Vinson 1 Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Transcendentalism By Cassidy Vinson Ralph Waldo Emerson introduced the complex thought of transcendentalism that inspired Henry David Thoreau as well as Margaret Fuller. Perry Miller makes the point that there was never an organized movement for the Transcendentalists, however, they fit together in a pattern because of their similar views that outsiders saw it as a movement. Transcendentalism is complex and takes a kindred heart and a soul willing to explore what it takes to fully immerse in the transcendentalism thought. Ralph Waldo Emerson is the founder of Transcendentalism, or the spokesman for Nature, the optimist who does not understand the world s evil or pain (Carr 1704). The death of his first wife, Ellen Tucker, broke Emerson away from the ministry mold which he was consumed in and launched himself into reading and writing. He later moved to Concord, Massachusetts with his second wife, Lidian Jackson, and had four children with her there. A year after living there he published Nature in which he explained the meaning of the newly founded transcendentalism movement. In Nature, Emerson not only discoursed on the natural world as a source of material abundance, aesthetic pleasure, and scientific truth; he also explored at lengthand this was his highest interest- the moral and spiritual meaning inherent in natural phenomena (Boller 1). Although his essay is named Nature, Emerson is really speaking about our souls and how, as humans, we should live in this world. I believe that he titled his essay this because for him, nature is how he connects his soul to everything regarding himself so he was personalizing an essay that he was writing to share with the world. In Nature s introduction, Emerson begins by questioning religions that rely on old traditions and history and asks, Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and
Vinson 2 not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs ( Nature 1707). He answers his own question by speaking of nature and how each new season brings something new and the old gets washed away; he believes we should follow nature s example and that there are new lands, new men, new thoughts let us demand our own works and laws and worship ( Nature 1707). Emerson compares the calming sense that nature brings to the confusing idea of creation that has been bringing hate among men. The first chapter is Emerson explaining the solitude that nature offers and the natural wonder that appears while being emerged in nature. Emerson describes a lover of nature as one whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood ( Nature 1709). As children we have an unfiltered mind that makes us curious of everything, Emerson is saying that in order to fully appreciate nature and all that is offered one must see things from a child s heart. Jumping to the third chapter, Beauty, Emerson says that the body and mind are cramped by harmful thoughts and that nature is the medicine needed in order to rid of the toxic thoughts. Nature is able to provide a loveliness that displaces the worries that may have been in tact beforehand. The Over-Soul is Emerson s way of guiding us future transcendentalists to fully understand what the human soul, God, and transcendentalism all mean and explains how we are able to incorporate it into our own life. The Over-Soul is the soul of who we are and our soul is connected to God. Emerson states that my words do not carry its august sense; they fall short and cold, what he means by this is that with language we cannot understand the God that is within us unless we live by moral actions; the union that we have with the Over-Soul is directed by our actions ( The Over-Soul ). By understanding truth in our minds we gain a greater insight to our soul, which connects us closer to the Over-Soul. In order to fully appreciate the Over-Soul
Vinson 3 we must realize that it is present in every conversation so we must hold ourselves as morally righteous at all times. Emerson writes that the soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth for it is able to see things in every sort of light and we have the Over-Soul always guiding us; to get to the truth all is needed is original thoughts, a relationship with the universe, and an active mind. Henry David Thoreau was given Emerson s cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts for two years so that Thoreau could experiment and live the teachings of Emerson. Thoreau organized the books chapters in an interesting way, he would go back and forth from being alone experiencing nature single handily to him interacting with friends who visit or his trips into town. He compressed the two years of living at Walden Pond into one year in order to the ebb and flow of his chapters to work. Thoreau was able to pause his life and take the time to fully embrace nature and listen to what all she has to say and to continue growing the soul and experiencing new and exciting moments. By being apart from humanity for a greater part of the two years, Thoreau was able to see things in new perspectives. The chapter Where I Lived, and What I Lived For Thoreau focuses on the fact that we must not dwell on what lingers in our brain or things that may have happened in the past, we must let go of things and take them as they are. If unpleasant thoughts constantly filter in and out all one has to do is will the thoughts to stop. Nature offers a breath of fresh air and allows for the negativity to flow right out of a person and get swept up into the wind, never to be seen again. According to Thoreau morning is the most memorable season of the day (64). Mornings are a time when most of the world is still sleeping so there is stillness in the air that allows fresh thoughts and morning souls to wander. There is no simple way to explain transcendentalism for it speaks differently to each individual, which is what Emerson sought all along. Charles Mayo Ellis explains, each
Vinson 4 transcendentalist was to follow his own intuition wherever it led him, for it was the voice of God speaking within him (Ellis 1). Everyone connects with Nature differently so they must find the voice of reason that speaks to them and focus their energy on what their soul connects with. Emerson said damn with consistency because he realized that any attempt within the individual to maintain a constant consistency would more-than-likely end in a devotion to trivialities (Ellis 1). Transcendentalism is interchangeable so there can be no book such as the Bible or Koran to guide followers along; transcendentalism wants its followers to think their own thoughts and create their own muse to follow for it is their soul they are trying to enrich.
Vinson 5 Works Cited Boller, Paul F. "American Transcendentalism, 1830-1860: an intellectual inquiry." (1974). Ellis, Charles Mayo. An Essay on Transcendentalism. Gainesville: Scholars Facsimiles & Reprints, 1954. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Nature. Ed. Paul Lauter. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Volume B: Early Nineteenth Century: 1800-1865. Blemont: Wadsworth, 2009. 1707-34. Print. ---. "The Over-Soul." Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.