Civil-Disobedience, Self-Reliance, By Henry David Thoreau

Dr. Seuss said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” He is saying that one should not care what others negatively think about them because it is irrelevant to the significance of their life. Civil-Disobedience and Walden by Henry David Thoreau, and Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson also give advice on how to make life as meaningful as possible. These pieces of literature all present diverse ways of creating a meaningful existence. Thoreau and Emerson express their opinions about creating a purposeful life through Civil-Disobedience, Self-Reliance, and Walden.

In Civil-Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau advises his audience to follow what they think is right, no matter the consequences. He explains how an action someone commits will last forever. “For it matters not how

Thoreau encourages his audience to appreciate what they have. “Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse” (Thoreau 169). He reveals that it is not necessarily the quality of one’s living situations, but the experiences that make one’s life more fulfilling. Who one is and what they do ultimately brings happiness upon themselves, and possibly others. Enjoying what one has allows them to appreciate what they have and not long for anything unnecessary to them. Thoreau continues to illustrate the importance of individuality. “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away,” (Thoreau 168). Thoreau explains how everyone is diverse, and there is nothing with diversity. There will be those who are similar and aspire for the same things, and there are those who strive for the opposite of them. The way one lives affects themselves and their quality of life, not everyone else’s