Thoreau Transcendentalism

Around 1840 to 1855, transcendentalism, a movement encouraging and emphasizing the uniqueness of the individual and importance of their opinions, arose in New England. transcendentalists were confident that everyone was born intrinsically good with the tools to a successful life. American literature’s Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were instrumental in the promotion and documentation of transcendentalism. One key trait included in transcendentalism was the importance of uniting oneself with nature. Both important figures were supporters of learning all that can be learned through nature in order to live a more full and happy life. Although the previously mentioned is true, each famous father of transcendental ideas took their own

In his essay, Walden, Thoreau speaks of his powerful experience gained from living in pure wilderness. He chose to take up existance in the woods in order to live in a peacefully simple way, learning all there was about himself and life from nature (Thoreau 382). For Thoreau, nature offered the necessities of life, stripping away everything insignificant. By being concerned only with the simple requirements of life, more is learned about a person’ surroundings. In addition, during The Pond in Winter, Thoreau talks about the time when his eyes were opened to the continuation of life during the harsh and seemingly dead winter (Thoreau 384). Through this event, Thoreau is yet again in awe of nature’s beauty and how much there is to learn from it. By examining Thoreau’s various works, it is evident that nature held strong in his ideals due to its simplicity and the wealth of information to be learned from

Each founder of transcendentalism believed in the weighty value of unity with nature, but when their writings are analyzed, it is clear they shared different relationships with nature. Emerson experienced nature with an magical feeling of joyful serenity which pulsed through his entire being. He strongly emphasized the happiness nature will instill in the reader and how people should not ignore nature, but become apart of it. On the other hand, Thoreau took a more practical and educational stance on nature. He spoke out against the increasing complexity of life and encouraged people to strip their lives down to the bare essentials which nature provided. In addition, Thoreau stressed the abundance of knowledge that could be gained through nature if one was willing to listen and observe. Despite the fact that these two prominent historical figures had differing interpretations on nature’s importance, they work together by bringing a new dimension to