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Examples Of Transcendentalism In Civil Disobedience

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How many people in this world are being controlled? Everyone needs to understand the essential role the government is playing in our society. In order to understand how the government works, first need to understand the history behind it. Henry David Thoreau, author of Civil Disobedience, wrote this essay to prioritize ones own thoughts over the dictates of laws. Transcendentalism is related to a corrupt and controlling government, finding oneself nature and transcending or going beyond.
One of the major themes of transcendentalism is a corrupt and controlling government. Thoreau was an american essayist, poet and also known for his beliefs in transcendentalism. From his essay Civil Disobedience Throeau states “ that government is best which governs not at all.” Henry David Thoreau is trying to get others to think about how the government is controlling us. He explains that the rules of the government are unjust. Thoreau also brings up the Declaration of Independence in his essay. He encourages people to declare their independence from these unjust laws.
In conclusion, Thoreau is fighting against the government for his own moral laws. …show more content…

Thoreau lived in the woods for 2 years trying to make sense of what his life will turn out to.Henry David Thoreau once said “ nature is doing her best each moment to make us well. Why, nature is but another name for health.” He went into the woods to find a simpler explanation of life. During his 2 years out in nature, he wrote his masterpiece Walden. He believed that if he did not explore or live a subsitence lifestyle, he didn’t recall that as living. He strongly wished to see what life had to teach him. He wants everyone to go out into nature and find yourself. He wanted to live a life of his own rules and his own

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Thoreau believes that government should be lenient with their people and work with them for their common good, Gale actions as an individual shows that he agrees. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau explains his belief that the government should be tolerant. He explains, “[He] heartily accepts the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’

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In the society Steinbeck describes, if one were to disobey the rules, he “had no place in any world, no matter where created” (Steinbeck 266). Even though the families had rights, they seemingly did not have the right to protest if they believed a law was unjust. Because of this, the rulers of this society have all of the power. Individuals have to keep their own beliefs private and must adhere to society’s rules, not matter if they were right or wrong, in fear of being shamed. Comparatively, the very foundation of Thoreau’s beliefs is that humans have the right to rebel against a corrupt state.

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[He] cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government” (3). By inquiring this question, Thoreau leaves the reader to question their actions towards the government and whether the government is fulfilling their expectation of the government’s duties. The addition of his personal opinion allowed him to force his viewpoint on his fellow American citizens as he proclaims that he is disgusted with how the government is run. By implementing a system of asking questions, Thoreau allocates a portion of the essay to get the reader thinking about their stance on the topic, but then by inserting his personal opinion immediately following he influences the reader to question the actions of

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518 Words | 3 Pages

In the chapter “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” in “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau it says what it 's about practically in the name “where I lived, and what I lived for”. which by saying a rhetorical device it would be deductive reasoning there would be plenty of deductive reasoning in “where I lived, and what I lived for”. When I read “Where I lived ,and What I lived for” I saw in my perspective a guy that wanted to find a meaning in life, maybe it 's because it 's what I want to do and my brain is just analyzing it as if I’m perpetuating myself in his shoes or mindset . Thoreau seemed like he knows what to do and why to do it as if he wasn 't accidentally halting a risk he even said why he went to the woods. Thoreau exclaimed “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately” he wanted to be free.

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510 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau and Emerson wrote the short stories Civil Disobedience and Nature and both if these show big transcendentalism ideas. The story Civil Disobedience mainly focuses on how the author does not think he should pay taxes for things he doesn’t support. We see Thoreau talk about how people should be allowed to refuse the government and that they should govern less. Thoreau also says that people should not support unjust laws and work harder towards ending something they don’t agree with. The short story Nature is about how being in nature affects you and makes you a better person.

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Mr. Thoreau argues that people should not allow any government to control or atrophy their thoughts or beliefs. Mr. Thoreau was an also remained a devoted abolitionist and has written

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Henry David Thoreau: Biography and Rhetorical Analysis of His Works Henry David Thoreau and the transcendentalist movement can’t be summarized merely in a single sentence or even essay, though this quote comes close, “Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.” Transcendentalism is the belief that material things, the “comforts” and “luxuries” of which Thoreau speaks, are inferior to knowledge and spirituality. Thoreau was a major leader in this movement. Thoreau’s works, “Walden” “Main Woods”, and various poems of his helped to lay the foundations for Transcendentalism. Some 140 years after his death Thoreau is still being published, and written about.

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He suggests that the best solution is “not at once no government, but at once a better government” (Thoreau 1). Instead of condemning government as a whole, Thoreau seeks for it to understand that “there will never be a really free and enlightened state until the state comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived” (Thoreau 4). Rather then stepping away from the affairs of the people, Thoreau simply wants the government to adapt to the power of the people. Through this, he reinstates a sense of democracy. Thoreau’s open mindset to change is proof that conditions will be better for those who are suffering, “for it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever” (Thoreau 7).

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In addition, he also states that “[if injustice] is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, [he says], break the law” (Thoreau). He had broken the law and was thrown in jail because he refused to pay a tax, a tax he believed would support the Mexican war. Thoreau is saying that one should violate the government’s demands if those demands are to harm another person in some way. This directly aligns with the transcendentalist belief that the government’s power can and should be questioned when the government’s actions are immoral. Like deists, transcendentalists believe that the people have a right to question the

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673 Words | 3 Pages

The key to deconstructing Thoreau's argument is to understand his hierarchy of government and the individual. Thoreau's ideal communion between the individual and the state is manifest by the individual as a "higher and independent power". This relationship is entertained in Civil Disobedience in the analysis of Thoreau's 1846 imprisonment, in which Thoreau demonstrated freedom as an internal and subjective

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935 Words | 4 Pages

so, he decided to hide for civilization. Well, the true is he was not crazy or lazy. He was living a transcendental life. Transcendentalism is a simple way of life that helps one better understand nature. Specific examples of transcendentalism will be explained from McCandless’s life and also my personal opinions regarding transcendentalism.

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578 Words | 3 Pages

He urges people to live simply and warns against the difference between “essentials” and just extra “stuff.” As he says, “Our life is frittered away by detail. ” We focus so much on the future and all the silly distractions going on around us, that we lose sight of what is really important. He believed we don’t need as much technology, for example. Also, we could live off of one meal a day instead of three or four.

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Trascendentialists writers such as Raph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreu seemed to believe in the illusional idea that society is bad and that government control should be minimalized. Although the utopian ideas they present may sound good in paper, when applied in real life it would be disastrous. In the first place, a corrupt government is better than no government at all. If you look at countries with massive corruption like Honduras, of course you notice the poverty and the violence, but how would that get better without a government?

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1285 Words | 6 Pages

Why I Went to the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is a piece of literature taken from the book Walden that discusses Thoreau’s desire to experience life and it's meaning by living by the most simple terms possible. Thoreau lived off the land, built his own home, hunted and fished his own food. Through these things, Thoreau experienced how life is lived without luxury and only with the raw basics. Although his passion for the natural world shows through his writing his goal is not to persuade others to follow in his footsteps by going out and living in nature. Thoreau wanted others to follow him by living their best life which would be achieved by following their passions and the things they enjoy.

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The United States of America is considered one of the most “free” country in the world to outsiders. However, these results is a collective endeavor from the past, with many revisions to the laws, changes to the government and the substitution of numerous politicians. Equally important, unjust laws and corrupt bureaucrats can often times lead to civil disobedience or even a revolution. That being said, Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine and Henry David Thoreau are all instrumental architects to early U.S. politics that would eventually shape the political culture of civil disobedience. In short, Samuel Adams was a key figure in the American revolution who organized important oppositions to Great Britain.

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