Emerson and Thoreau

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendental thinker and philosopher that was really the one that discussed going beyond what society gives as truth and to rely on oneself in order to discover the true nature of life. Emerson wrote essays such as "Nature" and "Self-Reliance", and not only very strongly believed in the concept of transcendentalism, but was a key component in its popularity. Among its popular following was Henry David Thoreau, who believed very strongly in the teachings of Emerson. He believed so strongly in the idea of trancendentalism, that he went above and beyond, and commited himself to following the teachings, like going away from society to Walden Pond and writing about his ideas and experiences. In this way, Emerson was the teacher and Thoreau was the practitioner, taking the words from Emerson's essays and speeches and really attempting to incorporate them into his life and reach that higher level of understanding. For example, in his essay "Nature," Emerson says "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from the rest of society (Emerson 180)." Thoreau embraced this idea by going into the wild to try and find himself, and says in "Waldon," "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived (Thoreau 204)." Emerson gave Thoreau the big idea to remove himself from the reality of society, and Thoreau took his teachings and went beyond that. Emerson, in "Self-Reliance," states "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater (Emerson 184)." Thoreau, believing this, executes Emerson's ideas in his essay "Civil Disobedience," saying "Some years ago, the State met me in behalf of the Church, and commanded me to pay a certain sum toward the support of a clergyman whose preaching my father attended, but never I myself (Thoreau 213)." In this way, Thoreau is going against the ideas of society and thinking for himself, both of which are ideals of Emerson.