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Genre Translation: From 500 Pages to Three Folds

Julian Asuaje Solon

5/22/17
Prof. Johnson
Writing II

Genre Translation: From 500 Pages to Three Folds

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When I first heard about Walden, it was from a young man named Chris McCandless.

Chris was an extraordinarily intelligent Emory graduate who died tragically in an abandoned bus

in Alaska in search of enlightenment. The events of his life and death were detailed in Jon

Krakauers book Into The Wild. Chris drew heavily from the transcendentalist theories of Henry

David Thoreau, and Walden was one of his favorite books. The search for

enlightenment/adventure had always appeared in and out of my existence, so seeing someone

like chris love a book so much made me want to read it as well. Thoreau too, drew his

knowledge from someone he admired. Four years prior to going on his 2-year-secluded retreat,

Thoreau developed a very important relationship with Ralph Waldo Emerson. A

transcendentalist himself, Emerson was the first to expose Thoreau to these theories. At the time,

Thoreau was a Harvard graduate working for his family and feeling pretty unsatisfied, so it was

good timing for him to receive such powerful teachings. In 1841, Emerson released his famous

essay titled Self-Reliance, which emphasized the individual heart, mind, and soul as the center

of the universe and argued that all the superfluous conditioned aspects of life are secondary.

Finding great purpose from this notion, Thoreau built himself a cabin on Walden Pond in

Concord, MA, and spent two years in solitude, crafting, writing, and producing what would later

become his most famous work: Walden.

Walden is an existentialism-driven book that emphasized much of what Emerson wrote

about, but with Thoreaus own opinions and philosophies embedded within. Walden values

simplicity, The Self, and nature (in my opinion) as its three biggest teachings, so to speak.

This book was not very sought after during Thoreaus lifetime; however, during the

counterculture movement of the 20th century, Waldens messages were felt long and far

throughout the world. The one shortcoming this book has is that is it written by an incredibly
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accomplished scholar who has a vocabulary that is both extensive and dated. Because of this,

many readers either reread every 3 sentences over and over (like me), or just look at the sheer

thickness of the work and turn away. Its honestly a shame that people are unable or unwilling to

read Walden, because its messages are becoming increasingly prevalent in todays society. I

think there are millions of people that could benefit from getting all of the teachings Walden has,

without any of the complex language to confuse them. For this reason, I decided to translate his

work into a life-brochure, in order to condense the information into a palatable and plainly

informative medium.

The audience for Walden, as it was written, were scholars who also studied

existentialism/transcendentalism, but it was not limited to just those people. Although it took

some time, Walden was published in 1854 and was later adapted into libraries and classrooms all

over the country. Unfortunately, because of Thoreaus immense amount of schooling and

knowledge, the actual audience were primarily scholars looking to pick apart or investigate his

writings. A later work he wrote titled Civil Disobedience even inspired famous philosophers

like Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi. It is clear that what he is actually saying is important, but

without a simpler written cadence, it will be impossible to get his message to the masses.

In contrast, a brochure is meant to do exactly what Walden cant: effectively and quickly

convey information from the giver of the brochure to the reader of the brochure. Brochures are

primarily found in churches, medical offices, or hotels, as a way to tell you where to go or what

to do, or they are given to you by street solicitors, who are trying to get you to invest in what

their movement is about. In either scenario, few actually go through the process of picking out

the brochure, reading it through, and taking in the information; however, those who do receive

the information they were looking for in a relatively short amount of time. The purpose of a
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brochure is to catch your eye, give you some ideas, and then essentially disappear. It does not

require extensive thought, nor does it require a particular focus or aptitude for reading things in

general. That, in turn, makes the audience for a brochure essentially anyone who is literate in that

language, from children to the elderly; this is why translating a scholarly, over-articulate

philosophical manifesto into a brochure is so effective.

To effectively translate an incredibly articulate, 500 page work into a tiny two-fold

brochure requires that I summarize the main points from Walden, take out all of the superfluous

language, and condense the points into a much more lighthearted cadence. Brochures tend to be

light, organized, and almost fun in a sense, so I needed to make sure I can engage the reader,

while still conveying the information concisely and effectively. I first had to find three major

categories that I could split transcendentalist theories up into in order to have the reader not feel

overwhelmed. Transcendentalism, and specifically Walden, talk a lot about living simply, alone,

and with nature, and to abandon what society has deemed normal when it comes to how

someone lives their life. I felt that if I simply put three headings: Simplcitiy, The Self, and

Nature at the top of each of my folds, it would divide up my points into categories, thereby

making them easier to take in. Furthermore, if a reader only wants to improve one aspect of their

life perhaps their inability to form strong relationships then they can look at The Self

column, which talks about being happy, loving yourself, and being able to rely on yourself for

comfort and happiness. By putting large, bolded headings at the top of each column of the

brochure, I was able to tell the reader basically what they are looking at, and they are able to

more effectively separate one theme from another, which in turn will help them internalize the

information.
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One of the main points of Walden is to show that excess is both unnecessary, and

ultimately problematic if a person is searching for happiness or fulfillment. For example, in a

chapter titled Where I Lived and What I Lived for Thoreau states,

An afternoon sufficed to lay out the land into orchard, wood-lot, and pasture, and

to decide what fine oaks or pines should be left to stand before the door, and whence

each blasted tree could be seen to the best advantage; and then I let it lie, fallow,

perchance, for a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to

let alone (Thoreau, 54).

Even now, reading that passage once over, I find it difficult to discern the point of trying to

figure out which trees should stay and which trees should be apart of my cabin. Furthermore,

Thoreau tends to allude to his points through comparison to nature, so without that knowledge, it

is difficult to see what he is really saying. To me, the last part of the sentence a man is rich in

proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone is the most important piece,

so I picked it out and tried to title it. The title I came out with was Let go of excess, which

effectively summarizes the point in a few words. To make my point even clearer, I put a small

couple of sentences below it that read, Excess is a modern societal construct. If you only use

what you need, you will create room for others to have access to what they need, and you don't

have to worry about having more than anyone else! By further elaborating my point, using

words like you and taking the reader step by step, it not only gives the reader the point clearly,

but also connects with them personally. I also added exclamation points at the end of all of my

elaborations, to further impose a light hearted cadence, and to let the reader know that its in

their best interest to listen. By continuing this process every time I found a point I wanted my

life-brochure to have, I was able to condense a very complex piece of literature into something
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even a 10-year-old could understand, thereby making my translation a success because it appeals

to a wider audience.

When I first actually read Walden I was a junior in high school. At that critical time,

students are both lacking in vocabulary and a sense of purpose in an ever shifting world.

Although I had to reread probably every 3 or 4 sentences, the messages ended up ringing

extremely true to my life. I feel that a life free of excess, surrounded by nature, and at ease with

who you are at your core, make for a much more fulfilling and consequentially happy existence.

Every time I try to convey this to my peers, they look at me like Im a weird hippy whos just

speaking weird mumbo-jumbo. If everyone could just read this brochure, and take in its

messages with a degree of self-reflection, I think the world would be a much better place. By

boiling down Walden to its main ideas in an attention grabbing way, without Thoreaus

extensive vocabulary, and his often excessive detail, the reader is able to grasp the ideas of

transcendentalism quickly and effectively, and can hopefully change their life for the better.

Work cited:

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. London: Dent, 1910. Print.