Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Transcendentalism

Compare and contrast the works of Emerson and Thoreau.

27 comments:

  1. Both are writers of Transcendentalism, which is the belief that man, by studying nature and examining self, can transcend his humanity and becomes one with God. Emerson is older than Thoreau, their themes are similar; trust yourself, know yourself, be yourself. Slow down, simplify and examine nature to find truths about yourself. Thoreau, it seems, spends more time writing about the "self" than Emerson, while Emerson is more interested in how the "self" does not need to fit in to the structures of society and government. Both of them had enormous optimism in the human spirit, and a key theme of course was helping man to reconnect with nature and to potentially gain a simpler understanding of life.
    Cindi Strong

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  2. Both Emerson and Thoreau can be seen as being similar and different. Both authors talk about nature a majority of the story. When talking about nature both authors discribe that if you really pay attention to nature you will discover yourself. These authors are different though because Emerson disscused alot if spirtuatlity in nature. Thoreau saw more individualism in nature. That is how Emerson and Thoreau's works are alike and different.

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  3. Emerson and Thoreau's works are different and also, the same in some ways. Emerson talks about being alone in nature. He's trying to find out the necessities of life. Thoreau is put in jail for not paying his taxes. However, they both find themselves in solitude. They learn what being on their own is really like. The two authors learn what is really necessary to live. Furthermore, both of their works consist of a paradox.
    -Chelsea Abhau

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  4. tomlin

    Thoreau thought that all people should do what they want and live there life to the fullest. He rejected anything people say to him and goes with his own beliefs. He loved nature the most. Emerson is the type of person who thinks everyone should be equal. He doesn't like seeing people poor at all. They both tho put the work first before anything and could possibly work together.

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  5. Both writers are trasdanlism. Also both write about nature.There themes are simlar. They both talk self comcept but in a different way.

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  6. Emerson and Thoreau and simaliar and diffrent in many ways. emerson wrights about being in the woods and on his own but he choose to be on his own. but Thoreau is sent to jail and can not help the fact that he is alone. But still they are diffrent by how Emerson sees people in nature and Thoreau sees people out of nature. both these authors's work concist of paradoxs

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  7. Transdentalism is described by the two authors Emerson and Thoreau. They both use nature during their stories. Thoreau is using first person character during his stories. Emerson is trying to show solitude to other readers as well. He also compares ants as soldiers in an army. They both explain short stories on transcendentalism through their works.
    Adam McAllister

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  8. Both Emerson and Thoreau are Transcendentalist writers. Both of the authors write about nature someway in their stories. Emerson goes into nature alone to try and figure out what you really need in life. Thoreau talks more about government issues. Both writers try to connect with nature and become more independent. Emerson and Thoreau have many similarities and differences in both their work and ideas about life.

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  9. They both have different and some of the same point of views. In Thoreau and Emersons stories both involve nature in them in some way and trying to find the true and deeper mean of it. With Emerson he talks about he talks about what is important in life and what you need to do with it. Thoreau talks about what he found in nature and his first hand experience while Emerson stays in the view of telling you or more imforming of what you should do with your life.


    -Jordan Cheesmen

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  10. Both authors contribute nature as a big part of their works. In Thoreau's stories, he tells his stories in first person point of view and focuses on doing things himself. He ends up getting frustrated when coming to a halt when he faces a challenge in doing things on his own. Both authors write about solitude as well, and staying true to yourself. Emerson concentrates more on nature then Thoreau through his works. Though they are both different, they both write about similar concepts and events.

    -Lauren Kiger

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  11. Emerson and Thoreau are both transcendentalist writers. The concept of looking beyond face value to become closer to the divine soul is an underlining theme through the selections. Nature is also discussed in both of the writer’s stories. These writers also have differences. Thoreau talks about being and individual and not conforming in his pieces. Emerson discusses the topics of simplicity in life and solitude.

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  12. Both Emerson and Thoreau's works are very common is some ways but also different. The way that the works are the same is because they both write about solitude and being an individual. Also they both are transcendentalism, which is to look beyond human experience and think more about God and the universe. Although Emerson writes more about relying on your self. But Thoreau's works are more detailed and goes into what every little thing looked liked.

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  13. Emerson and Thoreau incorporate transcendentalism in their works. Although each are different the deeper meanings are similar. Solitude is also incorporated in both of the authors works. The events in the stories differ, however, the main idea of the stories are the same. Also, both authors learn what the deeper meaning of life and nature throughout the stories. While Emerson is alone in nature and Thoreau is jailed for not paying taxes, both express transcendentalism.

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  14. The two major transcendentalism authors are Emerson and Thoreau. They both wish for a closer connection to nature. They both value the divine in everything. Thoreau is very specific and takes detail very seriously. Everything is important. Emerson is very non-conformist. He believes that everyone is divine in their own way. They both value a simplistic life over anything and they both live by the paradox that even if they are alone they really are not alone.

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  15. Both Emerson and Thoreau use transdentalism in their wrightings. Even though they are from the same time period and use the same style, their wrightings are very different. Emerson focuses more on the how he disagrees with conformatie. While Thoreau focuses on the individual. They both display nature on a spiritual level through their wrightings.

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  16. Emerson and Thoreau have very similar and different traits. They both relate nature to finding your own self. Emerson wants to be alone with nature. He talks about his time he spends in the woods. Trying to figure out what the necessities in life are. Thoreau also finds out being loney was okay. Once he was locked up he figured out some things. Both of these authors are very similar when it comes to transcedentalists

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  17. Emerson and Thoreau are both transendentalists, who use nature to express their views. Thoreau uses the concept of self to write his works, while Emerson foucses on noncomformity in society. Both believed in self discovery and being true to yourself. They both suggested to look towards nature to cultivate oneself. Both of them lived solitary lives and it is expressed in their works.
    Lisa Williams

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  18. Emerson and Thoreau's workshave many similarities and differences. Emerson talks about being in nature and includes nature in his work. From the woods, to the loons, and even when he includes the ants fighting. He's trying to find out the necessities of life because that is what he believed was important. Thoreau talks alot about the "self" and trying to understand it in a way and finds a way in jail by not paying his taxes.Both Thoreau and Emerson find themselves in solitude and both believe in it. They both find out what is necessary to live and what they need to live.Both of them are works of transdentalism and have several pardox throughout their works
    Jordan Brank

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  19. Emerson and Thoreau are both transadentalists. In their pieces, they both talk
    About nature and solitude. Also, they both talk about finding a deeper meaning in life. On the other hand, Thoreau uses first person when writing the story and emerson doesn't use first person. Also, emerson talks more about solitude in his pieces while Thoreau talks more about going back into the social world. Although, they both explain nature in their pieces of work.

    Tori ostrander

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  20. Transcendentalism is used through the writing of Emerson and Thoreau. They both incorporate nature, individualism, and self concept. They both talk about how the man should be on with god and nature, and try to balance conformity; and how to rely on yourself. Most of all they want you to follow the rules but still be your own person.
    -Sabrina Friant

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  21. Emerson and Thoreau have similar views on how the world and people work. They are both optimistic about the world and not as moody as Poe is in his literature. Emerson and Thoreau both use Nature in their works, but Thoreau talks more about how people should live and the government. Emerson talks more of what people should do for themselves. Both Emerson and Thoreau are Transcendentalists which is why their works are more optimistic about the world.

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  22. Thoreau and Emerson both seem to be loners, and their writings seem to justify this character trait. They say how much better being on your own is than being part of a group. I mostly agree with this sentiment. It's better to be an individual thinker rather than a collective one. After all, mobs are born out of the collective feelings of angry people. Perhaps the loner will be lynched by the crowd. They also both seem to take solace in natural features, like the woods and the water. I can relate with that. They're both similar thinkers, but I think Emerson gets his point across rather more eloquently.

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  23. All four of them are transcendental works. They also revolve around the concepts of the positive side of transcendentalism. They put emphasis on individuality instead of conformity, however, their works also differ greatly. Emerson's are written in a more third person omnipotent style, where there are no characters and he is basically writing his thoughts on a certain topic. Thoreau writes in a first person where he is the narrator and is more biographical. Their styles are also very different. Emerson uses a lot of simile and metaphor. Thoreau uses a lot of allusions.

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  24. The two are very similar in many ways, like they both tend to be very lonley in all of their works. Also, they both use a lot of nature in their stories. They both are more upbeat and happy writers, they seem optimistic in all of their works as well. They both like to use self concept and that is why they are two great authors.

    Mike Bomba

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  25. Emerson and Thoreau are alike and different in a few ways. Emerson and Thoreau are both writers of transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is basically about the ideal spiritual reality. Both Emerson and Thoreau talk about nature and being spiritual. Emerson however, focuses more on the spiritual reality. Thoreau focuses more on the nature.

    -Hailey Tripet

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  26. There are many differences and similarities between Emerson and Thoreau. Their themes are somewhat similar in respect to trust/know/be yourself. They both believe in simplicity. Also, they both say to examine nature to find truth about yourself. Thoreau seems to spend more time writing about the "self" than Emerson. Emerson is more interested in how the "self" does not need to fit in to the structures of society and government. Both, though, are proponents of placing your trust in your self rather that in others or in institutions - a concept antithetical to the Christian faith which believes man's sinful nature must be transformed.

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  27. Emerson and Thoreau have similar views in the way they view the world. Both authors incorporate nature, individualism, and self concept. Thoreau talks about the government and how people can live their lives. Emerson talks about what people should do for themselves. Lastly both authors are Transcendentalists which explains their more optimistic view about the world.

    Pauli Kamenakis

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