Thoreau's Beliefs

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

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.

While Emerson and Thoreau certainly have difference of opinions, they recognize the need for public discussion and discourse. Emerson declares “a foolish consistency” to be “the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson 367). This is shown in their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” in which they support individuality and personal expression. Despite their contrasting views of society and government, the two most

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are still considered two of the most influential writers of their time. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a lecturer, essayist, and poet, Henry David Thoreau is his student, who was also a great essayist and critics. Both men extensively studied and embraced nature, and both men encouraged and practiced individualism and nonconformity. In Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self Reliance" and Henry David Thoreau's book "Walden" and essay "Resistance to Civil Government ("Civil Disobedience")", both thinkers speak about being individual and what reforms and changes need to be made in society. Thoreau stayed with Emerson for a while and was affected by his ideas, especially relating to the individual and

When taking about Thoreau and Emerson, Thoreau is commonly referred to as “Emerson’s Thoreau” because Emerson was Thoreau’s mentor. Both authors were graduates from Harvard, which indicates a similar basic foundation of literary skills. The authors both supported several of the same concepts, they approached the delivery of concepts to people differently, but both clearly supported individualism and self-reliance. Emerson’s view was more abstract without a clear application, while Thoreau gave a detailed account of what people should be doing in order to use individualism to their advantage. Neither author wanted a governing power, Thoreau was anti-government, while Emerson wanted people to be lead by the signs they saw in nature as well as

Emerson had given out a speech that was entitled "The American Scholar" to a crowded house at Harvard. The speech was a very powerful and moving call to Americans to get out from under Europe 's control and form their own culture, shaped by the nation 's unique history and geography. In it he also described that in nature we make our own choice from what is given in nature, and we are to find it for we are all given the choices to select from. Emerson wrote, “- - present to all particular men only partially, or through one faculty; and that you must take the whole society to find the whole man. Man is not a farmer, or a professor, or an

In chapter twelve, "Emerson, Thoreau, and the American Soul" was a captivating section. This is because Emerson and Thoreau were effective and influential transcendentalist writers. Ralph Waldo Emerson born May 25, 1803, started his career as a Unitarian clergyman but left the profession in the 1830s. He was known for writing essays criticizing other authors in an attempt to change American life. Emerson wanted to reform the American mind and had tried to do so in his essay called "Self-Reliance" which showed supreme individualism and called for readers to go against society's norms. One of his followers, Henry David Thoreau, tried to live a life of simplicity, but simply could not because the world was advancing to quickly. In his book "Walden"

He has deeper thoughts. Like Emerson, Thoreau also wanted to live a simple life, in order to find deeper meaning in life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau is transcendentalist. Emerson wrote American Scholar which highlights on creating American’s own writings. The inspiration can be gained through the European writings. There are three important influences upon a mind of scholar that is nature, past and action. A scholar should not focus on a particular thing but should have universal knowledge as they have to be able to gain the pride of the reader. Thoreau even focuses on the importance of nature and how nature helps the poets to relate human with nature. There are differences and relationship between man and nature in Emerson and Thoreau.

Without Emerson and Thoreau’s beliefs in the individual, our country would not have the rights and equalities that make it America. America was founded on individualism. The need to create a government catering to individual needs sparked a revolution against the biggest world power of the time. It is fitting that the only true American literary movement, transcendentalism, is built upon individualism. The first transcendentalist writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, advocated for individuality in his works. Subsequently, Henry David Thoreau, Emerson’s protégée, took Emerson’s ideas to the next level, urging his readers to break free of conformity and live to the fullest. Thoreau also explored how to achieve the coveted individualism that Emerson reveres. The need for activism in individualism is realized in a work written about Thoreau, The Night Thoreau Went to Jail. Individualism is paramount for the transcendentalist lifestyle and sculpts the way these two men lead their lives. The essays “Self Reliance,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “Walden” delve further into these ideals.

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

As America continued to grow and developed so did its writers. A major changed came with writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson was an American philosopher, poet and the leader of the Transcendentalist movement. This movement started as a protest against the current state of the society and culture; and was based on a fundamental belief in the unity of the world and God. "Emerson declared literary independence in the United States and urged Americans to create a writing style all their own and free from Europe" (Ralph). This type of methodology is easily portrayed in his two stories, The American Scholar, and Self Reliance. Thoreau was a nonconformist and attempted to live his life at all times according to his rigorous principles, which became the subject of many of his writings. In "Walden", Thoreau not only tests the theories of Transcendentalism, he re-enacts the collective American experience of the 19th century, living on the frontier. The overall story of "Walden" is in fact a view on Thoreau's radical and controversial perspective of society. Many of Thoreau's repeated, irrelevant details can be traced to his description of what is wrong with the American society. He believed that the society is extremely overwhelmed with material things and they often seem to think that is what matters

While "the Enlightenment" prized rationality and science, Romanticism preferred emotion, imagination, and intuition of the individual. During this era, there was a period of literary creativity in New England circles that became known as Transcendentalism. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two important American writers and leaders of the Transcendentalist movement near Boston. Emerson outlined the Transcendalist basic philosophies in The American Scholar, which was originally written as a speech for Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Thoreau elaborated on living a simple transcendental life in his book On Walden Pond. Emerson and Thoreau both present philosophies of the transcendental life, critique society establishments such as religion and government, and explain the role they believe individuals and nature play in mankind’s quest for progress.

Henry David Thoreau is remembered for his naturalist writings and is considered a leading transcendentalist. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts and began writing nature poetry in 1840. Thoreau would later spend 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days living on Walden Pond in search of a simpler life, where he would gain understanding and a great appreciation for the world around him and write about his experiences. The writings of Thoreau can easily be compared to many of the other authors that we have studied over this course, for example: the works of Drayton, William Bradford, the biography of Olaudah Equiano, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allen Poe, and even in the film The New World by Terence Malick.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American poet during the 1800’s who identified himself as a Transcendentalist. “Self-Reliance” is one of Emerson’s most famous works that is widely known and was published after his death in 1882. Emerson’s works influenced other writers like Henry David Thoreau who was a close friend of Emerson. “Resistance to Civil Government” is one of Thoreau’s most famous works. Although Emerson influenced Thoreau with his works and they were close friends, both of them had two different ideas on the individuality of humans and their way of life. Emerson believed that individuals conform to society and others when they should follow their own way of life, instincts, and ideas. Thoreau thought less towards society and more towards the government. He believed that individual conscience is more important than an unjust government and the laws they created.