Summary Of Henry David Thoreau : The Woodland Activist

Henry David Thoreau’s words that “disobedience is the true foundation of liberty” and that “the obedient must be slaves” is a political statement that never lost its topicality during the Romantic era. Thoreau served as an important contributor to the philosophical and American literary movement known as New England Transcendentalism. Nature and the conduct of life are two central themes that are often weaved together in his essays and books that were published in the Romantic era of literature. Thoreau brought these two themes together to write on how people ought to live a simplistic life through embracing nature. His naturalistic writing intertwined cataloging and observation with Transcendentalist views of nature. Through his life and

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

Henry David Thoreau, a writer, poet, and naturalist, was one of the most profound philosophical minds of the nineteenth century. Publishing works such as “Nature” and Walden, Thoreau was an outspoken supporter of transcendentalist ideology. Another key figure of the era was Abraham Lincoln, America’s sixteenth president. Lincoln, level-headed and driven, would eventually play a crucial role in the abolition of slavery in the United States. The two, Thoreau and Lincoln, are characterized as wildly different. Thoreau, believing in the power of the individual, clashed head-on with Lincoln’s notion that no change can ever come about without the support of many. In addition, Lincoln and Thoreau could not have had more opposite opinions about the role of government. A final difference can be seen in the pair’s unquestionably contrasting methods of how people should conduct their lives - with passion versus with logic at the wheel. After studying the actions and ideas of the two figures, one can determine that Lincoln’s beliefs about society and government are superior to those of Thoreau. Lincoln’s ideas are more considerate of realistic life in America, as well as more effective in practice. Thoreau and Lincoln show the incredibly separate, radical ideas forming in America during the 1830’s to 40’s. These two figures are a microcosm for the immensely differing ideologies existing in the country.

Henry David Thoreau’s words that “disobedience is the true foundation of liberty” and that “the obedient must be slaves” is a political statement that never lost its topicality during the Romantic era. Thoreau is an important contributor to the philosophical and American literary movement known as New England Transcendentalism. Nature and the conduct of life are two central themes that are often weaved together in his essays and books that were published in the Romantic era of literature. Thoreau brought these two themes together to write on how people ought to live a simplistic life. His naturalistic writing intertwined cataloging and observation with Transcendentalist views of nature. Through his life and his work, Henry David Thoreau has contributed to American Literature since the Romantic era.

Henry David Thoreau was a great American writer, philosopher, and naturalist of the 1800’s who’s writings have influenced many famous leaders in the 20th century, as well as in his own lifetime. Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817, where he was later educated at Harvard University. Thoreau was a transcendentalist writer, which means that he believed that intuition and the individual conscience “transcend” experience and are better guides to truth than are the senses and logical reason (Prentice Hall 1174). Thoreau is well known for writing Walden Pond, Excursions, The Maine Woods, Cape Cod, and A Yankee in Canada. In 1849 Henry David Thoreau wrote an essay

    Thoreau seems to be a very educated political thinker. He can be very stubborn but humble when it comes to his beliefs, “I have contemplated the imprisonment of the offender, rather than the seizure of his goods -- though both will serve the same purpose -- because they who assert the purest right, and consequently are most dangerous to a corrupt state… ”(Thoreau 24. 218). Thoreau has lived in the woods for over six years, without paying state taxes. When the police officer asked him to pay, the non-violently compiled and spent a day in jail. Thoreau did not want to fund the American Mexican war through taxes and believed that people shouldn't be forced to do what they don't think is right. He is also a very optimistic person and believes that the people themselves should be good people, live good lives and therefore we wouldn't need as many laws, “when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.” (1. 210). Thoreau believes that the government is doing the best when doing the least, “I heartily accept the motto, -- “That government is best which governs least” …” (1. 210). Although Thoreau might have an unpopular opinion, he sticks with his beliefs throughout this essay. As he presents his opinion, he does it in the most classy yet confident arguments. He had the thought of the people in mind while writing, showing his good intentions of improving our government.

Thoreau is a hugely influential character in the history of America, helping to define American thought and continue to inspire our modern ideas and authors. “Countless contemporary nature

Henry David Thoreau was an American philosopher known for his interest in politics; specifically raising awareness about the injustice committed by the American government. He’s the author of prominent works like Civil Disobedience and Slavery in Massachusetts, which set the setting for the United States at the time. Both of these works follow a common theme of perseverance through difficult times and the role of the self when choosing right from wrong. Thus, he was deeply engaged in the idea of individualism, suggesting that we are “men first and subject after”. His beliefs led him to refuse to pay taxes as an act of protest against the Mexican War; he was imprisoned for a night and this sparked in him the inspiration to write Civil

Transcendentalism is defined as the philosophical movement that manage an insistence to the idea of culture and society. For example, Robinson gave a meaning of it with the quote, “This philosophy,

American Transcendentalism was an important philosophical and literary movement which placed an emphasis on staying true to one’s beliefs and expressing oneself no matter the situation or consequence. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau fully embraced these beliefs as their influence has allowed these

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau was very close author who wrote towards same points by criticizing the corrupted government because people were treated very badly and they were not given individual rights. They were good author who brought people together and made them understand about the system of the Transcendentalist movement in America. The governor and government itself was very poor to control the people and society due to corrupted leaders and government. Due to economic progress and poor system of government Emerson started criticizing government indirectly and wrote the poem about nature and society because maximum people could not enjoy the same facilities and freedom. But his intension was very clear and he wants to

Transcendentalism was an early philosophical, intellectual, and literary movement that thrived in New England in the nineteenth century. Transcendentalism was a collection of new ideas about literature, religion, and philosophy. It began as a squabble in the Unitarian church when intellectuals began questioning and reacting against many of the church’s orthodoxy ways regarding all of the aforementioned subjects: religion, culture, literature, social reform, and philosophy. They in turn developed their own faith focusing on the divinity of humanity and the innate world. Many of the Transcendentalists ideas were expressed heavily by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essays such as “Nature”, “Self Reliance”, and also in his poems such as “The

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American philosopher, author, poet, abolitionist, and naturalist. He was famous for his essay, “Civil Disobedience”, and his book, Walden. He believed in individual conscience and nonviolent acts of political resistance to protest unfair laws. Moreover, he valued the importance of observing nature, being individual, and living in a simple life by his own values. His writings later influenced the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In “Civil Disobedience” and Walden, he advocated individual nonviolent resistance to the unjust state and reflected his simple living in the nature.

Transcendentalism was a movement that promoted nineteenth-century literary and philosophical beliefs, which influenced many writers and Americans. A key concept of the transcendentalism movement was individuality and staying true to oneself in a society that wants to make individuals fit in. The movement was mainly influenced by writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who had beliefs of spiritualism, individualism, self-improvement, and moral protest. Both writers included various themes of transcendentalism in their writings, but a unifying theme between the writings from class was standing up for original ideas and not conforming to society’s beliefs. Each piece encourages finding answers for oneself, and this transcendental

Transcendentalism describes a school of thought which teaches that each person possesses a different set of beliefs that will ultimately lead the person to find an individual view of truth. It teaches that everyone comes into this world morally sound, and society eventually becomes responsible for each of their downfalls, because society tries to force its own outlook about what truth is and how to find truth onto the individual. Problems which plague an individual can be traced back to parallel the larger problems of the evil society at large. This not only includes the pressures seen through laws and government, but spans over all influences of the human mind, for example, religion and philosophy. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Historic Notes of Life and Letters in New England, he wrote about a specific era in history that teemed with people who started to believe these ideals three hundred years before he was writing. He asserts that that this individualistic, self reliant way of thinking was not new, and should not be limited to influence only one area of human life, but all aspects of society.