I heard Jay Parini lecture earlier this semester, which got me interested in his work. I like his gloss on Thoreau in his Promised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America (2008):

Viewed in a certain light, Thoreau can seem like a spoiled child, someone given every opportunity in life who still complains about his situation. But in the larger sense he was right: One can be “enslaved” by values and social circumstances. (111)