Emerson And Transcendentalism Similarities

Transcendentalism increased in popularity during the 19th century with the help of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Emerson and Thoreau had both grown up in Massachusetts which contributed to them having similar ideas on the individual's self. Another reason for their similarities in their ideas was that Emerson had been a role model for Thoreau growing up. Transcendentalism was more than a philosophical and social movement, but as well as a religion. Both Emerson and Thoreau described how to use nature in order to become closer with God. Emerson had introduced the abstract idea of the importance of individual ideas and the avoidance of conformity. On the other hand, Thoreau established a more practical view of resisting government

Emerson's "Nature" is an essay, which sets down the foundation of transcendentalism. According to Emerson, "Our age is retrospective" (Emerson 125), we must not look in the past for ideas, but we need to search in the present for answers. This is one of the major parts of Emerson's view of transcendentalism, because individuals are encouraged to create ideas on their own. In "Self-Reliance" Emerson highlights the importance to stay true to oneself and avoid conformity. In the first line, Emerson defines the ideal transcendentalist, "Man is his own star, and the soul that can render and honest and a perfect man" (130). Emerson emphasizes, "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you" (130), the

Walden Pond is where Thoreau truly experiences transcendentalism at its purist. Thoreau experiences the simplicity of nature which opens him to a whole new world. In "Resistance to Civil Government" Thoreau improves on Emerson's ideas, but in a more practical sense. According to Thoreau, "That government is best which governs not at all" (Thoreau 160), which shows that he thinks government is important, but he wants government to have minimal control. This is similar to Emerson's abstract idea of rejecting all government and determining actions based on only his ideas. Thoreau continues on the idea Emerson proposed of individuals rejecting society and its negative influences on the individual and the human mind. Thoreau highlights that many people believe that we have control over government, but instead it has control over us, "We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us" (201). Thoreau would go so far to suggest that, "The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies" (164). This shows the severity that almost all men have been subject to assuming a false sense of conformity due to the control of government over our everyday lives. However, Thoreau implies that humans can revolt against their own government if they feel as if it is becoming too tyrannical. This idea is more practical than rejecting government as a