All the names; the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, the mountains, the trees, the flowers, the scholars and the time on Earth are all ranked under nature by Emerson. (Nature, 1836) and scholars look for answers from nature because of which nature and men are interconnected but in contrast to this Thoreau points out that nature and man are not interlinked and that Men and Nature are two different entities and this is why both Ralph Waldo Emerson in ‘The American Scholar’ and Henry David Thoreau in ‘Walden; or, Life in The Woods’ talks about man and nature. Emerson was born on the 25th of May in 1803 and died after 79 years in April 27th, 1882 (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wikipedia). Emerson led the movement of the Transcendentalist which happened in the mid-19th century and this movement was a protest against the spirituality (Transcendentalism, Wikipedia). Thoreau was well known for his outspoken nature against slavery in the United States and for this he was influenced by his wife Cynthia, who was a member of the Concord Women’s Anti-Slavery Society (A brief biography). Thoreau was born on 12th July, 1817 and died on 6th May, 1862. According to Emerson in “The American Scholar’ man is a mere puppet in the midst of people although he is a man thinking when alone but whatever his state of mind is, it is man that derives ideas from nature and most importantly nature has the answer to all the questions of men. In Thoreau’s ‘Walden; or, Life in The Woods’ what he thinks is that men are confused about the creation of nature and man because if both men and nature were creations of God then how can both good and evil be together. Thoreau tries to show the greed of man and the inadequate resource of nature and at what pace man is consumin...
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...he will of God (American Scholar).
In conclusion both Emerson and Thoreau agree that even though man is an individual yet all men have to depend on one another and that nature is the ultimate answer to all the questions.
Works Cited
Henry David Thoreau. (2014, March 19). Retrieved on 20th March, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau Ralph Waldo Emerson. (2014, March 19). Retrieved on 20th March, 2014 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson
Emerson, R. W. (1836). Nature. Retrieved on 17th April, 2014 from
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-contents.html
Thoreau, H. D. (1854). Walden; or, life in the woods. Retrieved from
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/205/205-h/205-h.htm
Transcendentalism. (2014, March 12). Retrieved on 20th March, 2014 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalism
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In Thoreau’s excerpt of “Walden”, he writes about moving to the forest to live in a cabin. He gets away from the busy world around him and secludes himself to nature. While living out in the forest, Thoreau would take the time to enjoy the beauty of nature and come back to the cabin and write about it. In Emerson’s excerpt of “Nature”, he writes about the relationship of humans and nature.
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Through this quote Ralph Waldo Emerson was trying to prove that the understanding of nature in human is very little, as all humans do is view nature as something that is materialistic. In the first chapter of his essay, "Nature", Emerson says that if humans were to let go of all the materialistic views they have and interact with nature and observe it beyond the items they would understand the true meaning of nature and its value. His theme through this passage is to show that every single object that humans see before their eyes is not nature. The objects that humans see is a piece of art that humans can easily change to become something different. When he describes the farms he sees, Emerson says that no one owns the farms because as a whole the farms are nothing but of the same, meaning they are a whole piece not individual pieces that are scattered. That is the theme that he is trying to portray through this quote and just like stars, though they are always there, everyone just views them as they are always there "for" the humans, but Emerson
Emerson’s first published work is Nature, which includes the essence of his transcendental thoughts towards the exceptional world, as a kind of attractive sign of the personal devout life, hanging trancelike before the eye, yet, it is to be noted, having control as one of its teaching for the caring heart (305). After all the critics have read and reread Nature, hardly any of them have anything negative to state. Nature is just an undeniable amazing essay. As Alfred S. Reid stated, “Nature is a unique blend of...
Nature, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is a literary work about natural world and its properties. Nature is divided into an introduction and eight chapters. Emerson defines nature as everything separate from the inner individual. The inner individual meaning the soul. The titles of the eight chapters are: Nature, Commodity, Beauty, Language, Discipline, Idealism, Spirit, and Prospects. In chapter three, Emerson introduces the idea of beauty. Beauty is a part of the natural world and it serves our needs and desires. He makes it clear that beauty is a nobler want of humanity (Emerson, 944). Beauty is not absolutely necessary for the survival of man, but it is beneficial and extremely useful.
Throughout the other chapters, Emerson explores the idea of nature as instructor to man and how man can learn from nature. He repeatedly says that nature is a divine creation of God and through it man can learn to be closer to god. However, despite the reverence, awe, and prerequisite mental status, he also presents the concept of nature being 'below' and man on a 'Scala Natura ' of sorts. Although man seen as connected to and part of nature, for he questions if we can "separate the man from the living picture" of nature (26), he finds that nature is nothing without human interpretation because "All facts in natural history taken by themselves have not value . . .. but marry it to human history, and it is full of life," (33). However, there appears to be some more complicated interactions between nature and humans because human language, arguably one of the most important inventions/discoveries in our history is immediately dependent on nature (35). In a chapter titled Discipline, Emerson states that 'nature is thoroughly mediate. It is made to serve," (45). Emerson believes that the human form is superior to all other organizations which appear to be degradations of it (50).
The relationship between man and nature is immeasurable because man and nature are interdependent on each other. Nature is everything that supports life on earth and man enjoys the beauty of nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 in Boston and he was teacher by profession and also a naturalist (Semihatopal, n.d). Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord in July 12th 1817 and he was an ecological prophet and also naturalist who was the student of Emerson. (Rickett, 1916). Emerson and Thoreau are the two transcendentalists in nineteenth century who inspired and encourage people to love nature. Since Thoreau was Emerson’s student, they shared ideas and knowledge about the American transcendentalism because Thoreau was affected by Emerson’s ideas about individualism and society. They encourage Individualism and self-reliance; the theories of Emerson and Thoreau had not only influenced the nature lovers but also the dominant part of political and social people as a whole, sensitising the people that their ideas are the most important than everything. Therefore, Emerson and Thoreau followed the same theory about the relationship between man and nature as both were transcendentalist; they also have different ideas and views such as writing essay on Government, nature as a teacher, relationship between man and nature, understanding the nature as it provides basic living to a man.
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In his essay, "Nature", Ralph Waldo Emerson describes man's relationship to nature and to God. Early on, he describes himself as a "transparent eyeball." In this passage, he expresses his view that nature is purity. Emerson believes being in pure nature brings mankind closer to the way God intended life to be. Through nature man and God are brought together.
Nature is an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson where he discusses the symbolism that exists in nature, its manifestations, and the ongoing development of nature toward higher forms. According to Emerson, nature itself can be considered as an experience of solitude (“man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society”). It is his belief that when the individual desires to be alone, he shall look into the immensity of the sky, as it inspires a feeling of awe and respect. To Emerson everything in nature is a source of wisdom, simplicity, and fulfillment (“flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour”). He further believes on the importance of the relationship between man and nature. This relationship between
Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25th, 1803 and died on April 1882. He was a poet, lecturer and essay writer. Slowly he started to disbelieve in his religion and social believes and started to study philosophy like Plato (Transcendental, nature). Keeping in mind his philosophy studies he gave a speech on “The American scholar” in 1837. Only during 1932 “The American Scholar” became the most popular magazine, where a speech was declared by Emerson to the people of America and his speech became one of the best sellers and had won many awards. Thoreau began writing during 1840s with the help of Emerson as his teacher and friend as well. He was known for his opinions about Transcendentalism during those days. Both of them wrote many poems about Nature. Emerson and Thoreau consider that nature is what forces them not to depend on others idea but to develop their own. Which inspired themselves and encouraged others to write on their own? The relationship between Emerson and Thoreau on man and nature has implemented their own ideas but have similar ideas at some extended and both of them learned from each other.
Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882), the leader of the Transcendentalism in New England, is the first American who wrote prose and poem on nature and the relationship between nature and man Emerson's philosophy of Transcendentalism concerning nature is that nature is only another side of God "the gigantic shadow of God cast our senses." Every law in nature has a counterpart in the intellect. There is a perfect parallel between the laws of nature and the laws of thought. Material elements simply represent an inferior plane: wherever you enumerate a physical law, I hear in it a moral rule. His poem The Rhodora is a typical instance to illustrate his above-mentioned ideas on nature. At the very beginning of the poem, the poet found the fresh rhodora in the woods, spreading its leafless blooms in a deep rock, to please the desert and the sluggish brook, while sea-winds pieced their solitudes in May. It is right because of the rhodora that the desert and the sluggish brook are no longer solitudes. Then the poem goes to develop by comparison between the plumes of the redbird and the rhodora . Although the bird is elegant and brilliant, the flower is much more beautiful than the bird. So the sages can not helping asking why this charm is wasted on the earth and sky. The poet answers beauty is its own cause for being just as eyes are made for seeing. There is no other reason but beauty itsel...