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Ralph Waldo Emerson Thesis

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Recommended: Emerson and thoreau comparison on transcendentalism

Bert Zeng
Period: 5
3/16/2023
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson became a prominent figure during the 1870s and one of the most widely known man of letters in America. Emerson established himself as a legendary lecturer, essayist, and poet producing brilliance from his pen. Surprisingly enough, many people today “do not know Ralph Waldo Emerson, and many of those who do, consider him at best a 19-century transcendentalist or, at worst, the Dale Carnegie of belles lettres” (“Turner” Still Ahead of His Time). While his writings were passionate, they were heavily controversial as well making his ideologies liked or hated by certain demographics. Firstly, Ralph Waldo Emerson was a prodigy of his time, “At the age of 14, Emerson was the youngest student in his class at Harvard. He graduated from Harvard Divinity school as a Unitarian …show more content…

“He is interested in portraying the emotions which go along with remembrance and the need to continue to speak about the brave men and women of the past” (“Baldwin” Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson). For instance, Emerson writes “On this green bank, by this soft stream, / We set today a votive stone; / That memory may their deed redeem, / When, like our sires, our sons are gone” (“Emerson” Concord Hymn). This implies that after the fight, they achieved peace. His description of the stream being “soft” in the third stanza is the outcome of the “flooded” stream in the first stanza of Concord Hymn. Though things have become for the better, he mentions “our sons are gone”. Thus, showing the honorable sacrifices they made to achieve peace for the future of America. With His favorite topic catching up, “By and by, it finds how to join two things and see in them one nature” (Carlyle 5). Emerson sets the various circumstances simply using “streams”, nature’s body of

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In this essay I will be comparing two authors ranging from one period of time to the next. Which will include their main points of arguments , as well as detailed explanations to their ideas. Starting with Thomas Paine who wrote "The Crisis, No.1" as well as a variation of pamphlet series that advocated the Enlightment Revolutionary Era. Followed by Cotton Mather who wrote "The Wonders of the Invisible World" which included the era of traits and colonization as well as settlement.

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He left the church in 1832 to devote himself entirely to writing and teaching the elements of transcendentalism. He was a grand figure whose speeches drew in big crowds. He created many poems, but was known for his essays and lectures. Such as Nature in 1836, one of his best known essays in which he wrote that in the “quest for self-fulfillment, individuals should work for a communion with the natural world”. He was also a committed nationalist, an ardent proponent of American cultural independence.

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Sharing similar passions and philosophical ideas, it seemed only fitting that Ralph Waldo Emerson would deliver a eulogy for his deceased friend and former student Henry David Thoreau. Throughout his speech, Emerson is able to capture the essence of Thoreau’s life by sharing personal moments and stories that demonstrate what he stood for and believed in. Riddled with powerful words and phrases, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s eulogy of the late Henry David Thoreau effectively brings to light his dear friend’s transcendentalist views and values, leaving his audience with the impression of Thoreau as a strong minded individual who lived his life in the moment. According to Emerson, “No truer American existed than Thoreau,” and while this

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Those who want the world to change will vocalize their opinion for it. Whether it be a politician, a dictator, or a human-rights activist, those who speak for what they wish have more of a chance to alter the world's course than those who say nothing at all. As the popular saying goes, "You have no chance of winning the lottery you didn't enter." Among these famous speakers, there is the trio of transcendentalist thinkers: Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. While each of these three poets have a particular style, one in particular lead the path to a more free America and Earth.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson, a philosopher during the early 1800’s in America, wrote Self-Reliance, an essay about the importance of the individual, and relying one’s own thoughts and impressions. He emphasizes the importance of thinking for yourself, not relying on others to think for you. Rhetorical strategies, like figurative language, allusions, and elaborate syntax and parallelism, allow Emerson

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Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are two well known transcendentalist authors who significantly

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