It was not until after reading a chapter from the highly regarded Thoreau book "Walden" that I realized how big of an impact it had on others and how it influenced many in the years to come. In the book "Into the Wild" the main character Chris looks up to Thoreau and makes numerous references about him. Both had similar theories about life but ultimately Thoureau was the pioneer of these beliefs. He was the one that came out a made bold statements such as "our life is frittered away upon detail" and "we are determined to be starved before we are hungry". Those thoughts had never been broughten up until Thoreau issued them in his book. These words along with his story titled "Civil Disobedience" paved the way for rebelling against the government and going against what Americans held as values. Henry David Thoreau clearly paved the way for future generations to question American society and do it their own way.