In "The American Scholar," Emerson described the three basic stages of a transcendentalist's life: first, he learns all that is of merit in the wisdom of the past; second, he establishes a harmonious relationship with nature through which he is able to discover ethical truths and communicate with the divine. With these two stages, the transcendentalist has developed his higher faculties; he has cultivated his life and "spiritualized" it. (We see the narrator of Walden go through these two stages in his progress toward spiritual rebirth.) After thus cultivating his own spirit, the transcendentalist does not selfishly remain content with himself. The third stage he must attempt, after self-renewal, is the renewal of society-at-large. After being nurtured by books and nature, he must attempt to share his spiritual gains with other men who have not yet achieved their perfect spiritual states.
Walden may be viewed as Thoreau's attempt at this third stage in the transcendental life. In it, we hear the "bragging" narrator reiterating the firm conviction that all men may achieve the exhilaration that he feels. He vividly shows us his life; he "brags" of his achievement; and he tries by his example to renew "the dead dry life of society." Thus, when the narrator "brags," it is not only for himself but for all humanity's potential for greatness. Like the other transcendentalists, Thoreau was a strong moralist, and one of the most distinctive characteristics of Walden is that the narrator consistently tries to alert his readers to their potential for spiritual growth. So, while the narrator may crow loudly, sometimes proudly strutting about, and may boast of his "clear flame" with a degree of pride approaching hubris, it should not be forgotten that his self-pride is to be shared by his readers. If the narrator sometimes seems smug and self-righteous, it must be recalled that he is crowing "to wake his neighbors up" to their own greatness, not just his own.
