Henry David Thoreau Essay

Transcendentalism is a very important drive course that occurred not tho in literature but in life as well. The transcendentalist movement was a movement that was basically the thought of every mavin having an over- under behaveing. The over-soul is the thought of a race between God, disposition, and man. The movement had m all different characteristics ilk individuality, feelings cosmos precedence over reason, the fact that nature was divine, and that nature held rectitudes.Transcendentalists used the truths that they observed in the world and in nature to change the way society was and how bulk see themselves in the world. Although the idea of a utopia was not successful, the movement sparked a change in literature. Emerson and Thoreau atomic number 18 the two people most associated with transcendentalism. They two wrote essays approximately their experiences in nature and influenced many other deliverrs to do the very(prenominal) (hence the transcendentalist movement ). The transcendentalist thought is especially app arent in Walt Whitman and Emily Dickensons work.Whitman and Dickenson both bear witness many traits of the movement, but the most apparent trait is individualism. individualization is a great deal portrayed in Emerson and Thoreaus work as being equal. Everyone has a soul, versed truth is the only thing that matters, and fulfillment comes from knowing ones self. In Emersons essay temperament, he describes man as being universal and tie in. In the quote . . . that great nature in which we rest . . . that Unity, that Over-Soul, within which every mans particular being is contained and made one with all other.. . . We hump in succession, in division, in parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole the fresh silence the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related the eternal ONE. Emerson is saying that all men have souls and that each soul is a part of an even bigger soul, the uni versal soul. This is basically saying that we are all equal, but at the very(prenominal) time we are separated because we each have a soul of our induce. In other essay, self-reliance, he stated Is it so uncool, then, to be miscin one caseive?Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every tenuous and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood In this, he is saying that being misunderstood is being great. This as well as says that being misunderstood is for withdrawting what society says you should be or act like and doing what you want to do in order to find yourself and be your own person. By not caring close what others may call back around your choices and decisions, you can be your own person and set an example for others to do the same.Not only was Emerson talking about being an individual, he was as well as adding a bit about your feelings being to a greater extent impor tant that reason. Thoreau likewise writes about individualism in his essays. In Walden, Thoreau writes about the experiences and life of his life. He writes if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to stretch out the life which he has imagined, he will meet success unexpected in jet hours. This is saying that you should live the way that you want to live and that your inner truth or inner desires are all that matter.Everyone has inner truth and desires and to live the life that you want to live then you should go for the dreams that you have forever wanted to come true. This is a prime example of individualism because everyone has dreams and inner truths about the way that they want to live and it is completely up to them to live the way that they want to live. He also addresses individualism in some other essay titled Civil Disobedience. He writes But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no government men, I h gray for, not at once no government, but at once a pause government.Let every man make know what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one pure tone towards obtaining it In this, he is encouraging people to take a stand for the rights and respect they deserve. In a way, he is telling people to assure ignoring the unfair government and do something about the way you feel. This is showing again how everyone has inner truth and they should do something to change the way the world is to be better. Thoreau wanted the government to change and so he spoke about what he believed to be true.This is him showing his individualism and encouraging others to speak up as well about the truth that they believed. Like Emerson and Thoreau, Whitman and Dickenson have both used individualism in their works, but Whitman does a better patronage at portraying it. In Whitmans poem Song of Myself, Whitman writes about everyone being equal and having equal opportunities. H e states I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise, regard little of others, ever regardful of others, maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man, stuffed with the stuff that is course, and stuffed with the stuff that is fine In this quote he is comparing total opposites to each other. This is a way of showing how even the opposites are the same. Regardless of others, ever regardful of others delegacy that others mean nothing to you, yet others mean everything to you. Its contradicting, but in a way that says although others mean nothing to you, they affect you in certain ways. Everyone affects you, but you are not everyone. You are simply yourself and that is what I get from what Whitman was describing.In another part of the poem, Whitman says I am as bad as the worst, but thank God, I am as hefty as the best. This quote stands out because it inwardness no one is better than anyone. Just because you dont get in trouble doesnt mean you are any less wrong or less bad. Just because you do good things doesnt mean you are any better Being good is simply being good and the same goes for being bad. No one is any better or worst. This means that everyone is equal and has equal opportunities. Dickenson also uses individualism as a base of operations in some of her works as well.In the poem heaven Has Different SignsTo Me, Dickenson writes The Rapture of a finished DayReturning to the tungstenAll theseremind us of the place, That Men call paradise In this poem Dickinson is describing what heaven would be like. This quote refers to the end of the day for men. Individualism is living the way you want and reaching fulfillment. This quote shows how men are fulfilled in their lives and of what they call paradise. To me, I dont think she is writing about heaven, I think she is writing about a utopia. She is writing about a place that everyone is equal and enlightened.Dickinson and Whitman both write about being equal and living the life that you want to lead. regular(a) though they both write about individualism, Whitman portrays it much more and it is more apparent. They were both influenced by the transcendentalist movement, but Dickinson focuses on other traits like how nature is beautiful and simple and the relationship that nature, life, and death have. The transcendentalist movement may be over, but it left an imprint in literature. Many people speak of individualism and the name most associated with it in the movement is Walt Whitman.Works Cited Poemhunters. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. Quotations by Author. Walt Whitman Quotes. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. Thoreau, enthalpy D. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau. Jone Johnson Lewis, n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. Thoreau, Henry D. Walden. N. p. Jalic, 2003. Print. Whitman, Walt. (1836)Nature. Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Oregon State College, n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. Whitman, Walt. Self Reliance . Mrgunnar. net. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.