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Comparing and contrasting emerson and thoreau's beliefs on transcendentalism
Thoreaus take on nature
Thoreau vs emerson comparison to nature
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For my topic on Frederick Douglass’ narrative and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, I will discuss several details and points. These points will include Douglass’ adversity as a slave and Emerson’s journey in making sense of his life and self-identity. Also, in the discussion, I will add the similarities and differences between the thoughts of Douglass and Emerson on how each felt about their masters or Whites in general. These thoughts include Douglass’ reasoning of writing his autobiography, so that the reader it was intended for could understand why abolishing slavery was so important and Emerson’s hope that people would use their inner voice and learn to confront the issues on hand and not what others wanted to instill onto slaves.
In my opinion Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. have very similar purposes in their writings. Both author 's are writing to protest unfair laws. But they also have very different audiences. In Civil Disobediance, Thoreau writes how those who break unjust laws should suffer the consequences as a protest to the laws.
BBC presenter Iain Lee left his radio show after a heated on-air conversation in which he called a Christian lawyer a bigot. On Nov. 3, Iain Lee was interviewing anti-LGBT conservative group Christian Concern’s lawyer Libby Powell on-air during the BBC Three Counties Radio show when the issue of homosexuality came up. In the middle of their debate, Lee accused the lawyer of being bigoted and left the show afterwards, according to the BBC.
Thoreau vs. Ben Franklin Henry David Thoreau and Ben Franklin are both very different in beliefs but are still both considered great writers in American History. Their religious views for one were very different but both were wise for the world they were in. They also had some similarities on the nature of man and society. Henry David Thoreau believed in Transcendentalism, which is coming one with nature and humans should be self reliant.
Fredrick Douglas and Henry David Thoreau have the same ideas yet different experiences which shine through their writings. The main idea is that I would have had no idea that Thoreau was an abolitionist from this writing alone. This excerpt from Thoreau is extremely philosophical, as were most of his other writings, and could only loosely be applied to the issue of slavery while Douglas’ writing was strictly an autobiography. This simple difference goes a long way in highlighting their differences as rights activists. Douglas is direct and evokes change through his actions and words while Thoreau is indirect, yet he makes you think about your decisions and how they affect the world around you.
Henry David Thoreau and Thomas Merton, were two very influential writers who wrote contemplative works about solitude and developing a connection with nature. Thoreau’s most famous work “Walden” discusses the authors experiences during the two years he lived consciously, in a cabin in the woods, along with the multitude of lessons he learned. Thomas Merton, a twentieth century writer, wrote several letters to Rachel Carson discussing the importance of caring for the environment from a Catholic perspective. While both authors are writing from significantly different backgrounds and different perspectives regarding religion, they both argue that by taking a contemplative and more solitary path in life can make a greater connection with nature and a stronger awareness about one’s self. One of the key differences between Merton’s and Thoreau's philosophies of nature is their opinion and view of religion.
The main similarity in the writings of Thomas Jefferson and Henry David Thoreau is the idea of revolution against an abusive government. The main difference is the context in which each document was written, the Declaration of Independence as the colonies were rebelling against Great Britain and forming their own government, and Civil Disobedience as criticisms of the government developed within nearly seventy-five years after the signing of the Declaration. Both Jefferson and Thoreau share ideas of revolution, although overthrowing the government is seen in many cases as illegal. Both documents share a common theme of revolution, and both authors believe the best way to move toward a better government is civil disobedience. Jefferson and Thoreau believe that whether it is the struggle for independence or being freed from injustices of the government, civil disobedience and revolution are necessary in order to live in a society based on freedom.
Transcendentalist's Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau illustrate themes of nonconformity in their literature in order to show how one must distance themselves from prevailing to established customs and ideas. Both authors work to spread the transcendentalist idea of being an individual. Through Emerson's text Self-Reliance, he discusses the realizations one experiences through their journey to individuality. He says this occurs "at a time in every man's education" (Emerson, Self-Reliance 185). One realizes that in order to be themselves they have to go against the customs and ideas they have been taught to follow.
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”).
Compare and Contrast Between the 2 articles on similar themes, there are 4 reasons. (1) Gandhi and Thoreau both would not agree in certain things like laws. (2) Gandhi and Thoreau discussed civil disobedience. (3) Gandhi and Thoreau were influenced in writing their expressions, and how both wrote their expressions against the government and laws. Gandhi and Thoreau have different perspectives of the laws, and what people should follow.
American currencies, specifically coins, have two sides: a head and a tail. The head and tail are different, yet they are still part of the same coin. Two American authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, represent two sides of the same coin: Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism swept through America as a new worldview in the 1900’s. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material, that deals with aspects of nature.
Despite variances in genre, Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 Gothic tale, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Slavery in Massachusetts” overlap in their portrayal of morality, the evil world that surrounds the storyline of both literary works, and the use of humor. Thoreau’s essay addresses the importance of morality at the forefront of its message, while Poe’s story contains an underlying moral lesson of the same nature. By pointing out the flaws in legislation, Thoreau challenges the people to focus on what is morally right or wrong, instead of emphasizing what is constitutional or unconstitutional. Thoreau believes, “The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free” (Thoreau 1149).
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both fond nature to be essential to being a whole person: spiritually and emotionally. Emerson saw nature’s effect on people and their thoughts, whereas Thoreau saw the deliberateness of nature and thought that if people could seize the same decisiveness that they would have more to enjoy in life. Both authors believed that humans needed to enjoy nature to be one with the universal being that is the basis of Transcendentalism. Emerson wrote “When we speak of nature in this manner, we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the mind.” (Nature 693) Emerson was saying that nature is similar to poetry for the mind, in that it is relaxing and wholesome.
Things can be seen different in many perspectives. It can be interpreted in ways others can’t see. But in order to regulate and adjust our lives, to show the meaning of what we see, we need the solitude to consolidate our thoughts and see things that were hidden in the first place. In “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson applies rhetorical strategies for instance the imagery of unity and the allusion of God to experience the nature in solitude. Emerson starts off his piece with imagery of the unity between man and nature.
Mykel Rodriguez Period 1 “A single gentle rain makes the grass many shades greener, so our prospects brighten the influx of better thoughts. We should be blessed if we lived in the present always and took advantage of every accident that befell us; like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. We loiter in winter while it is already spring” Henry David Thoreau, Walden As a journalist, philosopher and environmentalist, Thoreau found contentment through living in the moment and enjoying everyday as it approached him. He found euphoria in moving on from his failures “not atoning for the neglect of past opportunities”. And he
