Clothing In Henry David Thoreau's 'Transcendentalism'

I think that Thoreau means when he says, "The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels?" is that people are too often stuck in reality. I believe that he is trying to say that individuals need to be themselves and stop worrying about what society thinks of them. Thoreau is telling people to make their own paths of life and strive on what they think is true and base their live on their own hopes and dreams. Henry David Thoreau’s message in the final paragraph is stating that our lives are based off of perspective. Everything we see is through the idea of perspective. He says “Only that day dawns to which we are awake”, this means that when dawn arrives, our only way of seeing

Henry David Thoreau is one of the most influential, and most brilliant people to ever walk on the face of the earth. He embodies the transcendentalist ideas that many of the most famous writers in the world share. Transcendentalism is the philosophy of looking at every person as an individual and how important and divine each soul truly is. The way that the world in the middle 1800’s, the time in which Thoreau was in his prime for writing, was that a person learned from his encounters and how that individual reacted to it. Transcendentalists believed in the spirituality of the world in order learn new things: “They rejected the widely accepted notion that man’s knowledge came primarily through the senses. To the contrary, they believed in

Technology, to Thoreau, is a way of transforming an individual into a machine and permitting them to become distracted from important matters. Therefore, he believes there is no benefits to arise from modernization and technological novelty. The factory system, as well, is denounced by Thoreau for its dangerous conditions and ability to make corporations rich, not to produce quality clothing. Thoreau affirms his aminoisty when stating, ¨I cannot believe that our factory system is the best mode by which men may get clothing. The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English; and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that corporations may be enriched¨ (Walden, 13). Moreover, Thoreau believes factory produced goods and the overall use of technology disassociate people with the connection of producing goods and doing work.

He believed that the primary source of knowledge was nature itself, so he would likely wonder how we could learn at all in such an industrialized society with nature as a mere backdrop. In Walden, Thoreau stated that “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity… with Nature herself.” Thoreau believed that nature was positively essential for living a simple life, and that we could find endless knowledge through nature. He would likely despise our suburban neighborhoods and processed goods, as they contrast completely with the idea of simplicity and living in accordance with nature. We involve ourselves in each other’s lives, but never spend time exploring nature and searching for knowledge. As he mentioned in Walden, Thoreau truly wanted us to “resign ourselves to the influence of the earth,” yet we desire to fill every speck of land with homes and buildings. Thoreau’s vision of an existence with nature bears little resemblance to our urban society; Thoreau would surely despise our lack of respect for

Clothing has existed in many cultures for thousands years, and clothes have advanced in their style and functionality over all of these years. From ready-made apparel used in the America Civil War to using computers to design clothes during the 21st century, clothing has come a long way from its origins. Preferences in clothing changed drastically as well, going from preferring style over comfort to comfort over style and back again countless times throughout the years. Overall, the evolution of clothing has been one of the biggest in terms of items for humans and will most likely grow even further into the future with new and better technology.

Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862 born and raised in Concord, was a popular student in Harvard. Despite his financial and health deformities he was able to graduate from the university. By 1837 America was facing an economic depression and jobs were not easily available. Thoreau began to write poems and essays of transcendentalism to escape from the development and also to emphasize on nature. Therefore, he spent two years in Walden Pond (Schneider, 2013).

Thoreau was a prominent and influential transcendentalist which meant that he believed modern society’s institutions, organizations, religions, and politics are all corrupt. He believes that people should go back to their roots in nature and be more simple-minded like our ancient ancestors who lived in nature. To think about it in more modern terms, he was practically a minimalist who believed people should only live with things essential for life, basic life necessities like food, water, and shelter. He quotes, “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 66). From the quote, we can tell that he believes that a life without living with nature and essentials only is a life wasted.

Thoreau advocated for a deep observance of nature and one’s self. In Thoreau’s Walden, he states, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”(Thoreau 932). Thoreau expresses his want to rid himself of evil desires and to seek only the truth. This is in sharp contrast to today’s society which seems to be obsessed with dreams of money and fame. Society also often does not seek the truth, but rather seeks what it wants to hear. Thoreau often writes on the need to reject overbearing governments and corporations. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau states, “That government is best which governs least.” (Thoreau 843). Thoreau displays his view of government as a weak guider of society rather than as a ruler of society. Modern governments are often strong and strict rather than than weak and unimposing; the polar opposite of a Thoreau style government. Henry David Thoreau would despise being taught in today’s society because it is in stark contrast of his ideals of deep observance of nature and self and opposition to

Dress codes should always be implemented because they focus students and better prepare learners for endeavors later in life. Teenagers tend to get distracted by short-shorts or tight pants. However, a dress code would prevent such distractions from occurring. Also, a dress code teaches children how to properly dress themselves, which will be a necessary ability later in life. Dress codes also make people uncomfortable, which means they are attentive. Dress codes are a necessary aspect of school, and they help teenagers to focus more in school.

In the chapter titled Where I Lived, and What I Lived For from Henry David Thoreau’s novel Walden, the author utilizes rhetorical strategies such as imagery and tone to convey how the distractions that accompany a progressing civilization corrupts society. Since he is a transcendentalist, his argument encapsulates the same principles of becoming free from the binds of society and seeking harmony with nature. He emphasizes those ideals when he states that “[he] went to the woods because he wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if [he] could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when [he] came to die, discover that [he] had not lived”(276). In other words, he wanted to escape from society and live

Self reliance is one of the most significant components of the transcendentalism movement that Henry David Thoreau contributed to in his literary career. “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.” - (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”). As evident by this quotation by Thoreau, his motives purely consist of living in the idealistic states of nature rather than that of “civilization”. Thoreau also stated, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life…”- (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”). Thoreau, in this statement shows that he is completely self reliant in the sense that he alone went out to nature to reap what he could and survive by his merits alone, sustaining himself only on what nature had to offer. While conversely McCandless could only survive with a

During the Transcendentalist movement, Henry David Thoreau was a leading transcendentalist whose work focused mainly on nature and adventure. Walden, or Life in the Woods is an exceptional example of a story based on adventure. In Thoreau’s account of his life at Walden pond, he first states, “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.” Through this quote Thoreau explains that he was tired of the complexity of normal life and desired to go on an adventure to live simply. Additionally, Thoreau states, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…,” which again reveals his motivation for new life by adventure and simplicity. Finally, as Thoreau concludes his account he states, “I left the woods

Thoreau supports the ideal of living simply through the emphasis of only living with what one needs. Simplicity exists

Students wake up every morning staring at their closet wondering what they are going to wear to school making sure that it fits the dress code standards. school dress codes don 't allow you to dress with the trends without getting dress coded. School dress codes is body shaming Girls by what they want to wear to school. Girls have trouble with dress codes because they can 't show their brushed up or any skin on their body that 's distracting. school should have a dress code because students can express their identity through their clothes, show their creative imagination, and dress codes are unfair to girls.

School uniforms, school uniforms have been debated among the states with tons of studies that say they help with school issues and other studies that contradict school uniforms have no significant change. In order to save money schools shouldn’t be adding more costs to school, school should be cheaper, its fundamental to all kids to learn and not for the parents to be spending more money on school uniforms especially with families on a tight budget.