Post III: Thoreau 1

The writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau develop the ideals of transcendentalism and build off of one another. In many ways, Thoreau is a student of Emerson’s philosophy because he uses Emerson’s ideas and puts them into practice. In this way, Emerson develops his own transcendental philosophies. A great parallel between the two authors is the fact that Emerson advises his readers to go into solitude, and Thoreau practices this suggestion in an effort to publish his findings. Emerson writes, “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society” (Field, 180). Thoreau, thus, escapes society and lives in the woods for over two years.  When describing the reasons for his undertaking, Thoreau explains, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Field, 204). These reasons for Thoreau’s withdrawal from society mirror Emerson’s reasons for the initial proposal. This strongly suggests that Thoreau adopted much of his ideas from Emerson’s writing.

Many of the perspectives that Thoreau grew to accept during his withdrawal from society were similar to those already presented in Emerson’s texts. Emerson states, “The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood” (Field, 180). Emerson praises the knowledge of children because this knowledge is more in tune with nature. Thoreau develops similar ideas, “I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born” (Field, 205). This provides another example of Thoreau’s philosophy stemming from Emerson’s, then growing to form something greater and more developed.

In some cases, Thoreau changes his ideas to contest with Emerson’s within the limits of transcendental philosophy. Emerson writes, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion. It is easy in solitude to live after our own” (Field, 184). Thus, Emerson implies that in order for one to develop a strong connection with nature and achieve self-reliance, he must secede from society. However, after escaping from society himself, Thoreau expands the definition of solitude to be more general and unique to the individual, “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude” (Field, 208). Thoreau states that by simplifying one’s life, solitude can be reached even in the midst of society. This contradicts Emerson's philosophy, but still shows a strong parallel between the two writers that suggests that Thoreau was a student of Emerson’s philosophy.

Works Cited

Field, Nancy. Glencoe Literature American Literature: The Reader's Choice. Place of Publication Not Identified: Glencoe Mcgraw-Hill School, 2003. Print.