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Clothing In Henry David Thoreau's 'Transcendentalism'

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The transcendentalist idea that truth comes from studying nature, along with the belief that clothing is one of the four basic necessities are depicted in this passage. Thoreau believed that no truth came from the clothes a person wore, and that people should spend less money on clothing and material items. Therefore, they will not have to work as much to make money for expensive products, and they can have leisure time to study nature. For that reason, Thoreau will not think any less of a man with patches on his clothes because this means he is not materialistic, and does not care about having new clothes. Clothing is a large part of civilization, therefore, the less you care about clothing, the more you distance yourself from society, and
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He suggests that you might look around yourself and really take into consideration as to how you are spending your short time you’re given in this life. Much like Chris McCandless, Henry David Thoreau looks around him and finds himself to be displeased. To quote 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.” Much like McCandless, Thoreau thought very little of money, jobs and other things of the civilized world. Henry Thoreau concluded that to live, not much is needed.

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Furthermore, his use of tone to exemplify his argument is also effective as he condemns people for living rushed, unfulfilled lives for the sake of prosperity and materialistic possessions. When Thoreau says that ”when we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality,”(279) he employs a critical tone by stating that people are blinded by these petty things that misconstrue

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They also claim they are all the same; “wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well”. Thoreau gets the point across that those who serve the state and conform with their lives can be ‘manufactured’. That they could use their own influence to find many just like them, that they are as all the same and nothing special. Thoreau wants his readers to think that the Government does not care about its people and does not always do what is best for them, and this is why it needs to be modulated. This leads me to my next example.

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Henry Thoreau was a simple man who believed in simple living. Thoreau would probably turn circles in his grave if he was to realize how technical the world has become. Two reasons that made Thoreau particularly suspicious of technology were (1) that we have to spend time working to afford the technology, so why not be without technology and more free time, and (2) that technology distances us from nature and can affect our lives for the worse. Sure there is some sense in his beliefs, but technology does too much good to just completely abandon it. Many believe that our desire to live a lifestyle full of technology leaves a wave of materialism to sweep through our nation.

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The objective of nice clothes was now to make the body look better, not disguise it. We see this continue now, into the modern area, as we use out latest technological advancements to improve the on the clothing we wear

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Moreover, Thoreau believes factory produced goods and the overall use of technology disassociate people with the connection of producing goods and doing work. Thoreau was a transcendentalist thus possessing the beliefs of transcendentalism. He wanted to maintain a spiritual life connected to nature. He believed an individual could find the divine directly through a connection to nature and a man must become a part of nature to truly find the divine. His ideology was derived from the transcendentalism movement created by Thoreau

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Transcendentalism Essay The ideals and structures of the society we live in today clearly contrast with the core ideals of Henry David Thoreau. We rely on seemingly everything but ourselves for information, and we have trampled upon the nature that was so valued by Thoreau.

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Henry David Thoreau is one of the primary promoters of the transcendentalist movement and has been inspiring people to take on the transcendentalist lifestyle ever since the mid 1800’s. Mccandless was an admirer of Henry’s philosophy but he wasn’t as fully immersed in his work and ideals as Thoreau was to his own. His intentions were not as closely aligned to the movement as Thoreau’s and the difference between these icons are clearly visible. Self reliance is one of the most significant components of the transcendentalism movement that Henry David Thoreau contributed to in his literary career. “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.” - (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”).

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Another reason dress codes should stay around is that it makes buying clothes a lot easier for people who are struggling financially and would make a lot of things easier on families. "Plus, for people who are struggling financially and living paycheck to paycheck it would be nice for them to only have to buy a couple pairs of pants and shirts to get them through the school year. It would ease a lot of the burden on families. "(McClatchy)”This explains the idea that for people who cannot always afford clothes it is easier to have a dress code and then their kids will also fit in more. This enforces the idea that dress codes should stay around to ultimately help kids focus

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I also believe that people may feel that sameness is not important because they will get bored of wearing the same thing and they will feel forced that they don’t

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This helps to explain that people can be heavily affected by the type of clothes they wear, and supports the idea that most of this is just the characters tormenting thoughts of him being left behind because of his

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When people where comfortable clothing, they tend to perform worse or not listen as well. This means that when people at school are wearing comfortable clothing, they will not pay attention or understand information nearly as well. However, the clothing that a dress code requires tends to be tight or rough, and is quite uncomfortable. Uncomfortable clothing is very good at forcing students to pay attention and focus during class, so that they can understand the material

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Thoreau emphasizes living simply by reducing the excess in our live to only the bare essentials, and relying on oneself to do so. Thoreau claims that the only way to

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For example,you don’t want to buy something for your child that they won’t want to wear or use, especially if they don’t help with absolutely anything. To sum up the fact, many of the people who agree on not having school uniforms stand strongly. However, they are completely convinced they will work wonders for two main justification bullying can’t be eliminated and clothing can’t boost performance in academic environments.

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Having a dress code sends a negative message that a person self-identity doesn 't matter and all that matters is focusing on their education. While that is the ultimate goal, to be successful in life is not to conform but to adapt as well. A majority of jobs in our society allow for one to express themselves by what they wear. Dress code takes away people 's personality that they put in their clothes they wear in everyday

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