Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Walden - 1424 Words

A Literary Analysis of works by Mary Oliver Henry David Thoreau Author, Henry David Thoreau and Mary Oliver are both very passionate about nature and what it has to offer in life, as well as the symbolism behind nature and its creatures in their works of literature, in â€Å"Walden†, and â€Å"The House of Light†, Both authors discuss their views of nature and the beauty of the world that they want to make familiar to their audience. In this essay, I’ll provide my reasoning behind this statement. In â€Å"Walden†, Thoreau talks about his experience living at Walden pond for what he said was two years, two months and two days where he for the most part, isolated himself from civilization and supported himself with the help of no one else.†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"We talk slowly, two women trying/ in a difficult time to be wise./ Roots in the cellar drains,/ I say, and she replies/ that the leaves are getting heavier/ every year, and the fruit/ harder to gather away.† (7-14) Mary Oliver was symbolizing this tree as something more than just a tree. I feel that the roots in the drain that were mentioned were symbolized as her family’s roots that are connected to that tree, and when she says the roots are in the cellar drains, to me that meant that those roots go back to a very long time ago, maybe as far back as to when the tree was planted or when the house that it stands over was built. I really liked Thoreau’s belief that the mainstream American lifestyle along with the technology of it all has really lessened our overall experience of life itself. We’re so caught up in wanting the newest iphone or fanciest car, instead of taking time to enjoy life as it is, without the unnecessary accessories or what we see as necessities. The quote from â€Å"Walden† that says â€Å"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation...a stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are calledShow MoreRelatedThoreau Walden Analysis1615 Words   |  7 PagesSchulz clearly states her belief that Thoreau was not only â€Å"narcissistic, and fanatical about self control,† but a hypocrite. She relies on common cliches of the â€Å"mile† walk back to Concord where Thoreau would feast on his mom’s homemade â€Å"cookies.† Contradictions that Thoreau himself commented on in Walden. Thoreau mentions in the book’s fi rst sentence that he is but â€Å"a mile† from the village of Concord, the author seemingly self aware of his situation. Schultz criticism is overly literal, arguingRead More Emerson and Thoreau Represent American Identity1511 Words   |  7 PagesCompare and contrast the way in which Emerson and Thoreau represent American Identity. â€Å"Identity means who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group which make them different from others,† (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Third Edition). Every individual, group and country has their own identity which makes them different from others and it shows uniqueness of oneself. Reaction against the existing philosophy takes place when there is conflict in interest amongst the philosophersRead MoreEgoitarianism In Henry David Thoreau1662 Words   |  7 Pagesrespected and honored writers in all of American literature, millions have idolized Henry David Thoreau for his transcendental ideologies seen throughout many of his works, such as â€Å"Walden†. However is this respect deserved? Thoreau critics describe him as a very conceited, hypocritical, and egotistical individual who had little respect or empathy for humanity. On the other hand, those in praise of Thoreau describe his writing as unparalleled in terms of detailed descriptions , observations, and understandingRead MoreAlternative Lifestyles in Krakauers Into the Wild and Thoreaus Civil Disobedience1523 Words   |  7 Pagesreading Krakauer and Thoreau I have learned about an alternative lifestyle that was brought to light by both of these writers. Both of these men write about a life of minimalism and the act of self-reliance. Through Thoreaus writing about his own life in Walden and his essay Civil Disobedience and the story of Chris McCandless told by Krakauer in his book Into the Wild we learn about two similar but at times very different viewpoints on the subject. I would like to compare the two lifestylesRead MoreThe Relationship between Man and Nature in Emerson and Thoreau Part 51007 Words   |  5 Pages Compare and contrast the relationship between man and nature in Emerson and Thoreau? Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25th, 1803 and died on April 1882. He was a poet, lecturer and essay writer. Slowly he started to disbelieve in his religion and social believes and started to study philosophy like Plato (Transcendental, nature). Keeping in mind his philosophy studies he gave a speech on â€Å"The American scholar† in 1837. Only during 1932 â€Å"The American Scholar† became the most popular magazineRead MoreThe Views Of Nature Expressed By Emerson And Thoreau848 Words   |  4 PagesAnalyze the views of nature expressed by Emerson and Thoreau in this week’s readings. Then compare and contrast them to one another. You might also want to apply these themes of nature overall thought of the Transcendentalists as a genre or discipline. Transcendentalism reports an easy idea that people fairly and evenly have ability about themselves, what’s around them and that goes above, â€Å"transcends† what people can do beyond their five senses. There are people that believe in themselves to endureRead MoreWho Was Alex Supertramp?983 Words   |  4 Pagesprominent advocates of this literary trend, known as transcendentalism, were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. These men also happened to be Chris’s inspiration for traveling abroad unaccompanied. According to Jon Krakauer, Chris took with him on his journey several books, one of which was Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It was found that Chris had highlighted a passage of Walden that reads, No man ever followed his genius till it misled him. Though the result were bodily weakness, yet perhapsRead MoreYour Freedom Is Not Free Essay1645 Words   |  7 Pagesfrom whatever shackles limited them from reaching their potentials, both literally and f iguratively. Henry David Thoreau, Fredrick Douglass, and Ralph Waldo Emerson are exemplary writers of the nineteenth century who strove to articulate not only the ideas of freedom and justice, but also the means by which these ideals, which they themselves acted upon, might be realized. Thoreaus Walden and Resistance to Civil Government, Douglasss Narrative, and Emersons The American Scholar are reflectiveRead MoreEssay on Transcendentalism vs. Anti-Transcendentalism778 Words   |  4 Pageswrote the essay, â€Å"Self Reliance† and Henry David Thoreau, another Transcendentalist wrote an essay called, â€Å"Walden.† Both works of literature focus on the Transcendentalism belief. In â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne reveals both Transcendentalism and Anti-Transcendentalism through the attitudes of the characters. Therefore, â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† can be compared and contrasted with both â€Å"Sel f Reliance† and â€Å"Walden.† During the 1830s and 1840s, TranscendentalismRead MoreEssay on Nature in American Literature917 Words   |  4 Pagesattitude, mans life is just a mere dot in this world of blackness. In 1854 Thoreau wrote the short story of Walden, eighteen years later from the publication of Nature and forty-three years later from the publication of Thanatopsis. In this work Thoreau presents an attitude of examining mans existence in his life. When a man examines his existence he realizes what his life has come to a closure. As Thoreau declares [he] went to the woods because [he] wished to live deliberately, to front