Thoreau Transcendentalism
Henry David Thoreau is a writer from the 19th century who sparked the movement entitled transcendentalism. This movement was one that people from that time would never of imagined. The basis of transcendentalism was that everyone is what they wanted to be, there was nothing holding anyone back; churches, work, society, you could be the center of your own universe and whatever that meant to yourself. The two chapters from Walden, Solitude and Higher Laws where both very intriguing and very challenging to read. However, they both put an insight into Thoreau’s logic behind transcendentalism. Thoreau’s philosophy being; in order to be a Transcendentalist one must live in the wild, be one with nature. As Thoreau puts it in Higher Laws, “I
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I eat meat and quite often and don't think much of it when I do but that’s what society has done to us. We don't think what we do, we think what everyone else thinks whether its where our food comes from or for example; if we should go to college. And this is what Thoreau was trying to say, that people are far to heavily influenced and that was 160 years ago. Now there are so many ways for people to control us, from news to music to our family. In the chapter Solitude Thoreau writes, “I have a deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls” (112). This quote is significant because Thoreau shows that you don't need to be indulged in people to be happy; in fact you need no one. The only person you need is yourself, of course that’s easier said than done. Thoreau seemed to not fancy people in general so for him to be happy with himself was much easier than say, a person who is very sociable. It doesn't matter that Thoreau’s closest neighbor is only a mile or so away, to him he might as well be in Asia or Africa. That is what Thoreau’s idea of solitude is; that what or where you actually are in this universe doesn't matter. What does matter is what you think, where you are, if you think that your in Asia or Africa; then why should that person who is lives only a mile way from Thoreau care where he is or we he thinks he
I eat meat and quite often and don't think much of it when I do but that’s what society has done to us. We don't think what we do, we think what everyone else thinks whether its where our food comes from or for example; if we should go to college. And this is what Thoreau was trying to say, that people are far to heavily influenced and that was 160 years ago. Now there are so many ways for people to control us, from news to music to our family. In the chapter Solitude Thoreau writes, “I have a deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls” (112). This quote is significant because Thoreau shows that you don't need to be indulged in people to be happy; in fact you need no one. The only person you need is yourself, of course that’s easier said than done. Thoreau seemed to not fancy people in general so for him to be happy with himself was much easier than say, a person who is very sociable. It doesn't matter that Thoreau’s closest neighbor is only a mile or so away, to him he might as well be in Asia or Africa. That is what Thoreau’s idea of solitude is; that what or where you actually are in this universe doesn't matter. What does matter is what you think, where you are, if you think that your in Asia or Africa; then why should that person who is lives only a mile way from Thoreau care where he is or we he thinks he