How Did Ralph Waldo Emerson Influence America

How Did Ralph Waldo Emerson Influence America
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" and
"Nobody can bring you peace but yourself" are famous quotes by American Transcendentalist Ralph
Waldo Emerson. These quotes are examples of how Emerson helped transform the beliefs of
Americans and the customs of American literature, as well as how he was a huge believer in self–
reliance and self–judgement. Although Emerson began his life in a way that seems very common,
starting in the clergy, his life became something different that would influence America for many
years to come.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts, the fourth of eight kids.
His father was a clergyman, something that would influence Emerson later in life (Biography). A
clergyman is a person who is a leader in the church or with a particular religion. A few years later,
when Emerson was eight, his father passed away. After his father's death, his family had no financial
support and they depended on Emerson and his siblings to help them out. Emerson and his family
rarely had enough food for themselves, and he had to often ... Show more content on
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In that same year, he married a lady by the name of Ellen Tucker. Two years later his wife died
unexpectedly and this caused many problems for Emerson in his faith and in his personal life.
Eventually this tragedy caused Emerson to resign from the clergy and to move to a new chapter in
his life far from anything his ancestors had done before (Biography). Years later, in 1835 he
remarried to a lady named Lydia Jackson (Ralph Waldo Emerson). In the 1840s, Emerson and his
wife had a total of four kids, two boys and two girls (Biography). His oldest son, Waldo Emerson,
died in 1842 as still a child and this horrific event caused Emerson much grief and sadness (Ralph
Waldo Emerson). All of these events from his personal life influenced his career and in his
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The Transcendentalism Movement Essay
I picked the Transcendentalism Movement because I found it to be very interesting. From all the
different literary movements we had to choose from Transcendentalism seemed the most
revolutionary. It was an entirely new way of thinking for America back in the 1800's. The
Transcendental Movement started around 1835. The movement was all about individualism and
spiritualism. The idea was that you could achieve true spirituality with god not through the doctrines
of man but through communion with nature. The belief was that there is divinity in all of nature so
to get closer to God you get closer to nature. Some of the writers associated with the movement are
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David ... Show more content on
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After he graduated from college he studied divinity at Harvard (Porte). He eventually became a
pastor but later stepped down from the ministry. He felt unable to carry out all duties required of
him because of religious doubt (Applebee). His first wife died in 1831 from tuberculosis. After her
death he toured Europe seeking out great thinkers along the way. He finally remarried and settled
down in Concord, Massachusetts in 1833. Almost immediately upon returning to the US he started
lecturing and writing (Porte).
In 1836 he published "Nature", an essay said to be a critical turning point for the Transcendental
Movement. In this essay he talks about how if we really want to get in touch with our spirituality we
need to go out into nature. As he puts it "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his
chamber as from society" (Emerson). He was saying that you need to get away from society as
whole because of its constant influence on us even when we are technically alone. To truly be alone
you have to surround yourself with all things natural. Take a walk in the woods because "In the
woods, we return to reason and faith" (Emerson). So for him the way to true faith was through
nature not through a book or words of man. He saw God in the beauty of nature and his spirituality
was in appreciating and reveling in that beauty.
I think the Transcendental Movement was a very important literary movement in American history.
America was

The Effects Of Living At Walden Essay
In 1854, Henry David Thoreau gave us what would become his most famous non–fiction book,
Walden; or life in the Woods. In this, Thoreau describes his project at Walden Pond near Concord,
Massachusetts. Thoreau decided that he was going to live "deliberately" in the woods for over two
years and live off of a limited economy and isolate himself from society in order to gain a more
objective understanding of it. But one has to ask the question, what does Thoreau mean that he
wants to "live 'deliberately'"? Thoreau himself said that he wanted to "live deliberately, to front only
the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to
die, discover that I had not lived."(Thoreau, 61) He wanted ... Show more content on
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The whole bank, which is from twenty to forty feet high, is sometimes overlaid with a mass of this
kind of foliage, or sandy rupture, for a quarter of a mile on one or both sides, the produce of one
spring day. What makes this sand foliage remarkable is its springing into existence thus suddenly.
When I see on the one side the inert bank, –– for the sun acts on one side first, –– and on the other
this luxuriant foliage, the creation of an hour, I am affected as if in a peculiar sense I stood in the
laboratory of the Artist who made the world and me, –– had come to where he was still at work,
sporting on this bank, and with excess of energy strewing his fresh designs about. I feel as if I were
nearer to the vitals of the globe, for this sandy overflow is something such a foliaceous mass as the
vitals of the animal body. You find thus in the very sands an anticipation of the vegetable leaf. No
wonder that the earth expresses itself outwardly in leaves, it so labors with the idea inwardly. The
atoms have already learned this law, and are pregnant by it. The overhanging leaf sees here its
prototype. Internally, whether in the globe or animal body, it is a moist thick lobe, a word especially
applicable to the liver and lungs and the leaves of fat. (*****, labor, lapsus, to flow or slip
downward, a lapsing; *****, globus, lobe, globe; also lap, flap, and many other words); externally, a

Essay Biography of Henry David Thoreau
Biography of Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was born July 12, 1817. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts. He lived a
wonderful life as a poet and essayist. Its sad to say that he pasted away on May 6, 1862 in Concord.
The first year of his life his family moved away, but also returned five years later. He grew up in a
village and later reached his manhood. His favorite thing about the village was the woodlands,
streams, and meadows. He was the third child in his family. As his life was expanding meeting new
people he grew into a friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was also a poet and essayist.
It made it easier for Thoreau to write. Their friendship started when Emerson settled in Concord
during Thoreau's ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Thoreau had to become a surveyor to support himself. He had a new collection evolving. His
collection contained botanical specimens for himself and reptilians for Harvard which he used to jot
down descriptions in his journal. Thoreau's appearance spoke mostly of his life. A complete failure.
His neighbors saw him as a familiarity verging on contempt. He printed his first book which was
kind of a good seller. His book was called A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, which
sold nearly 220 copies. The remaining 700 books that weren't sold, the publishers dumped on his
doorstep. His second and last book that was published was called Walden was fared better but still
not a good seller. Some of Thoreau's major works are listed "Ktaadn and the Maine Woods" which
was published in 1848 and revised in 1864, "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers;
published in 1849. "Resistance to Civil Government" published in 1849 and then republished in
1866. Those some of Thoreau's journal entries that he published before his death in 1862. The
writings of Henry David Thoreau,20 vol. is an edition of Thoreau's books, essays, and journals. This
book is being replaced by Princeton Edition which is producing books of high knowledge. Collected
poems by Thoreau is enlarged and edited by Carl Bode, brings together Thoreau's selected poems
particularly in his younger years. Henry David Thoreau died of tuberculosis. He lived his last few
years knowing that he had that disease and

Henry David Thoreau: The Grat Transcendentalist Essay
Henry David Thoreau along with a select group of people propelled the short movement of
transcendentalism during the 1830s to the 1850s and was later brought up during the Vietnam War.
Many of the transcendentalist ideas came from student who attended Harvard University during this
time period. Henry David Thoreau's individualistic anarchist views on society were developed
throughout his early life and later refined in his years of solitude; these views on society and
government are directly expressed in much of his work.
Much of Henry David Thoreau's work was affected by his early life and education. Henry David
Thoreau was born into a normal middle class family in Concord Massachusetts on July 12, 1817.
Thoreau's family were ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
These classical writers served as great inspiration for the young writer. Like many other
transcendentalists "Thoreau was an avid reader of Hindu scriptures and he quotes them often in
Walden", "The Hindu and transcendentalist belief in the imminence of god leads to the doctrine that
every person can, without the need for an intermediary, experience the divine within himself or
herself" (Norvell 1). Thoreau captured a lot of these moral values and brought them with him
throughout his life. This is a perfect comparison to Thoreau's individualistic ideas and appeal to
institution. Years after graduating Harvard, Thoreau submitted many essays to the transcendentalist
magazine, the dial. These essays greatly reflected his college education in literature. Emerson's
speech at Thoreau's graduation also was reflected in much of his essays. Thoreau was greatly
impacted by this speech, from then on Emerson was a life mentor for the young writer.
During Thoreau's life he was influenced greatly by many transcendentalists who were educated at
Harvard University such as Edward Everett, William Channing, and Andre Horton. "The writings of
Thoreau shaped the passive resistance methods of the civil rights movement", says Martin Bickman
of the university of Colorado. This passive resistance method was a way to

Henry David Thoreau's Life And Accomplishments
Henry David Thoreau was born in mid July of 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. Henry's family was
rather modest and his father was employed as a pencil maker. Henry David Thoreau was born with a
legal name David Henry Thoreau, in memory of his recently deceased uncle, David Thoreau.
Although Henry never legally petitioned to change his name, he began referring to himself as Henry
after he had finished college.
Henry David Thoreau was enrolled in the Harvard College from 1833 to 1837. Henry studied
various courses in rhetoric, classics, philosophy, mathematics and science. However, in 1835, Henry
took a hiatus from Harvard College, and taught school in Canton, Massachusetts. After his return to
Harvard and sequential graduation, Henry and his ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He bagan reading works of botanists such as William Bartram and Charles Darwin. Thoreau began
dabbling with in observational science, and recorded various information on the ripening of fruit,
migration of birds, and the depths of Walden Pond. It was throughout his work as a land surveyor
that he emerged as a philosopher and ecological analyst. Thoreau travelled to Cape Cod,
Massachusetts on multiple occasions, as well as to the forestry of Maine (Britannica, 2018). These
landscapes acted as inspiration for his writing and philosophy. Furthermore, Thoreau would travel to
Philadelphia, New York City, Niagara Falls, Detroit, and Chicago to fulfill his wanderlust, and
endless curiosity about foreign people's, cultures, religions, and natural history of the

Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is Transcendentalism? The term originated with the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who
used it to refer to knowledge not known through the five senses. Its beliefs affected, in varying
degrees, virtually all American writers during the romantic period. In America the movement started
with one man: Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's transcendentalist ideas are best reflected in his
essay "Nature." The beliefs of transcendentalism greatly affected American writers of the mid 1800's
(St. John et al. 196). When you are asked a question, you are expected to have an answer. It might be
right or wrong, but you should be able to explain why you think the answer you are giving is
correct. Transcendentalism was started as a New England philosophy, ... Show more content on
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Emerson moved to Concord in 1834. His essay "Nature," a systematic exposition of the main
principles of Transcendentalism, was published anonymously in 1836. Its publication sparked a
period of intense intellectual ferment and literary activity (St.john et al. 196). To know eternal truth
in this life, transcendentalists turned instead to nature, which they believed communicates divine
ideas directly to persons willing to listen. In this communication, such people become virtually
united to god (St.john et al. 196). However, this "god" Emerson spoke of is not the god of the Bible.
Transcendentalists taught that the Biblical God is only the Jewish version of the true god and thus no
different from the gods claimed by other religions in the world. The true god, they declared, is the
Over–Soul, a spiritual presence residing everywhere in the universe. The tendency of some
transcendentalists to regard nature and god as synonymous led them to pantheism, the worship of
the universe as god. This changed Emerson's day to day way of life. He used his landscape and
music to teach how to live and worship his god (St.john et al.

Henry David Thoreau's Sociological Experimentation in...
In Henry David Thoreau's writings, he explores a different, more thoughtful way of life. Thoreau
was a student of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson gave Thoreau the property on Walden Pond in
Concord, Massachusetts; where Thoreau spent about two years living away from the society.
Thoreau's social experimentation required him to separate himself from the society, to be an
individual, and to learn from his experiences. Henry David Thoreau was given a piece of property
on Walden Pond by Emerson. Even though it was against Emerson's beliefs; Thoreau separated
himself from society by moving to the property on Walden Pond. This action was an experiment of
self reliance; not an escape from society. Thoreau was arrested for not paying his taxes. ... Show
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Thoreau reflects on his beliefs on how the government was immoral towards him and his separation
from society; "I simply wish to refuse allegiance to the State, to withdraw and stand aloof from it
effectually." ("Civil Disobedience", 101) Thoreau's separation from society also results him being an
individual. He learns to live and succeed by himself, without the influences from others.
"A common and natural result of an undue respect for the law is, that you may see a file of
soldiers.....marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against
their common sense and consciences..." ("Civil Disobedience",94)
As an example, he feels as if soldiers have been influenced by the government and community. They
go against their opinion by taking the government to a point that is too far. Therefore the soldiers'
individualism is being taken away. Thoreau believes in the importance of one's self and that the
government takes the individuality away from people. Another thought he has is that, material items
make one's life have a lower quality and weakening their character. A person needs to build up their
inner self; soul and mind. To build up their inner soul they need to; be solitary, reflect of their
thoughts, and immerse themselves in nature. The government and society take away from a person
from being who they are by influential actions. In Thoreau's mind, he views life experience as the
way to learn. Thoreau believes that

How Did Henry David Thoreau Contribute To Transcendentalism
Research Paper A reader who better understands Henry David Thoreau's life is someone who also
knows he was emphasizing the importance of empirical thinking and of spiritual matters over the
physical world. Henry David Thoreau is remembered for his philosophical and naturalist writings in
which he viewed nature as more important than any materialistic thing.
Thoreau is one of Americas most popular writers. Born and raised in Concord, massachusetts with
two other siblings. After he was all grown up and mature, he decided to attend to Harvard College,
which is now known as the famous Harvard University. He studied Latin, German, and Greek.
Graduating in 1837, he was unsure what his next move may be. A person with his education has a
very good chance at getting very high paying jobs. His ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
John became ill and Thoreau went to work for his father.
Henry's writing phase started when he got out of college and became friends with a fellow writer
Ralph Waldo Emerson, who exposed him to Transcendentalism, a school of thought that emphasized
the importance of empirical thinking and spiritual matters from the physical world. Some of Henry's
first works were published in The Dial; a Transcendentalist magazine
http://www.biography.com/people/henry–david–thoreau–9506784
The year of 1845 Henry built a small house that he had all to himself. That house was built on a land
called Walden Pond which Emerson owned. Henry lived there a good 2 years there, but the life was
not simple enough for him. Henry dabbled in a pencil factory for a little while while also working as
a land surveyor as well. His brand new schedule gave him tons of wonderful free time so he wasted
his time writing these books; A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) and Walden; or,
Life in the Woods. But luckily Thoreau was smart and knew he wasn't wasting his time because
Walden; or, Life in the Woods was a

Thoreau’s Journey: Problem, Need, Lifestyle, and...
Walden; Or, Life In The Woods is a self–experiment that provides an ideal opportunity to evaluate
the author's philosophy. The book is an account of Henry David Thoreau's journey of self–discovery
as he attempts to live a life of simplicity and self–reliance in the woods of Massachusetts. His
exploration of his two years and two months living in a cabin near Walden Pond is considered a
seminal work of early American transcendentalism. Thoreau never explicitly reveals the spiritual
truth at the end of his journey. Still, a discerning Christian reader can note the main transcendental
themes and ideals that Thoreau demonstrates, separating that which should be applauded from that
which should be rejected. Thoreau sees mankind's ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Ever obsessed with appearances, civilization has built beautiful palaces. Unfortunately, Thoreau
laments that "it [is] not so easy to create noblemen and kings." Progress creates an illusion of
freedom, but is, in reality, a harsh master. This slavery leads to unfamiliarity with one's inner self
and destruction of one's special connection with nature. Because he is out of touch with his own
nature, man exists in a state of fear and confusion worse than chattel slavery. If man was ever
divine, he has fallen far, Thoreau observes. "How godlike, how immortal is he?" he bemoans. Man
lives in fear, denying his divinity, a slave to the standards imbued in him by society. Once existing
as a part of nature, mankind now treats the earth as its slave. Thus, "he knows Nature but as a
robber." Because of man's spiritual stupor, Thoreau sees a need for spiritual re–awakening. Like a
physical awakening, spiritual awakening requires an opening of the eyes and a sharpening of the
senses. There must be a rejection of the dreamworld and an investigation of the truth. "Rather than
love, than money, than fame, give me truth," Thoreau asserts. To find it, the awakened man must
become both alert to both his surroundings and his own being. An obvious theme in Walden is that
communion with nature promotes spiritual alertness. The book is brimming with Thoreau's brushes
with creation and the spiritual revelation he gains from them. In

Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
INTRODUCTION
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister,
development critic, surveyor, historian , philosopher andtranscendentalist. Henry David Thoreau
was a complex man of many talents who worked hard to shape his craft and his life. He is best
known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay,
Civil Disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to
an unjust state.
Henry's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry total over 20 volumes. Among his lasting
contributions were his writings on natural history and philosophy, where he anticipated the methods
and findings of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The school ended when John became fatally ill from tetanus in 1842[19] after cutting himself while
shaving. He died in his brother Henry's arms.[20] Meanwhile, he was spending a good deal of time
writing – he had begun a journal in 1837 which ran to 14 volumes of close–packed print when
published after his death. He wanted to be a poet.
But America starved its poets as a rule, and Thoreau spent much of his life attempting to do just
what he wanted and at the same time to survive. For he wanted to live as a poet as well as to write
poetry. He loved nature and could stay indoors only with effort. The beautiful woods, meadows, and
waters of the Concord neighborhood attracted him like a drug. He wandered among them by day
and by night, observing the world of nature closely and sympathetically. He named himself, half
humorously, "inspector of snow–storms and rainstorm
Ralph Emerson's Assessment
Upon graduation Thoreau returned home to Concord, where he met Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Thoreau's struggles were watched with compassion by an older Concord neighbor who was also one
of America's great men, Ralph Waldo

Essay The Incredible Henry David Thoreau
By the year 1840 the concept of Independence had been forever embedded in American tradition
and American government. The value of freedom had yet to be accepted nor granted peacefully. The
Revolution released America from the grasp of Britain and it would take yet another war to release
the black man from the shackles of slavery. America was still in its infancy; the West was not yet
settled, the South was still a confederacy and unity was just a dream. The country was torn by
slavery. And some men began to question the integrity of their government. Henry David Thoreau
was one such man.
Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to a successful pencil manufacturer John
Thoreau and a strong–willed, quick–witted mother, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Surrounded by great minds like Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thoreau traded philosophies
and refined his own continuing to write, all the while being pushed by his contemporaries to lecture
and write until finally he traveled to New York. His stay would not last long. The hustle and bustle
of the big city exemplified the country's materialism and disgusted Thoreau. He promptly returned
to Concord where he built a small cabin on Emerson's land alongside Walden Pond. For two years
he experimented with farming and writing, and studied nature.
Meanwhile, the country was at war with Mexico over the rights to Texas. One night in July1846
Thoreau spent a night in the Concord jail for refusing to pay the poll tax, which helped to finance
the war with Mexico. It's safe to say that Henry did a great deal of thinking that night. In the future
this night would be celebrated as the most important night of his entire life. Thoreau's beliefs as a
transcendentalist are well known; a striving to attain spiritual connections between God, Nature and
the human Mind, but it is his personal philosophy of "an interconnectedness" of all things in nature
including human beings that awakens him to the idea of independence. In Walking he describes how
"in wildness is the preservation of the world…the most alive is the wildest." Meaning that
humans all have a "wild savage in us" that pulls us

A Wondering Ideal in "Walden" Essay
Henry David Thoreau writes of his experiences in his two–year experiment of "self reliance" on
Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. It is my opinion that Thoreau thought of himself as
better than the average person and to an extent better than the person reading his very work. The
allusions and ideals expressed in this work wreak of a smug and "better than though" context. The
purpose of this experiment was to enact the philosophies and ideals of self– reliance and simplicity.
His idea of simplicity is strewn throughout this work, ranting through a seemingly indecipherable
mixture of allusions, metaphors, and actual ideas. One that I think is really very important is the
concept of "modern improvements" (Thoreau 95). During a ... Show more content on
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Although I do not agree, his reasoning behind it is quite simple. The distance that a train travels is
thirty miles and its fare for this distance is ninety cents, "almost a days wage" (96). He says that he
can ultimately arrive quicker on foot, than a person riding this train. He can walk this distance with
no cost or debts involved but to ride this train a person must first work to earn this ninety cents and
then take the train, which then in turn, will sum to be more time consuming than simply walking this
distance. This example is one of many that further reinforce this idea of self–reliance and simplicity.
The chapter titled "Where I lived, and What I lived for" talks about his search for a plot of land
suitable for his intended purpose, among other things. In my opinion, his ideas wander through
metaphors and references that may have been suited for different readers with a different knowledge
base. In the second page of this chapter, his whole idea of simplicity is brought up again. He says
that, "a man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone" (126). In
my estimation, he simply means that a man is rich, not in terms of tangible wealth, but in knowledge
and self–control by what he stand to live without. Thoreau tells us that his home was located "by the
shore of a small pond, about a mile and a half south of the village of Concord"

Examples Of Transcendentalism
What is transcendentalism? Mainly transcendentalism can be viewed in various ways. Ralph Waldo
Emerson explains transcendentalism in three major points. One point is you need to follow your
own genius. Another point is the blessing of nonconformity and lastly the horrors of conformity.
These points are used to help build a society not necessarily to be a paragon but to build a
civilization based only on the essentials of life. Nathaniel Hawthorne gave the first defining
statement of a transcendentalist by stating that neither he nor anyone else has ever been able to
describe them. During the 1800's in Massachusetts the movement of Transcendentalism was born.
Beginning as a quarrel within the Unitarian church the movement rippled throughout ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
"I went to the woods," he wrote in Walden, "because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the
essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die,
discover that I had not lived." "The basic premise of transcendentalism was that reality lies in the
worlds of thought and spirit; yet the world of things reflects intellectual and spiritual truths and
hence merits close attention"(Westbrook). "There seems to be a necessity in spirit to manifest itself
in material forms," Emerson wrote; and Thoreau in one of his essays, echoed Emerson: "Let us not
underrate the value of a fact; it will be one day flow into a truth"(Ryden). However, both Emerson
and Thoreau thought that material things were being vastly overrated in the America of their times.
Believing that "our life is frittered away by detail"(Thoreau), "Thoreau at Walden Pond attempted to
simplify his own existence to the utmost in order to free it from the conventions and concerns that in
his opinion deaden the spirit"(Westbrook). Henry Thoreau once famously noted that he had
"traveled much in Concord," and over the years, scholars have traveled equally much in Thoreau,
finding in him a chorus Of "representative men," to borrow a title from his friend and mentor Ralph
Waldo Emerson. He is the exemplar of Emersonian self–reliance; he is the man who puts
transcendental philosophy into practice on the shores of Walden Pond; he is the voice of political
conscience, forerunner of Gandhi and King; and, increasingly of late, he is a prominent poster boy
for American environmentalism

Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau Essay
Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau grew up in
poverty; his dad was unsuccessful and had trouble maintaining a steady job. Thoreau followed in his
father's footsteps, ultimately bouncing from job to job, scorned by society for his unconventional
way of living and lack of income (Henry David Thoreau, Discovering Biography). Thoreau began to
write with the guidance of Ralph Waldo Emerson who became one of the most important influences
in his life. Living with Emerson gave Thoreau insight and inspiration on how to write, and
eventually led him to write Walden (Henry David Thoreau, Discovering Biography). Walden was
also inspired by Transcendentalism, a literary movement that challenged the use and ... Show more
Walden's main themes and ideas embody the Transcendentalist literary movement. Thoreau proves
in Walden that although society may feel overbearing and laden with responsibilities, each person
may do whatever he or she pleases. It is society and its glorified version of material things that
makes people think that they always have to be one step ahead, when in reality it does not matter.
Thoreau wrote Walden to point out the irony that people are possessed by their possessions
(Swirski). Thoreau wanted to prove that a life led simply could be more fulfilling than a life led by
an obsession of material things. This idea of the simplicity of human nature was one of the main
ideas of Transcendentalism. Thoreau's work was heavily influenced by the Transcendentalist
movement due to his involvement with Emerson (Swirski).
Another theme of Walden is unity with God. Thoreau believed that God was unified with
philosophy, nature, and humanity, an idea that stemmed from the Transcendentalist movement. The
Transcendentalist movement was a religious movement characterized by the belief that religion was
what was inside of you, not what other people told you ("Thoreau, Henry David"). Thoreau was a
strong believer in what this movement stood for, and because of this, he immersed himself into
nature to discover religion and God inside of himself. Thoreau then wrote Walden to

Alternative Lifestyles in Krakauer's Into the Wild and...
After reading Krakauer and Thoreau I have learned about an alternative lifestyle that was brought to
light by both of these writers. Both of these men write about a life of minimalism and the act of
self–reliance. Through Thoreau's writing about his own life in Walden and his essay "Civil
Disobedience" and the story of Chris McCandless told by Krakauer in his book Into the Wild we
learn about two similar but at times very different viewpoints on the subject. I would like to
compare the two lifestyles and show how different the lifestyle of McCandless was to Thoreau and
ultimately prove that the actions of McCandless were careless and eventually led to his death in the
wilderness of Alaska. When starting to compare both of the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Thoreau was a man that loved nature. Even before he started his "experiment" he was a man of
nature and lived his life aware of all his surroundings. He also was very into politics and the
economy. Along with being know for his time spent at Walden, he is also know for a night spent in
jail during the two years he was in the woods. "In real time, the American philosopher and naturalist
spent exactly two years, two months and two days (1845–1847) living in relative solitude at Walden
Pond on the outskirts of his native Concord, Massachusetts. In between two of these 794 days,
Thoreau spent only one night, albeit a historic one, in jail rather then pay taxes which he said
supported slavery and unjust war"(Conrad 137). He was a very intelligent man that had strong
beliefs and did the things he did with strong reasoning and thought. You will find that these
characteristics will be the ones that separate him greatly from McCandless. Jon Krakauer tells the
life of Chris McCandless in the bestselling book Into the wild. The book documents McCandless'
life through personal journals and interviews of the many people he came into contact with
throughout his travels. His life comes off of one that was carefree, giving and lived to the most
natural of lives somebody could live. Krakauer does a wonderful job of tugging at the heartstrings of
his readers and painting the beautiful picture that is Chris McCandless. I will show that the

Essay on Thoreau's Journey to Find the Simple Life
Simple is the way of life that transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau advocated as the most
fulfilling of all. Although sometimes irrational, Thoreau wanted a life that was more closely
connected with nature in comparison with the majority of a rapidly industrializing America. He
favored a more agrarian approach rather than a mechanized form of work and production, for that he
believed was alienating man from his roots. Walden, one of Thoreau's most famous commentaries
on such a lifestyle, puts his ideology in perspective as he trod the forests of Concord, Massachusetts
near Walden Pond. Living in and around a small cabin, Thoreau realizes that when one is with
nature and nature alone, he sees life as immeasurable and unlimited in its ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
He goes on to say, "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...to drive life into a
corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean...publish its meanness to the
world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience and be able to give a true account of it in my
next excursion" (74). In this rather long passage, he outlines his true sentiment about life and living.
He puts his feelings in very plain, broad terms, claiming that in order to know what life has to offer,
one must do all that they can to "experience" it, and then judge for themselves. One cannot have
lived if they have not confronted the true "essential facts of life," whether they may be sweet or
bitter. As Thoreau's journey progresses, he comes to realize that solitude, however lonely, is no more
lonely than "the first spider in a new house." Using this simile, Thoreau compares the busy spider to
himself in a place that is yet to be inhabited. The spider represents one that is living with a purpose:
whether diversion or food. Thoreau on the other hand, is just as alone as the spider, yet also
scurrying in the forest for life's essentials. Neither is discontent nor lonely, for they are living for a
purpose. Thoreau's conclusion, however convoluted, summarizes his intentions and beliefs on life as

Henry David Thoreau Research Paper
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817. He lived in a farm
house with his mother, Cynthia, his father , John and his three siblings, Helen, John and Sophia.
Thoreau along with his brother John attended a grammar school in Concord before entering in
concord academy in 1828. When he was not in school, Thoreau enjoyed being outside, taking long
walks in the woods and exploring nature. Besides loving nature, he also had an aptitude for
construction and mechanics. When Thoreau graduated at Concord Academy in 1833, He decided to
attend Harvard University endorsed by his mom. With financial support of his entire family,
including his ants and siblings they could afford the tuition which was $179 by the time with room
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He was frequently feeling ill however; he graduated with a bachelor of arts on August 30, 1837.
Thoreau began to write journals on October of 1837, writing over two million words that made 14
volumes. In the fall of 1838, Thoreau along with his brother John, opened their own private school.
John thought English and math while Henry thought language and science. After his brother's death
in 1841, Henry had to close the school not being able to handle by himself. He returned to work
with his father in the pencil business but his friend, mentor and neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson
invited him to work as a live–in handyman in his home. After living with Emerson for two years,
Thoreau developed ambitions to become a writer, with his help, Henry wrote some poems and
essays which were published in journals. Since he was writing all the time he decided to move out in
order to have some privacy and silence. He needed a retreat. Thoreau developed a plan to build his
own cabin in 1845. The cabin was built on 14 acres of land on the northwestern of Walden Pond.
While living there, he refused to pay a poll tax and got arrested by the local

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as Fathers of...
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as Fathers of Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism was a movement in writing that took place in the mid–nineteenth century. It
formed in the early to mid nineteenth century and reached it climax around 1850 during an era
commonly referred to as the American Renaissance, America's Golden Day, or the Flowering of
New England.
The basic tenets of Transcendentalism involve the relationships between one's self and the world at
large. First, the search for truth in Transcendentalism begins with the individual. The thoughts of
Transcendentalist writers must come from themselves and not from others. They could study
previous works for inspiration, but they could not take the ideas of others. ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
He settled in Massachusetts and published "Nature," his first important essay.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Nature" is sometimes referred to as the Gospel of Transcendentalism
because it set a foundation for Transcendentalism that subsequent writers could use as an example.
"Nature" searches for truth in the individual. It establishes as idealist tone in the story, which means
it sees that everything can be made better. However, Emerson's idealist ideas, in contrast to the
theories of other writers, perceive the view of the world with God.
Another renowned writer from the era of Transcendentalism is Henry David Thoreau. Henry David
Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1817. At Concord Academy and at Harvard, he
struggled to maintain his grades in English. He wanted his reading to be determined by his own
preferences rather than by the orders of others. Thoreau met Ralph Waldo Emerson at Harvard, and
he was impressed by Emerson's address at Thoreau's graduation.
Thoreau was always interested in following his own path in life. When he graduated from Harvard,
he went against the intentions of his father and took a job as a teacher at Concord Academy. After
several different occupations, Thoreau spent some time living in the Emerson household. Thoreau
modeled his thoughts and attitudes after those reflected in Emerson's work. He tried lecturing like
Emerson did but he was unsuccessful. He published work

Henry David Thoreau And Walden Comparison
Concord, Massachusetts was home to many of America's most influential writers during the 1830's.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, were two transcendentalist thinkers that
pioneered a new philosophy that went beyond the fundamental principles of human knowledge and
ultimately helped create a literary and philosophical independence from Europe (Jone Johnson
Lewis). During this decade well–educated people around the Concord area turned to nature to
understand spirituality, and wanted more than the rational perspective of philosophers preceding
them. In the works of Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walden by Henry David Thoreau one
can understand the roles of nature as to serve man in understanding the answers to life's most
perplexing questions through themes of simplicity, spirituality, duality, and unity.
Nature is a complex system where everything is working together with a perfect order. Yet the
philosophers of the transcendentalism era believed in getting away from the hustle and bustle of city
life to a more simple life in nature where one could find their self. Emerson believed that nature was
and experience of solitude. In the quote, "A man's power to connect his thought with its proper
symbol, and so to utter it, depends on the simplicity of his character, that is , upon his love of
truth..." from ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Thoreau's believes in simplicity to reduce problems of "trivial affairs". In the quote, "Every morning
was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature
herself." Thoreau links simplicity with nature. Thoreau conveys the message that a person can live
simply through wisdom and just because the smarter and more successful your life is does not mean
that you have to give in to its complexity. By reducing your life's problems and options into simplest
terms Thoreau believes you can live happily and find

Thoreau's View Of Human Nature And Society
In many English literature classes, large amounts of time are spent reading classic books while
interpreting the meaning of symbols and literary devices along the way. Being able to depict deeper
meaning of Thoreau's writing can reflect his views of human nature and society. In addition, readers
understand the culture and environment in which Thoreau was brought up in. Not to mention,
analyzing literature encourages individuals to think more critically about their own culture and
society. Furthermore, the reader can better understand the events of a former movement through the
literature produced during that time. With this being said, setting provides the historical and cultural
context for characters. Equally important, it often symbolizes the emotional state of characters,
especially in Thoreau's writing, Walden. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Also, individuals begin to show a higher appreciation for literature if it relates to their own life in
ways they never realized. Often times this is based upon the history of characters within the story.
As readers determine the significance of each character, the purpose of analysis becomes more
useful. In support of this, Thoreau's dominant belief in self–exploration and spiritual awareness is
conveyed in a such a way that the reader is influenced to change their own life. Similarly, the
recurring concept of self–reliance is the principle theme indicating that independence is more
valuable than the alternative. In this way, Thoreau controls his perceptions about life. Ultimately,
discovering the unique meaning behind Thoreau's work can increase one's appreciation for
literature. From the beginning of the story, the underlying importance of self–reliance is expressed
through setting and

Spiritually Rich Life in Thoreau´s Novel Walden
In the novel Walden, by Thoreau, the author hopes to explain the spiritually rich life he enjoyed at
Walden Pond, and by setting an example of his own experience, teaches people about the negatives
and positives of theirs. While given the opportunity to view society from the outside in, he observes
how others waste their lives by rushing here and there, blindly chasing wealth and a social status
which barely satisfies their needs. He can only regretfully conclude that modern man, obsessed with
material gain, has "not leisure for a true integrity . . . he has not time to be anything but a machine."
In the first chapters of Walden, Thoreau indeed claims that many of his neighbors are working their
lives away, and suggests that many of his readers are likely deeply in debt. He states that most of the
people live lives as if they were sleeping, following the rules of what society thinks is right and are
trapped in these lives, enslaved in jobs they do not desire. While comparing most of his neighbors
work to allusions of mythological figures, it is clear that Thoreau is an educated man. This makes
the reader wonder the irony of how could such an intelligent man be against education. He argues
that universities steal the money of students, teaching them about life when instead they can learn
more by living life rather than ending up in thousands of debt. This is true because students have
this mindset, thinking that if they do not go to college, they will not get a degree

American Revolution Affects The City Of Concord,...
The book tells the story of how the American Revolution affects the city of Concord, Massachusetts.
The American Revolution was a battle between the united thirteen colonies and Great Britain. The
thirteen colonies fought for the independence under the control of Great Britain. The Treaty of Paris
ended the war and the American colonies won their independence. There is no actual event that is
proven to be the cause of the war, the war began as a disagreement of how Great Britain treated the
colonies. The American colonies felt as if they should have the equal rights as the Englishmen.
Britain however, believed that the colonies should be treated in a way that was best suitable for
Britain. This event caused most of the up roar of the American

Henry David Thoreau Social Experiment Research Paper
Henry David Thoreau: Social Experiment "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the
life you've imagined"(Thoreau). This is a quote said by Henry David Thoreau who is one of the
famous people who created the new era of american literature, Transcendentalism.
Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophy and a social movement that developed in new england
around 1836. Henry David Thoreau was a very social man but in the experiment at walden he found
life's simplicities and he refused to perform labor. Thoreau befriended Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Emerson exposed Thoreau to Transcendentalism. Thoreau helped in the creation of a new era of
american literature. Thoreau build a small and simple house on walden pond. This pond was owned
by Ralph ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Though Thoreau voices sharp criticisms of civilized life, the pond is wrong claiming that he doesn't
care about "other humanity" but in all reality Thoreau did care about humanity in fact he invited
people to walden, had friendly chats, and often visited Concord. Thoreau's choice in staying at
walden was not a lifestyle choice, it was a simple experiment in alternative living. I agree that
Thoreau is a social person and that living at Walden was a mere experiment. "the mass of men lead
lives of quiet desperation." This quote is important because it sums up the side of Thoreau that most
people forgot; he was deeply social and a morally inspired writer. "I went to the woods because i
wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if i could not learn what it
had to teach, and not, when i came to die discover that i had not lived". Its saying that he went into
the woods to see what he could learn. Its shows that it was an experiment to see what he could learn.
"A field of water betrays the spirit is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from
above. It is intermediate between land and

Thought Provoking Philosophies In Henry David Thoreau's...
Nicholas Tanabe
APES Book Review – Walden by Henry David Thoreau
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life,
and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not
lived." This is one of the many thought provoking quotes which come up in Henry David Thoreau's
Walden. While I thought that Thoreau presented some interesting and thought provoking
philosophies I can't say that I enjoyed reading the book as a whole. I thoroughly (Thoreauly lol)
enjoyed reading his ideas that he presented although I did not agree with all of them. I also think
certain parts of the book were just boring and monotonous like the ten pages where he poetically
tells us about his bean fields. The book was published ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He explains that we are slaves to these possessions as we spend a large portion of our lives laboring
for these items, For example, over this summer I worked many hours to save up for a car. If I buy
the car at $5000, working at minimum wage being $8.75 an hour, I will have exchanged 571.4 hours
or 23.8 days of my life for the car. A better example of this may be a medical school which someone
isn't paying $200,000 for but about 15 years of their life when all the debt has finally been paid off.
This made me ask the question: Is it worth it? While this part did provoke some thought in my
personal life, I came to the realization that those days of my life I exchanged for a car would most
likely have been wasted on watching television or some other unproductive activity which in the end
is taking time off my life so really I think it was worth

Emerson's Influence On Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism
During the mid to late eighteen hundreds, a new type of philosophy and religion was being
developed by a few great minds. This social movement was called transcendentalism. Entailing a
looser view on how one should worship, transcendentalism teaches that the absolute divinity of God
pervades all. One man in particular had the greatest impact, helping sculpt the views of a nation.
From humble beginnings as the son of a Unitarian minister to a nationally known lecturer and
essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson changed the way people thought about spirituality and religion with
his works on transcendentalism.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's upbringing was not unusual for the time. He was born in Boston on May 25,
1803 to a fairly well know ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Waldo was also publicly against the relocation of the Cherokees as he expressed in a letter to
President Martin Van Buren. He urged the president to reconsider and hold a hearing for future
discussions("Ralph Waldo Emerson's letter"). It was people like Waldo who refused to bend to the
whims of society that helped bring about a new way of thinking by challenging deeply seated

Quest for Wisdom Essay
Quest for Wisdom: Two Approaches
Two approaches to the "Quest for Wisdom" that I enjoyed are Walden, by Henry David Thoreau and
Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl. Both of the authors took similar approaches by
using narration of a main segment of their lives to explain their philosophy and how they arrived at
their conclusions. Though both conclusions represent individualism they are strikingly different.
Thoreau values the doctrines of Transcendentalism, seeking ones inner self through Nature, while
Frankl Existentialism values the interpretation of individual experiences and responsibility of ones
actions.
Thoreau spent years building his approach and developing his own beliefs. Born in Concord,
Massachusetts, in July ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
His statement to man seeking a similar life, was: "I would not have any one adopt my mode of
living on any account; for, beside that before he has fairly learned it I may have found out another
for myself, I desire that there may be as many different persons in the world as possible; but I would
have each one be very careful to find out and pursue his own way, and not his father's or his
mother's or his neighbor's instead. The youth may build or plant or sail, only let him not be hindered
from doing that which he tells me he would like to do. It is by a mathematical point only that we are
wise, as the sailor or the fugitive slave keeps the polestar in his eye; but that is sufficient guidance
for all our life." (P158 Thoreau) I believe instead through out his writings, Thoreau was trying to
suggest that a person be more self–reliant and self–sufficient. That people gain wealth in personal
experience and the beauty of Nature. Through self–exploration and discovery they seek the truth and
draw inner strength from it.
Viktor Frankl began his education early in the study of psychology. He finished his high school
years with a psychoanalytic essay on the philosopher Schopenhauer, a publication in the
International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and began correspondence with Sigmund Freud. In 1925, a
year after graduating and on his way towards his medical degree, he met Freud in person The
following year, Frankl

Compare and Contrast the Relationship between Man and...
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on 1817, the third child of John Thoreau
and Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau. He was graduated from Harvard in 1837, Thoreau returned to
Concord to teach in the local grammar school, but resigned shortly in only his second week on the
job, declaring him unable to impose physical punishment on misbehaving learners. It was around
this time that Thoreau met Ralph Waldo Emerson, a noticeable American philosopher, essay writer
and poet who had recently moved to Concord. The friendship between the two would eventually
prove the most important of Thoreau's life. Thought both the writers were from different places but
they became friend and helped each other in their work. Emerson and Thoreau were considering as
the most inspiring transcendentalist writer of their time. Though they were different writer but they
both share the ideas of nature and man and how nature and man are related to each other.
As per Emerson explanation, he will use the word "nature" in both its common and its philosophical
meanings in the essay. Where he explains Art is nature in combination with the will of man. When a
man looks at the stars, he becomes aware of his own separateness from the material world. By
looking at the star they were made to recognize the sublime and they were also made to think that
God is ever where. To respect the nature man should approach it with a balance between our inner
and our outer senses. Nature offers everlasting joy and

Essay on Emerson And Thoreau
&#8220;Dance to the beat of your own drummer:'; A piece of advice that I have been told my
whole life, and have tried my hardest to follow. The words were taken from Thoreau&#8217;s
quote, &#8220;If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears
a different drummer.';
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau changed our lives. How? Well, the answer is not
so simple as the statement. To understand fully how they affected our lives, we have to understand
the philosophy of Emerson and Thoreau, and the relationship between the two. So let&#8217;s
begin with the relationship between Emerson and Thoreau.
Emerson was born in 1803, into ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Many people claim that Thoreau&#8217;s ideas were simply taken from
Emerson&#8217;s, in fact, some critics call Thoreau Emerson&#8217;s miror. And
although their philosophies greatly reflected one another, they differed in many ways as well.
Emerson&#8217;s writing focused on nonconformity and individuality. In his essay
"Self–Reliance," he wrote, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own
mind," and, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist."
Emerson writings were also more focused on the self; philosophy of humanism and Independence
from society are all things that Emerson wrote on frequently. Thoreau, while focusing on matters of
the self in many of his essays, tended to have more of a political overtone to his writing.
In &#8220;Civil Disobedience';, Thoreau&#8217;s most famous social protest, He
explains that it is our civil right to disagree with laws. He believed that people must be free to act
according to their own idea of right and wrong, without government interference. In "Civil
Disobedience", he said that people should refuse to obey any law they believe is unjust.
Thoreau practiced this type of passive resistance when, in 1846, he refused to pay poll taxes. He did
so to express his opposition to the Mexican War. Thoreau spent one night in jail for his refusal.

Henry D. Thoreau's views on nature, society, and man.
Thoreau Views on Nature, Society, and Man
Henry David Thoreau's life began on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. At a young age he
began to show an interest in writing. In 1833, at the age of sixteen, Thoreau was accepted to Harvard
University. Although his parents could not afford the cost of tuition, his family offered to help with
the funds, and in August he entered Harvard. In 1837 he graduated and applied for a teaching
position at a public school in Concord. However, he refused to flog children as punishment. He
choose instead to deliver moral lectures. The community looked down upon this, and a committee
was asked to review the situation. They decided that the lectures were not ample punishment, so
they ordered Thoreau to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
In Walden, he questions the lifestyles that people choose. He makes his readers wonder if they have
been chosen the kind of life that will really offer them happiness. Are they merely living a career or
some other narrowly routine or is a worthwhile life being lived. Thoreau wonders if the truly
valuable elements of life are being taken advantage of if a person is not living simply. If a person is
so caught up in working or never having enough in life, one wonders, and satisfaction are difficult to
obtain. As he states in the beginning Walden, "most men, even in this comparatively free country,
though mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously
coarse labors of life that is finer fruits cannot be plucked by them" (Thoreau 6). This means that
people care more about the finer things in life and easier work instead of nature's gifts and hard
work. Thoreau draws a parallel between others preoccupation with money and his own enjoyment of
non–monetary wealth.
Thoreau discusses the issue of how we spend our time and energies. It is obvious that his
townspeople are not as economical as they spend many hours working very hard to accomplish very
little, showing a false sense of economy. Thoreau believed that all attempts to redeem mankind form
its problems were

Walden, Secondly, Civil Disobedience, By Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord Massachusetts in 1817. He studied transcendentalism
under Ralph Waldo Emerson and soon he began challenging Emerson's thoughts. Emerson was the
thinker, but Thoreau wanted to know if his ideas would actually work in real life. So, he put his
ideas of self–reliance to the test by going to live alone at Walden Pond. This experience produced a
very famous piece of work known as Walden. Although, Thoreau was not particularly recognized
and appraised in his life time. Today, Walden is regarded as the supreme work of Transcendentalist
literature and one of the greatest examples of nature writing in American Literature. Walden was not
Thoreau's only contribution to the world though. In his essay, Civil Disobedience, ... Show more
Many men and women in today's society desire a new government because they are not pleased with
the current standing one and they are unimpressed or angry with their political leaders. Thoreau
urges the people to better improve themselves and how they live before they try to make a change in
the government. Then after this is done, he encourages our leaders to do the same with themselves.
"It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a
sort of wooden gun to the people themselves; and, if ever they should use it in earnest as a real one
against each other, it will surely split. But it is not the less necessary for this; for the people must
have some complicated machinery or other and hear its din, to satisfy the idea of government which
they have...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man
make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward
obtaining it" (Civil

Is The Difference Between Henry David Thoreau And E. B. White
Walden Pond, located in Concord, Massachusetts, was a place of inspiration for two well–known
authors, Henry David Thoreau and E.B. White. Although, they wrote about the same place, their
experiences were a century apart. Thoreau visited the lake in 1854 where technology still wasn't as
advanced as it was in 1939 when White visited the historical site leading to a different feel for the
place. The authors' style of approaching the view of the lake has both similar and different effects
when using point of view, imagery, and logos. In comparison, Thoreau and White use the first
person point of view in their writings, but in contrast they do not have same writing style. Thoreau
writes about his surroundings and writes with serenity. With many details he describes how the
forest brings calm to your soul and you feel connected to God and there is nothing to really care for.
He writes without a real purpose, it seems as if he is rambling to the audience about his thoughts and
feelings indicating them that they should live in simplicity. Thoreau has no real interest in
convincing his audience to go live in the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Thoreau's main message in the story was that humans are supposed to live a simple life and that
getting closer to nature would help the human race reach that simplicity in life. He compares us as
"mad ants" that are always busy, rushing and we always have something to do. Thoreau goes into
details when he describes the mountains and the morning dew and his morning routines and with the
vivid vision he connects it all back to serenity. White, on the other hand, uses imagery to describe
how technology has advanced since Thoreau had been there. He informs Thoreau that Walden Pond
had become the states property and there are signs all over the site such as "no swimming in the
pond" and that the pond now had water fountains and people would take their boats to the

Henry Thoreau Essay
Born in 1817, in Concord, Henry David Thoreau became one of the greatest writers among the
American Renaissance. Thoreau based his whole philosophy on the fact that man needed to get rid
of material things in order to be an individual. An exquisitely educated man, Thoreau went to
Harvard, which placed heavy emphasis on the classics. Thoreau studied a curriculum that included
grammar and composition, mathematics, English, history, and various philosophies. He also spoke
fluently in Italian, French, German, and Spanish.
After his graduation in 1837, Thoreau became a teacher. He and his brother John, however, closed
the school in 1841, for Thoreau knew writing was his passion. He kept a journal beginning in 1837,
and most think he wrote ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
"I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude." Thoreau liked
solitude, a time when he wrote from his soul and was truly alone. Thoreau's love for nature was one
of the most powerful aspects evident in Walden.
Considered by some to be the father of the environmental movement, Thoreau referred back to
nature in everything he wrote from essays to political speeches. As a simple man, Thoreau did not
own many material things. For he believed that to own material objects were an obstacle, rather than
an advantage. He saw that most people measured self–worth in terms of what they owned, rather
than their spiritual and intellectual gifts.
Thoreau proposed to live as simply as possible and determine what he needed for basic human
survival. "My greatest skill is to want but little." He grew his own food, cleaned his own
cabin, and often arranged his affairs so he had to work as little as possible. Published on August 9,
1854, Walden sold two thousand copies. For one dollar, people read into the depths of Thoreau's life
at Walden Pond and all his views on everything from the anti–slavery movement to his
environmental ideas. Walden sold moderately well during Thoreau's lifetime, but his greatest
respects came posthumously.Through the reading of Walden, many people have discovered the
magic of Henry David Thoreau's pen. Just a man from Concord, Massachusetts, he lived an
extraordinary life as a simple man. That, however, was all

Henry David Thoreau: Transcendentalist Writer
Henry David Thoreau was a nineteenth century American author who lived during the height of
Transcendentalism. He became an important contributor to this movement ("H. D. T." Poetry
Foundation). Thoreau received much information about this movement from Emerson, a noteworthy
friend of Thoreau. Thoreau wrote many significant works in American literature, including Walden
and "Civil Disobedience." The works of Henry David Thoreau were strongly influenced by the
Transcendentalist movement and centered around his stay at Walden Pond. Henry David Thoreau
was born in Concord, Massachusetts, on July 12, 1817, to John and Cynthia Thoreau. He was the
third of four children (Bloom 7). From early on, Thoreau felt a strong connection to the natural ...
Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
He later became the secretary and curator, being endowed with the responsibility of organizing the
agenda and location of meetings (Bloom 17).
The Transcendentalist movement was centered in Concord. The philosophy of Transcendentalism
stated that knowledge originated from the voice of God within humans. This knowledge was
essentially their "inner light" or "over–soul" (Goodman). In other words, one's conscience is an
innate trait. It was society that corrupted people's moral sense. Despite the fact that many
Transcendentalists wanted to change society, they believed that these changes had to begin with
individuals ("H. D. T." Encyclopedia Britannica). These changes that were advocated by
Transcendentalists pertained to pressing social issues at the time, such as the mistreatment of Native
Americans, the Mexican War, and the expansion of slavery (Goodman).
Transcendentalism was the antithesis of Unitarianism, another philosophical movement that was
developing at the time. Many of the major theories of Unitarianism were developed by John Locke,
who believed that the best way for people to grow in knowledge and understanding was through the
use of one's senses and the scientific method (Goodman). Transcendentalists believed that there
were two ways to attain knowledge: through the senses or through intuition. The latter, they
believed, was significantly more useful than the former. In brief, Transcendentalists preferred
individuals over

Where I Lived For, By Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts and attended school at Harvard. He was
a philosopher, poet, essayist, naturalist, as well as an outspoken social critic. In Thoreau's essay
"Where I lived, and what I lived for" he expresses how people should live a simpler life. Thoreau
believes that we should break free from the rush of the average daily life. In addition, he talks about
how we should remove things that are meaningless and have no purpose in life. However Thoreau's
philosophy could severely jeopardize the economy. Although Thoreau's philosophy doesn't apply
today it can help you find the most important things in life. Thoreau advocates living simply so
people will have less regrets in life. He believes that

Comparing Emerson And Thoreau
Never having a reason for reading nineteenth century writing in depth previously, I find myself
stricken by Ralph Waldo Emerson's poetic nature. I specifically find myself drawn to Nature. Since
his writing is not as common amongst other nineteenth century writers or philosophers, other than
Henry David Thoreau. Both of these philosophers were born in the early nineteenth century in
Massachusetts. Emerson was born in Boston and Thoreau in Concord. Both attended college at
Harvard. They respectively dedicated both of their careers to pursue Transcendentalism philosophy.
They have parallel beliefs about nature and the simplicity of material goods and spirituality. Thoreau
was an easier read for sure, however, my love of Emerson's poetic and brash writing came swiftly.
You either love him or ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
At the time of his writing, The American Scholar," women were not allowed to achieve a higher
education and scholarships were only awarded to men. This speech was originally a pamphlet but
was converted into an essay later that year, publishing it in his book titled, Essays. As he discusses
the American Scholar, he uses the term as a whole, like an entire entity, not a multifaceted group.
Emerson instructs this entity on how the scholar should be educated, as nature should be their guide.
He uses experts from Nature to touch on many topics for the scholar giving these two particular
writings a general contrary notion. As depicted prior, Emerson derived most of his later writing and
philosophy from his belief in nature. Men should be accountable for themselves and let nature be
thy guide. Hence, you ask, why is Emerson so confusing? I do not believe that he is as confusing as
one would think. I believe that his philosophy is quite to the point, erring on the side of

Henry David Thoreau
Biographical Summary
Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, and was the son of
John Thoreau, a pencil maker, and Cynthia Dunbar ("Henry..." Ency. of World). Growing up in a
"modest New England family," Thoreau was one of four children and was accustomed to living
practically (McElroy). As his family was "permanently poor," he came to accept a moderate
lifestyle, which may have later influenced his thoughts on the necessities of life ("Henry..." Ency. of
World). As a child, he enjoyed exploring nature and was fascinated by its beauty. In his novel
Walden, he remarks that "every morning was a cheerful invitation to make [his] life of equal
simplicity... with Nature herself," and even contemplates that "[he had] ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
of World). His abolitionist efforts and support of civil disobedience were a large part of the legacy
he left behind. He did not advocate violence, but instead encouraged the defense of what is true and
good. Though his works were not very popular when he was alive, his "writings and philosophy
greatly influenced many important world figures... the reformer Leo Tolstoy of Russia, Mohandas
Gandhi of India, Martin Luther King Jr., and other leaders of the U.S.Civil Rights Movement were
inspired by Thoreau's ideas" ("Thoreau..." West's).
Critical Analysis Henry David Thoreau was an influential writer, abolitionist, and leader of the
transcendentalist movement. Through his work, he emphasizes the intriguing pursuit of personal
truth beyond societal definitions. His sagacious observations about human nature are admirable, and
his explanation of the corruption of society is thought–provoking. Though he advocates
individualism, he seems to doubt humans' ability to completely remove themselves from society, as
this way of life demands. In his novel Walden, he says, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet
desperation" (Thoreau 5). Thoreau sees the laboring men of his society, and after concluding that
they are ignorant, claims that "it is a fool's life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not
before" (Thoreau 3). Loren Eiseley, a natural science writer, said that Thoreau "sometimes had
difficulty in seeing men or, by contrast, sometimes saw them too

Walden Where I Lived What I Live For
Where I Lived, What I Lived For
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately....
In this passage from Walden by Thoreau, the author articulates beautifully how he lives his life,
why, and how he has adapted to his new home. Thoreau wishes to live a more free life where he can
write and live void of responsibility, he wants to get the most from the remainder of his life by
determining what is truly important, and he did this by removing himself as best he could from the
normal life of Concord, Massachusetts in the 1840's to a decrepit cabin in the woods. Part of this
was economic: he reduced his material needs by living in a simpler way, so that he would not have
to spend much time supporting a lifestyle that he did not need

Henry David Thoreau Essay
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was a man who expressed his beliefs of society, government, and mankind
while living under his own self–criticism. Thoreau believed he had many weaknesses which made
him a failure. This strong disapproval of himself contrasted with his powerful words and strong
actions. These contradictions led to some of Thoreau's greatest pieces of literature.
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817, in his grandmother's
house. Thoreau believed that Concord was, "the most estimable place in all the world, and in the
very nick of time, too" (Harding 4). Though Thoreau was born in
"the era of good feeling," his family experienced many misfortunes, politically, physically, ... Show
more content on Helpwriting.net ...
That sweet solitude my spirit seemed so early to require at once gave the preference to this recess
among the pines, where almost sunshine and shadow were the only inhabitants that varied the scene,
over the tumultuous and varied city, as if it had found its proper nursery" (13–14). It is apparent that
Thoreau associates Walden Pond with his happiest memories.
Thoreau was a deeply religious man, but disliked church. He was very serious as a child and loved
his solitude (Schneider 4). Thoreau says he was truly happiest when he could be by himself (25). In
1828, Thoreau and his older brother John, to whom he was closest, went to Concord Academy.
Henry was the smarter of the two and in 1833, was sent to
Harvard University, where he did very well. It was there that Thoreau was first exposed to writing
publicly when the Editor of the Dial, which is a periodical for a transcendentalist group, gave him a
job. In 1837, Thoreau graduated form Harvard and this is where he first heard Ralph Waldo
Emerson speak. It was at this time that he began writing his journal.
He started teaching in Concord's Center School for a brief period of two weeks. Thoreau was told to
enforce corporate punishment in the classroom and he resigned. He ended up working in his father's
pencil factory where he improved American pencils. He did this by improving the method of mixing
graphite which he discovered by researching the
European

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