanity-here stood menially served byhuman beings, who served mutely and cringingly as the slave serves theSultan. 1854. Body In Walden, Henry David Thoreau provides a critique of mid-nineteenthcentury social conventions and values related to the increasingindustrialism and capitalistic focus in society. Thoreaubelieved capitalism alienated humans from their work and distanced themfrom nature. This robs human beings of thefocus on a simpler and more in connection with nature lifestyle. In Herman Melville's "TheParadise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids," the author demonstratesthe disparities in lifestyle between owner and working classes and thedeadening impact of industrial labor on the human soul. The paper mill isdescribed in stark contrast to the comfort of the paradise of bachelor'sTemple. The girls did not so much seem accessory wheels to the generalmachinery as mere cogs to the wheels." The critique of capitalism andindustrialism is evident in this Dantean imagery of the factory and thenumbing impact of mechanized labor on the human body and soul. Instead, Melville (673) describes the factory in "Dantean" imagesthat are meant to portray it as the evil force it is in the lives of thefactory women who must work here in "Mad Maid's Bellows' pipe." Thenarrator and his horse approach the dark factory with trepidation, a sightthe narrator explains "is the very counterpart of the Paradise ofBachelors, but snowed upon, and frost-painted to a sepulcher" (Melville674). All of the men enjoy a particular degree of freedom because of theirbachelor status, "for bachelors alone can travel freely, and without anytwinges of their consciences touching desertion of the fireside" (Melville673). It isexclusive, "to be a Templar, in the one true sense, you must needs be alawyer, or a student at the law, and be ceremoniously enrolled as a memberof the order." Many famous members of society were members of the Knights Templarand the environment of the "Paradise of the Bachelors" (Melville 671).After a sumptuous feast including champagne, claret, and sherry; along with"flagons of ale" the men are treated to "tarts and puddings" (Melville672). One of these is self-reliance, or survivingwithout relying on the products of commerce and industrialization. 8 October 2 7. The good in Thoreau iswhat connects the individual to nature. http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng /public/MelPara.htmlThoreau, Henry David. Beingimmersed in nature produces the highest happiness, "If the day and thenight are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrancelike flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, moreimmortal-that is your success" (Thoreau 1854). The Temple is indeed a paradise for the bachelors. His host sees him out and with a "burst ofadmiring candor" the narrator declares that the Temple is a "paradise ofbachelors" (Melville 673). "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids." Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1 , April 1855, 67 -678. 8 October 2 7. In Walden, HenryDavid Thoreau provides a sometimes hostile and scathing examination of thesocial conventions and values associated with mid-19th century Americanculture. This will rob them of happiness inThoreau's view, because man needs to participate in nature to derive fromnature the comfort and regeneration he requires for happiness.

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