What if the world focused and was run on conformity and consistency? What I Lived and What I Lived For written by Henry David Thoreau and Self-Reliance written by Ralph Waldo Emerson are both pieces of literature discussing transcendentalism and the tenet of conformity being undesirable compared to nonconformity. Emerson’s piece describes how part of person’s freedom and identity are given up when they become part of a group. Mankind had grown less inquisitive and therefore does not question the world around them. Thoreau feels that people should live with only essentials away from society. Distance from society will allow people to awaken, think for themselves, and encourage growth for their intellect. Emerson and Thoreau use compare and contrast, …show more content…
Emerson uses cause and effect to prove that being consistent and conforming brings about no progress. Emerson writes, “With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do,” (Emerson, 4). Consistency causes someone with great potential to have no successes. Cause and effect is used to conclude the theme by describing that if a great soul remains uniform to their surroundings nothing will be achieved. By concluding nonconformity on the previously stated idea, Emerson allows the reader to walk away with the powerful idea that consistency is a restriction. Although, ending on a powerful idea still does not help the reader to further visualize Emerson’s claim due to the lack of anything that the reader can relate back to. Alternatively, Thoreau again uses description to give a specific example of conformity in his daily life. He states, “I am sure that I have never read any memorable news,” (Thoreau, 7). By saying he has never read any memorable news, Thoreau suggests that all the news is consistent, so he finds no reason to continue reading it. Unlike Emerson, description is used to conclude the ideology of diminishing conformity by giving a direct example of what conformity looks like and how it affects people. By ending the theme of nonconformity with an example of its effects in daily life, Thoreau leaves the reader with an insight of how conformity negatively affects everyone which provides the reader with a strong notion of Thoreau’s ideas. Lastly, cause and effect and description are both used by Emerson and Thoreau to conclude the principle of not conforming to society by proving that no progress comes with conformity and by giving an example of how consistency affects people’s daily
Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader in the independence movement of India once said, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”(brainyquotes.com) Gandhi states that protest and civil disobedience are necessary when the authority becomes unscrupulous. This correlates to “Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson; “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau; and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr., because all three leaders felt that civil disobedience was important to help protest against an unjust ruling. Jefferson stood up to the injustice of the king by writing the Declaration of Independence and urged others to stand up for the independence of America. Thoreau exemplified
In the great era of foundational philosophers, two stand out, Plato and Thoreau. Each had their own opinion on various topics, especially on civil disobedience. Plato’s life span was approximately 428-348 BC. Plato wrote numerous works throughout his lifetime, however we will be focusing on one, the Crito. Thoreau’s life span was 1817-1862. To help us determine what civil disobedience means to both of these philosophers we will first look at a general definition. According to Merriam-Webster civil disobedience is defined as “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government.” This definition will act as a springboard to compare and contrast both of their thoughts on the topic. We will determine, according to Plato and Thoreau, when we are called to engage in civil disobedience and when the moral parameters of civil disobedience are pushed too far.
In Thoreau’s view, he felt that the government was insufficient. He didn’t need the laws to be just, he used his conscious and morality. He was compelled to do what morally was right, rather than it being based on government issued laws such as the complacent society there is today. People seem to care about justice, yet are immoral. This was the message Thoreau was trying to get across.
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” once stated by Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau was a simple man with a simple life. He yearned for simplicity. He was a very wise man as well. In his piece of writing “ Where I Lived and What I Lived For” Thoreau explains a life of simplicity separated from the complexity of society. In “Where I Live and What I lived For” Thoreau most effectively appeals to pathos through the use of allusion, similes, and imagery.
When it comes to civil rights, there are two pieces of literature commonly discussed. One of these pieces is Henry David Thoreau’s persuasive lecture On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. In this work, Thoreau discusses how one must combat the government with disobedience of unjust laws and positive friction to create change. The second piece is the commonly known article Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. This letter covers the ways in which peaceful protest and standing up against injustice can lead to positive results. Both pieces conveyed a similar message of standing up for what is right. The strongest rhetorical methods which Thoreau uses are allusions, logos, ethos and rhetorical questions. However, King’s use of
know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my
An American Author, Transcendentalist and tax resister, Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord Massachusetts, and lived there most of his life. He was opposed to many of the things that went on in our society and debated many issues in his life. Two of these major issues are , the Mexican American War and the implement of Slavery in our society. This was the reason for many of his writings include “Slavery in Massachusetts” and “Civil Disobedience” where he wrote about his principles and views against the U.S government and their involvement in the Mexican American War and the evil of Slavery. Thoreau opposed to these because they promote unjust government practices which he was strongly against.
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.
An influential literary movement in the nineteenth century, transcendentalism placed an emphasis on the wonder of nature and its deep connection to the divine. As the two most prominent figures in the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whole-heartedly embraced these principles. In their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience”, Emerson and Thoreau, respectively, argue for individuality and personal expression in different manners. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson calls for individuals to speak their minds and resist societal conformity, while in “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau urged Americans to publicly state their opinions in order to improve their own government.
In Henry Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government, the harmless actions he takes to rebel against the government are considered acts of civil disobedience. He talks about how the government acts wrongful such as, slavery and the Mexican-American war. This writing persuades Nathaniel Heatwole, a twenty-year-old college student studying at Guildford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, to take matters into his own hands, by smuggling illegal items on multiple Southwest airplanes. The reason in that being, is to show the people that our nation is unsafe and dangerous. In doing this, he takes his rebellion one step too far, by not only jeopardizing his life, but as well as many other innocent lives.
People in modern day society should learn from past transcendentalists and engage in the concept of solitude. Henry David Thoreau and Chris McCandless were both transcendentalists that believed in the key fundamental idea of solitude. Henry Thoreau was a transcendentalist that practiced the form of solitude throughout his life. Later in his life, he left society and moved into woods to be alone. Henry David Thoreau wrote a book called, Walden where he recalled important lessons and ideas that his master Ralph Waldo Emerson taught him about transcendentalism. Along with Thoreau, a more modern-day transcendentalist was known as Chris McCandless. McCandless journeyed to the wilderness in Alaska to be able to experience a minimal amount of human
Thoreau conveys many points in his writing and a large recurring one is the state of society. As stated before, he believed that people are too focused on physical gain and modernization which leads them into desperation. He adds on to this belief later in the book asking that above all else whether it be money or fame he be given honesty (Thoreau 246). To Thoreau, the truth is more important than anything measurable in status. Thoreau believes that a minimalist lifestyle is a good lifestyle, similar to Mccandless. He speaks of how it is good that he can put all of his belonging in one pile in his yard because it removes the clutter from his life (Thoreau 85). He also says that his best quality in life is to want very little, because it keeps himself true to himself and keeps him from distraction. Thoreau also believes that every man should be one in himself not oppressed by the government. He says that everyone should be able to be themselves whether is is in accord with the government or not (Thoreau 240). He is essentially saying that the government should not be a part of people's life decisions only to maintain the
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” In this quote, Eleanor is expressing that you should always take advantage of the universal human right to be an individual. From time immemorial, many of those who have led meaningful and enjoyable lives have shared one particular trait in common: individualism. Chris McCandless and Thoreau were no different, they both embodied individualism and as a result they have unknowingly inspired generations.
In many works of literature, authors often have a point they are trying to convey. This may be something about religion or politics, for example. In From Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Against Nature by Joyce Carol Oates, both authors are trying to make different claims regarding the topic of nature. Thoreau’s piece speaks more positively of nature whereas Oates’ piece contradicts the romantic views some writers have about nature. In making their claims, both authors utilize different structures to convey clear messages to the reader.
You can see just how important non-conformity is in Thoreau’s life because he is willing to be thrown in jail for it. In act one whilst Thoreau and Bailey are discussing why they are in jail Thoreau says this, “But we’ve got a President who went out and boomed up a war all by himself – with no help from Congress and less help from me.” (pg. 11) What Henry is referring to here is the fact that he did not pay his taxes to help support a war he does not support himself. Everyone else in society is paying their taxes, but Henry will not conform to that. Thoreau is not refusing to pay taxes