Transcendentalism In Civil Disobedience, By Henry David Thoreau

People always want to look like they fit in with the crowd, or the herd, but transcendentalists and their works, think otherwise. The works of Emerson’s “Nature” reveals to us his life within the forest, and his bonding with Nature. He also shows to us how he doesn’t care about how he acts within the forest, moreso acting like a child. Another piece of transcendentalist work, “Civil Disobedience” by Thoreau, uncovers his book about his two years, behind bars in prison. He ended up in prison due to refusing to pay a highway tax in which he believed what was an unjust taxing, for a horrible cause. He also writes in prison on how Man is good, but like him, would eventually land themselves in jail. Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Emerson’s “Nature” are both examples of transcendentalistic literature because they both involve saying people are good in some way, believing in what they think is right, having a close relationship with nature, and living a simple life.
In Emerson’s excerpt of Nature, the excerpt reveals to us many Transcendentalist characteristics within his work. Emerson says to us that he has a very close relationship with nature, he mentions this on the 2nd last paragraph of his work. Emerson brings up his relationship with nature, he comments, “The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the

Thoreau mainly focuses on his belief of man specifically is good, while believing in government is corrupt. Emerson in his excerpt of “Nature”, he writes out his story of his life in Nature, and living a life of a child, even if he is a man. Emerson’s and Thoreau’s work reveal to us they don’t want to be apart of the herd, but they do what they think is