Walden: who's who, timeline and places

Everyone in Walden, what happens when, and where, without spoilers: tell us how far you have read and we show only what you already know.

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The narratorThe narrator lives in a self-built home beside Walden Pond and questions accepted habits and material needs.First seen in chapter 1
A Canadian woodchopperA Canadian woodchopper visits the narrator, combining physical skill and contentment with practical reasoning.First seen in chapter 6
TravelersTravelers pass the narrator's bean field and judge his farming methods.First seen in chapter 7
John FieldJohn Field lives with his family in a hut and describes his exhausting meadow work.First seen in chapter 10
John FarmerJohn Farmer considers a more disciplined life as the narrator reflects on self-control.First seen in chapter 11
A poetA poet gathers worms and invites the Hermit to go fishing.First seen in chapter 12
An old manAn old man encounters moving ice in an account the narrator includes while describing Walden's thaw.First seen in chapter 17
Henry ThoreauHenry Thoreau argues that conscience comes before government and uses his tax refusal as an example.First seen in chapter 19

Chapter 1
The narrator introduces his home beside Walden Pond and challenges the burdens of property, debt, and accepted habits.
Chapter 2
After abandoning a farm purchase, the narrator begins sleeping in his unfinished woodland house on July 4, 1845.
Chapter 3
The narrator defends serious reading and urges Concord to support adult education and the arts.
Chapter 4
The narrator spends unhurried mornings observing nature and considers the commerce carried by passing trains.
Chapter 5
Gentle rain ends the narrator's brief doubt about living away from people.
Chapter 6
The narrator welcomes visitors into his small home and weighs the value of different kinds of company.
Chapter 7
The narrator tends his beans by hand, hears travelers judge his methods, and finds pleasure in fieldwork.
Chapter 8
The narrator describes village visits, journeys through dark woods, and imprisonment for refusing a tax.
Chapter 9
The narrator studies Walden's clear water, shoreline, and changing levels while comparing nearby ponds.
Chapter 10
Thunder drives the narrator into John Field's hut, where he recommends fewer wants and more leisure.
Chapter 11
The narrator examines his desires for wild experience and spiritual purity, questioning hunting, fishing, and animal food.
Chapter 12
The narrator watches a fierce battle between ants and compares their violence with human warfare.
Chapter 13
As winter approaches, the narrator gathers wild food, builds his chimney, plasters his cabin, and supplies fuel.
Chapter 14
During snowy isolation, the narrator recalls former woodland residents through surviving plants, wells, stones, and cellar holes.
Chapter 15
The narrator crosses frozen ponds and watches animals feeding near his hut throughout the cold season.
Chapter 16
The narrator measures Walden's greatest depth at 102 feet and watches workers harvest its ice.
Chapter 17
The narrator follows Walden's thaw, watches returning animals, and records the completion of his woodland residence and his departure.
Chapter 18
The narrator explains his departure and urges inward exploration, independent thought, simplicity, and attention to truth.
Chapter 19
Henry Thoreau argues that conscience outweighs government authority and urges people to withdraw financial support from injustice.
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