The Incredible Henry David Thoreau

1084 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Transcendentalism in American literature during the 19th century

By the year 1840 the concept of Independence had been forever embedded in American tradition and American government. The value of freedom had yet to be accepted nor granted peacefully. The Revolution released America from the grasp of Britain and it would take yet another war to release the black man from the shackles of slavery. America was still in its infancy; the West was not yet settled, the South was still a confederacy and unity was just a dream. The country was torn by slavery. And some men began to question the integrity of their government. Henry David Thoreau was one such man.

Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to a successful pencil manufacturer John Thoreau and a strong-willed, quick-witted mother, Cynthia. Early on Henry enjoyed reading books and observing nature in solitude. He inherited the gift of gab and intellectual inquiry from his mother as well as both Puritan and abolitionist ideals. In 1837 he graduated from Harvard. In 1841 Henry moved into Ralph Waldo Emerson's home.

Emerson was a prominent writer and philosopher of the time famous for his transcendentalist view on life and God. Transcendentalism divided the universe into "Nature and Soul" and classified people as either "Materialists or Idealists" (Schneider, 1987). Transcendentalists disagreed with John Locke's "blank slate" theory of human development believing rather that we are, "born with certain innate ideas that provide a direct connection between the child and God." Therefore, a transcendentalist should "hold oneself above merely material concerns and to focus one's energies on attaining moral and spiritual excellence." (Schneider, 1987). Thoreau held these ideals very close to his heart. Even as a boy he had...

... middle of paper ...

...rded as one of America's major literary thinkers. As a naturalist Thoreau's ideas of"interconnectedness" and a need for preservation would spring up later in the country's efforts to 'Conserve' and respect the remaining wilderness. And perhaps Thoreau's greatest achievement was convincing a nation that Freedom is within us all and no man or government has the power to deny us our destiny.

Bibliography:

Richardson, Robert D. Jr. (1986). Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind. University of

California Press, 455p.

Schneider, Richard J. (1987). Henry David Thoreau. Twayne Publishers, 179p.

http://www.biography.com/cgi-bin/biomain.cgi. Henry David Thoreau.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2940.html. John Brown.

http://www.constitutuion.org/civ/civildis.htm. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by

Henry David Thoreau.

Show More
Related

  • Chris McCandless, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Thoreau.” The Atlantic Ideas Tour. Atlantic Monthly Group, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. .

    Read More

  • Justice in Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Thoreau’s view, he felt that the government was insufficient. At times such as these, government may not always be the best way to turn, yet it provides guidelines. This theme in his essay is just another opinion. Justice cannot be fully defined in one sentence by every person. It depends on the background and the experiences one has had.

    Read More

  • Thoreau's Personification

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    How people see one another vary in numerous ways, whether it be from actions or what is gathered through spoken conversations. When an intellectual meets someone for the first time, they tend to judge by appearance before they judge by how the person express their thoughts or ideas. In Thoreau’s excerpt, he emphasizes the importance of his philosophy, especially by making sure the reader is aware of his own feelings about it. He puts literary devices such as metaphors, personification, and imagery to construct his explanation for his philosophy as well as provide several attitudes to let the reader identify how he feels towards people and the value of their ideas.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience In Thoreau's Occupy Wall Street Movement

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though Thoreau 's basis was more along the lines of environmentalism he was quite the political man in his essay Civil Disobedience. Thoreau 's thoughts on the American government can be seen in the first few paragraphs

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau: A Timeline

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau was bon on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, on his grandmother’s farm. Thoreau was of French-Huguenot and Scottish-Quaker decent. Thoreau was interested in writing at an early age. At the age of ten he wrote his first essay “The seasons”. He attended Concord Academy until 1833 when he was accepted to Harvard University but with his pending financial situation he was forced to attend Cambridge in August of 1833. In September of 1833 with the help of his family he was able to attend Harvard University. He graduated college in August of 1837.

    Read More

  • Civil Obedience And Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thoreau was a very dedicated abolitionist. Majority of his works was for the abolishment of slavery. Thoreau even defended Captain John Brown, who was charged with treason for the uprising against slavery in Virginia. Thoreau expressed his feelings in a way that is still relevant in society today. His most radical work is his writing on “Civil Disobedience” in his essay Thoreau states, “government is best which governs not at all”(1).This powerful statement means that government is too corrupt to lead people in the right way so they need to take a step back and let society govern itself. Thoreau also explains, how without change society itself will always be the government 's machine (6). His statement iterates that government will always have power over people that do not rebel to make change; due to the fact that laws will be followed because people are often ignorant of the situation. Individuals have to understand that society can not just vote for a law and expect chang. Thoreau believed that explains to vote against their government, a simple vote is not enough(Civil Disobedience). People that rebel need to back up their vote with their actions to make a difference in

    Read More

  • Emerson and Thoreau

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both Thoreau and Emerson argue that asserting one’s opinions is crucial to attaining a better society. Emerson decries the danger of societal conformity and challenges the reader to “speak what you think now in hard words” in order to remedy it (Emerson 367). Likewise, Thoreau speculates that if “every man make known what kind of government would command his respect” it would be “one step toward obtaining it” (Thoreau 381). With these remarkably similar statements, both transcendentalists appeal to the reader’s patriotism by using language evocative of the agitated and outraged colonial Americans who demanded the people’s voice be heard in government. Although published roughly a half century later, “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” mirror the sentiments of famous Revolution-era leaders such as Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry.

    Read More

  • Thoreaus Elements of American Romanticism

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ing Henry David Thoreau into a prominent American Romantic writer. Such elements include his writings about life in Nature having great solitude; he became friends with the surrounding plants and animals. Secondly, he wrote about what was occurring day to day at Walden’s Pond which showed him as being individualistic. Moreover, there was the idea that God can only be found in nature, and pantheism was constant idea in his book. Finally, Thoreau wrote about intuition as a means of obtaining knowledge, and his use of senses as a tool for building intuition. These ideas time and time again show the various aspects of Thoreau being portrayed as an American Romantic which has lead to a great historical achievement as a writer that he well deserves.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism and Transcendental Meditation

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emerson gives notice to Immanuel Kant in his lecture The Transcendentalist by stating “It is well known to most of my audience, that the Idealism of the present day acquired the name of Transcendental, from the use of that term by Immanuel Kant, of Konigs berg.” (Emerson 199). Most transcendentalist were idealist that believed in the perfectibility of man, and they were often engaged in projects intended to make this ideal a reality. On of which was a self-governing, experimental community that met in Emerson’s house. This community mainly believed in a monistic universe, or one in which God is immanent in nature, which means that God is permanently and directly present in all things. One of the members of the community and a close friend of Emerson was Henry Thoreau.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience: Henry David Thoreau

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a philosopher and writer who is well known for his criticism of the American government during the time. During Thoreau’s life, there were two major issues being debated in the United States: slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues greatly influenced his essay, as he actually practiced civil disobedience in his own life by refusing to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican War. He states that the government should be based on conscience and that citizens should refuse to follow the law and have the duty not to participate and stay as a member of an unjust institution like the government. I argue that the notion of individualism and skepticism toward government is essential to the basis of many important reform movements in the modern society.

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau's Influences In The Antebellum Period

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” The words transformed people’s lives to think more of the why in life and live with a purpose not just do what they are told, which was a driving idea within the Transcendentalist movements. Transcendentalist were hard to define, but perhaps one of the fathers of transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson defines it most gracefully in a speech he gave, “The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine, He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power: he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy”. As Emerson’s key student and self-proclaimed Transcendentalist Thoreau fulfilled these requirements to help further this movement of higher

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau's Integrity

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although his actions were admirable and act as evidence to integrity, the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Emerson reveal a haughty and pretentious individual. Thoreau's courage was noble. He was quick to immerse himself in his beliefs

    Read More

  • Dillard and Thoreau Comparison

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thoreau after graduating from Harvard College began to keep a journal that he filled with the many thoughts and observations that came to him on his daily walks about Concord (Richardson 7). These Journals would spawn into the many books that he wrote, the most prominent being Walden. Thoreau was a self-taught naturalist, who spent much of his time systematically studying the natural phenomena almost exclusively around Concord (Witherell and Dubrulle). His Journal contains these careful observations, such as the cycles of plants, of local water levels, and many other natural phenomena (Witherell and Dubrulle). These Journals help to impress the love that he held for nature. It is this feeling that has propelled him to be considered by many to be the leader of the environmental movement (Buell 171).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Henry David Thoreau And Walden

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    On July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts, John and Cynthia birthed their third child, Henry David Thoreau. Striving to support the growing family, John worked as a pencil manufacturer, while Cynthia boarded individuals. His two older

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau Non Conformity

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    What comes to mind at the mention of Henry David Thoreau? A lot of people would say his uniqueness, or how different he is from everyone else in the play. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is a brilliant play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, which focuses on the true story of Henry David Thoreau. For many years, Thoreau was written off as some weirdo outcast, especially in his time, but now we see how truly significant his non-conformity is. The principle of non-conformity is an integrated part of Thoreau’s life, not for the sake of being different, but for the sake of what is right.

    Read More

More about The Incredible Henry David Thoreau

Open Document