Thoreau And Transcendentalism

Words: 879
Pages: 4
Open Document
Henry Thoreau was one to emphasize that people should be more focused on their time on Earth than their avarice. Someone can work their whole lives out and not even realize that they did not take the time to enjoy themselves. Thoreau himself states “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately... and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (Thoreau 101). This circumstance is seen both in the affluence of some and the workers that are tied down to their jobs and virtually have no time to benefit from what life has to offer. Thoreau and many transcendentalists alike thought that one could find themselves and seek lifes fruits in nature itself. However, with the great demand of productivity and money from corporations …show more content…
People may be conformists and do not want to break societal standards. Eventually people pass on, not knowing that they had even wasted their own time. This theme still matters today because people still devote most of their time to their work without truly enjoying themselves. Now, Thoreau did not mean to abolish society and its economy by saying that nobody should work, but he meant that a people should take time to go out in nature and discover their own identity. The quiet desperation that Thoreau mentions ties to the materialism of some mentioned earlier. The greed of some to want more leads people to that desperation and never ending greed. According to professional Leon F. Seltzer Ph.D., clinical psychologist and author of “Paradoxical Strategies in Psychotherapy”, “What perpetual wealth production inoculates them[materialists] against are underlying, and barely recognized, feelings of distress—such as depression, anxiety, guilt or shame—which stem from a belief that deep, deep down they may not be good enough at …show more content…
Recent studies have proven this true in the way that work overload affects household and family life. Mark Promislo, management professor at Rider University in Lawrenceville New Jersey and published author of “Valuing Money More Than People: The Effects of Materialism on Work-Family Conflict”, found that “materialism was significantly associated with the measures of family interference with work, and also their experience of work-overload--the perception of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them.”(Promislo par. 4). Like Thoreau, Promislo noticed that people sometimes value tangible materialistic items over family life. People like this see family as a hindrance to their personal gain to prosperity. When working hard toward a goal it is vital to remember what Thoreau stressed in “Walden” and that was to make life simpler. Work should not occupy someone's life forever and all the while be living in desperation. Nor should work and materialism be a priority over life necessities, like family and personal thought. Henry Thoreau's experiment out in the woods advocated and proved that a simple life away from a lot of work was a good thing in
Show More

Related Documents: Thoreau And Transcendentalism

Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism

Henry David Thoreau is one of the most famous transcendentalist in history, alongside Ralph Waldo Emmerson. His book Walden has been an inspiration to people for generations. Its story about his cabin he built in a forest both highlights key aspects of and recommends a transcendentalist lifestyle. The tale of his cabin depicts a clearing inside a forest with a small pond and a cabin resting on the banks of the pond. As the sun rises he watches mist wisp around and describes them as “like ghosts”…

Words 572 - Pages 3

Henry David Thoreau And Transcendentalism

These are just some of the terms by which the work of Henry David Thoreau can be categorized as based on his multiple “lives.” Henry David Thoreau is recognized as an important contributor to the American literary and the philosophical movement, New England Transcendentalism. His essays, books, and poems weave together two central themes over the course of his intellectual career: the nature of life and the conduct of humans. Thoreau began a journal at the suggestion of his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson…

Words 899 - Pages 4

Henry David Thoreau: Examples Of Transcendentalism

Henry David Thoreau, perfected the philosophy of transcendentalism and is the most famous example of transcendentalism . although he was not the founder, the credit for that goes to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism had its beginnings, as a protest against the general state of culture. The main theme of transcendentalism is : individuality 1 , practicing non-conformity 2 , carpe-diem 3, love of nature, and utopia 4 . This essay chiefly focused on the ideas of individuality and practicing…

Words 570 - Pages 3

How Did Henry David Thoreau Contribute To Transcendentalism

Henry David Thoreau’s life of solitude was heavily influenced by Transcendentalism. Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817. According to Thoreau himself, he would rather live in nature by himself, than live in the human community. “For Thoreau, living outside of the human community is the complement to living immersed in nature” (The Gale Group 329). He then went to college at Harvard and then went to be a teacher at Center School, but then quit after two weeks because he didn't believe in corporal punishment…

Words 844 - Pages 4

Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson And Henry David Thoreau

Transcendentalism- an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures. Explanation- A movement where a bunch of bandwagoners decided to rebel against the intellectual days where…

Words 639 - Pages 3

Transcendentalism: United States and Thoreau Essay

Both Thoreau and McCandless are alike in the way that they both were willing to go to extreme lengths and isolation to ensure that they get the most out of life and discover a truer joy. They both thought that society wasn't experiencing true happiness, and they wanted to be independence from false happiness seemed to be the most effective method. McCandless thought that anyone who didn't endure crazy wilderness expeditions was wrong and that everyone should be as independent as he. I respect Thoreau…

Words 341 - Pages 2

Essay about Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau and Crawford

Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, details the struggle of Jane Crawford’s life to pursue her quest for identity, and to find out what love truly is. This journey coincides the philosophy of Transcendentalism, which stresses emphasis on the individual, and emotion over reason. Despite Jane’s hardships throughout the story, she doesn’t forget her aspirations and what she truly believes in. These same principles are reflected in both Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, “Self-Reliance”, and…

Words 1282 - Pages 6

Essay about Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two writers during the transcendentalism era. Their beliefs, such as simplicity, self-reliance, and nature, are still relevant in our society today. Henry David Thoreau was a firm believer that people spend too much time buying luxuries to really enjoy/appreciate anything at all. In the 1800's as well as now, prices continue to rise and people are being forced to work more and more just to make ends meet. This wouldn't be a problem if more people…

Words 400 - Pages 2

Thoreau: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thoreau Essay

Henry David Thoreau and Transcendentalism Have you ever read stories in which the protagonist surrenders all he owns to pursue a life in the wild? Stories of men like Daniel Boone who loved the wilderness, and wanted nothing more than to see it flourish from generation to generation. Their existed and still exists a group by the name of the transcendentalists, who believe that materialism is a terrible virtue, and no government is necessary, to justify these beliefs the group would conduct social…

Words 816 - Pages 4

Transcendentalism In 'Nature And Civil Disobedience'

Transcendentalism is the idea of believing in yourself, and believing what you say and what you think is right. When I read these excerpts it makes me feel powerful and makes me feel like I can do anything and makes me realize that need to believe in myself more, which is exactly the goal of transcendentalism. Many characteristics of transcendentalism are covered in both of these stories and really get the point across. Emerson’s excerpt, “Nature”, and Thoreau's essay, “Civil Disobedience” both…

Words 540 - Pages 3