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A Comparison of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Beliefs Essay
written by Kelly Cooper A Comparison of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo
Emerson’s Beliefs concerning Simplicity, the Value and Potential of Our Soul,
and Our Imagination. Henry David Thoreau tests Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas about
nature by living at Walden Pond, where he discovers that simplicity in physical
aspects brings deepness to our mind, our soul to its fullest potential, and our
imagination to be uplifted to change our lives. These two men believe that
nature is what forces us not to depend on others’ ideas but to develop our own.
Nature is ever changing so we must keep searching for explanations about human
life. They feel that nature is the key to knowing all. Thoreau lives at Walden
Pond to find the true meaning of life. He wants to experience things for
himself. Thoreau says, I wanted...to know it by experience, and be able to give
a true account of it in my next excursion (Thoreau 235). He takes Emerson’s
advice who says, Let us demand our own works and laws and worship (Emerson 215).
Emerson tells how modern generations live life vicariously through the stories
and traditions foretold. We do not experience things for ourselves. We take what
our ancestors and others before us have said and do not think twice about
whether we should try things for ourselves. Emerson decides not to conform to
modern ways, but to be an individual. Furthermore, in Nature, Emerson says,
Standing on the bare ground - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into
infinite space - all mean egotism vanishes.
I become a transparent eyeball
(Emerson 215). Here, he is saying that being in such a simple environment he is
able to see things more clearly. He has deeper thoughts. Like Emerson, Thoreau
also wanted to live a simple life, in order to find deeper meaning in life.
Thoreau says, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live
so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, ... and
reduce it to its lowest terms (Thoreau 235). Thoreau also says, We do not ride
on the railroad; it rides upon us (Thoreau 237). This means that some things
which we believe make our lives simpler actually make it more complicated. Both
Emerson and Thoreau believe that in order to find deep meaning in life, you must
live simply. In addition to living simply, both men believe in the value of the
soul. Thoreau goes to the woods to contemplate life and to get in touch with his
soul He wants to get in touch with his soul. He wants to, get the whole and
genuine meanness of it (Thoreau 235). Emerson similarly says, the one thing in
the world of value is the active soul (Emerson 218). He also tells of the soul’s
boundless resources (Emerson 218). All people have a soul, however, not
everyone’s soul is active. The resources of the soul are immense and go far
beyond our highest imagination. We do not know our soul’s potential, however, we
do know that it is almost immeasurable.
Finally, both men believe that the
imagination can uplift and change our lives. Emerson speaks of Thoreau at his
death saying, He knew the worth of the imagination for the uplifting and
consolation of human life... (Emerson 226). These men realize that in order to
have a comfortable and improved life they must put their imagination to work.
Thoreau, speaking of the wind that blew through his house says, To my
imagination it retained throughout the day more or less of this auroral
character, reminding me of a certain house on a mountain which I had visited the
year before (Thoreau 235). Thoreau allows his imagination to be free. With a
free imagination he can see things which others cannot see. In Brute Neighbors,
he sees the ants fighting, reminding him of a battle in the Revolutionary War.
Using our imagination allows us to gain valuable insight from everyday life. In
conclusion, we find that Emerson and Thoreau have similar works in the aspects
of simplicity, our soul, and our imagination. They believe that the deeper
meaning of life can be found through simplicity. They view the soul as the most
important part of ourselves. Also, they find great importance in the
imagination. If these three things are realized and fulfilled they believed that
we can acquire self-actualization. However, if we know the way to fulfilling our
potential, why then do we not do so?
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