Is Henry David Thoreau Relevant Today

Thoreau views being individualist is essential in life and important for people to adopt. Further, Thoreau states that the only way to not conform is to follow individual eagerness, and not necessarily living in the woods "as simple and natural" as he once did, but carrying out the simplicity of personal will (Thoreau, Walden 195). He believes people must listen to themselves more than others and not be ashamed to aid to callings different from the majority. The over arching idea of nonconformity is pursuing and "[advancing] confidently in the direction of [one's] dreams" as not everyone can succeed following the same path, there must be individuals willing to branch out and stand alone (Thoreau, Walden 204). Individualism in Thoreau's world is just as it is today, Transcendentalists share the opinion that living

Henry David Thoreau, born in 1817, is the author of Civil Disobedience, an essay the highlights the importance of individualism and maintaining autonomy within a society that strongly favor majority rule. In 2017, especially within the past election, this is of major significance. In his essay, Thoreau focusses on many ideas, some of the most prevalent being, standing up for what one believes is wrong, no matter the consequences, along with the idea that with the right leaders government can work.

An American Author, Transcendentalist and tax resister, Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord Massachusetts, and lived there most of his life.  He was opposed to many of the things that went on in our society and debated many issues in his life. Two of these major issues are , the Mexican American War and the implement of Slavery in our society. This was the reason for many of his writings include “Slavery in Massachusetts” and “Civil Disobedience” where he wrote about his principles and views against the U.S government and their involvement in the Mexican American War and the evil of Slavery. Thoreau opposed to these because they promote unjust government practices which he was strongly against.

His rhetorical devices of hypophora, parallelism, and allusion are hollow and contrived throughout the essay, and give little to no appeal. How one who is hailed as one of America’s great writers cannot put together a simple and concise argument is confounding. As Thoreau himself pointed out, “to be awake is to be alive”. However, he misses the most fundamentally obvious facet of being awake, for only then can one truly form a bond with his fellow man, and cherish some of the most essential aspects of life, the aspects of voluntary communication and harmonization with other individuals. At this point only can man consider himself truly alive, for what is life, without the influences, both positive and negative, of all those around you? Thoreau, through his own misguided experiences, has utterly failed in determining that for himself, yet claims the title of an individualist, all while attempting to pass his own collectivized view of society as all-encompassing. The hypocrisy is noted; noted and

Individualism could mean many things, for instance being yourself or simply saying ¨who cares¨. In my opinion, this word means ignoring what other people in a society have to say. It is to just allow yourself to be free and live your life how you want to live your life. For example, Mark Twain's satiric novel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn in the Antebellum South on the Mississippi River, published in 1844 promotes individualism through Huckś actions, the novelś main character.The author writes this in order to condemn the racism, Hypocrisy, and slavery of white society, similar to Walt Whitman's Free verse poem, ¨Song Of Myself,¨ from the collection of Leaves of Grass published in 1855, Whitman conveys that everyone has an equal place on this earth and composed of the same atoms .Whitman's purpose for composing this poem is to make the audience feel as if they have equal power in a society since the Industrial Revolution made society feel as if people had little power. Which also comes to a very important researcher named James McPherson, a historical nonfiction researcher who ,wrote ¨What We Fought For¨set during the Civil War describing why and what the North fought for. McPherson purpose is to inform the Union's soldier's motivation and hardships during the war. In the 19th century, being an individual meant that one could live in a society and just try to face them and suffer; however, he or she can just take themselves out of the whole problem by leaving society

Henry David Thoreau, a name heard endlessly by American Literature students, has contributed his outrageous views to society even after his death. Lectures and texts let his perceptions live on through teachers and professors that are all agreed on the significance of his writing to the transcendentalistic period. Definitely worth the merit he receives for his contributions, Henry Thoreau's views are nonconformist and thought provoking. "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, 14). Thoreau himself marched to a different drummer, and it is this aspect of all great men that

A significant philosopher of the pre-Civil War era of the United States, Henry David Thoreau appeared to be above the standard with his philosophically driven life style. He wrote detailed accounts of his life in his book titled Walden, in which he expressed his desire to escape the confining pressures of human society. His second chapter lauded the concepts of individualism and self-sufficiency, yet he never took into account the potential harm of his mentality, for it could hurt individuals as well as communities, and modern life simply cannot support his ideals.

Henry David Thoreau Being unique has always been valued in modern American Culture. Especially in the age of smartphones and social media, people are encouraged to take the untrodden path. In the 1800s, being unique was not as popular as it is today. People with different views than the majority, were seen as not ideal. Henry David Thoreau’s writing and abolitionist views pushed the boundaries that surrounded the ways of protesting, writing, and thinking during his time.

As of the year 2013, the planet Earth is home to 7.125 billion people, and many of its inhabitants are vastly different from one another. People tend to stand out due to how they appear, the language they speak, and the culture they practice ; however, some fiercely stand out when compared to the status quo. This type of person can be simply classified as nothing other than unique and a pure individual , and perhaps no one is a better example of an individual than author and self-proclaimed transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau heavily valued individualism and frequently wrote about how the people of his time desperately needed to practice it. Almost 100 years later, Henry David Thoreau’s ideas and words on individualism are still relevant in today’s society.

For Thoreau, the escape from society was a way to deeply learn about himself and human nature. He writes, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself” (Thoreau 72). This simple way of life allowed Thoreau to analyze himself and tendencies within society. He explains the effects of this solitary life on a person: “In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness” (253). Thoreau was able to discover flaws in society. He states, “... men establish and conform their daily life of routine and habit every where, which still is built on purely illusory foundations” (78). Unlike Hester and Sethe, the societal norms Thoreau experiences are not painful punishments or dehumanizing treatment. However, the “opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe … through poetry, philosophy and religion” (80), can still have a profound and often negative effect on individuals and society as a whole. Thoreau is able to overcome these societal norms because he separates himself from them. Thoreau explains of humankind, “When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence,-that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the

The memoir “Where I Lived and What I Lived for” by Henry David Thoreau is written based in the 19th century but his philosophy is still relevant today, in the 21st century. Thoreau recalls his experience at Walden Pond as he refuses to embrace material things and encourages simplicity and self-reliance in the mid to late 1840s. Still today, Annie Leonard and Lars Eighner agree. The short-film, “Story of Stuff” by Annie Leonard, was created to inform people of the materials economy.

What’s crazy to me is everything Thoreau was saying relates to now, so many years ago and it’s still relevant. I think we have twice as many distractions as the people who lived when he did. We have more advanced technology cell phones, tablets, computers, but what makes it worse is the internet. This is mainly directed to the younger generations because we know how to use it and what people put on the internet most of us will believe just because it’s on the internet, the older people will think more on something before they’ll believe it. Even the news where you expect everything to be true isn’t, people watch the news to get lied too and do things they think is good for them but it’s not. What’s even worse is the government, they are so

Henry David Thoreau, who was a great admirer of Emerson, was often described as fanatic, selfish, a dreamer and a stubborn individualist. He was a man of his own and believed in self-reliance. He even carried out experiments in self-reliance and came to a conclusion that simplicity and unity of a man is found in nature. Nature proved to him that it is wild and free with good things. Most great world leaders have exhibited the spirit of individualism as well as self-reliance to make substantial progress on the rights of women, abolition, creeping industrialization, organized rebellion, and have been ready to carry their own burdens as long as people have been liberated.

Within “Life without Principle”, Thoreau asks readers to oppose the way they think and live. Topics range from Local Township to governmental society—he suggests his own philosophical opinion on just about every aspect of life. He offers a different perspective on life—a perspective which must have stunned the people of his time. In his time, these ideas of self-prospect were unheard of. However broad these ideas are, one concentrates on his ideals of labor.

Thoreau and Emerson both advocated individualism. Their belief was that self was the center of reality, rather than a societal way of thinking. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson encourages people to follow their induvial will and not act in a manner where they try to conform to the expectations of society. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” is an example of individualism (Emerson B: 270). Emerson believed that nonconformity will bring about individual growth.