The Misfortune of Inheritance

Thoreau, in Walden, writes “I see young men, my townsmen, whose misfortune it is to have inherited farms, houses, barns, cattle, and farming tools; for these are more easily acquired than got rid of. Better if they had been born in the open pasture and suckled by a wolf, then they might have seen with clearer eyes what field they were called to labor in.”

I truly believe that Thoreau is correct. Even if his “solution” is a bit harsh and unrealizable, his reasoning is valid. Thoreau is commenting on the lack of choice that we have as we grow up and settle into a role in society. Well, we actually do have some choice, but it can be immensely difficult to break free from a path in life that is already open, and has been followed by your closest family members.

I have wondered before if farmers are happy with their profession. Not just farmers, but also other professions can be worth discussing in the context of the Thoreau excerpt. How many engineers picked a path that they were directed toward by someone else? Their inherited farms are instead the promise of an “in’ at the father’s company or even a parent’s prodding to go into the profession.

Farming is still interesting to look at, partly because of my years spent in a small Wyoming town. Actually in Wyoming it was ranching instead of farming. So many of classmates ended up on the family ranch and had either decided on it or resigned themselves to it years before. I sometimes wondered if these people had any choice. If they did have other options, how hard would it have been to case away the life that was inherited: by “misfortune”, according to Thoreau.

I feel a little of what Thoreau talks about, but in a different sense. I picked engineering, and am now starting down the path toward law school. The transition is difficult, primarily because I am so entrenched in the world of engineering.