One of the most unique and dedicated thinkers of all time, Henry David Thoreau was obsessed with the idealism of transcendentalist philosophy. In fact, he actually tested his beliefs at Walden Pond, making himself a living example of the contemporary movement. Transcendentalism, a branch of social reform in the mid-1800’s, stressed human divinity and the importance of nature and intuition. Rejecting indulgences and extravagance, Thoreau sought to purify society by bringing it back to its roots. In his tale of Walden, Thoreau criticizes economic/technological advances and spurns governmental actions by observing and relating his everyday thoughts at the pond in order to show that life is morally superior when simplified.
Growing out of Unitarianism, …show more content…
Considered a section of social reform movements of the time, “...they [transcendentalists] took advantage of the multiple meanings of ‘idealism’ as both an epistemology and as a moral and social critique of the ‘materialism’ underlying the Unitarian alliance of commercial and religious interests” (Bickman). Thoreau, being one of the prominent transcendentalists, relates his thoughts and criticisms of that culture in …show more content…
He recognizes that he almost was tainted by the luxuriousness that the town’s life had to offer, but just escaped the stifling grasp of society: “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 59). Too often, people are caught in society’s idea of success, which entails money and greed. Showing disdain for these unredeeming motives, Thoreau questions and critiques these societal pressures and challenges readers to rid themselves of cupidity and selfishness. Instead, replacing these qualities with morality will be beneficial for the mental and physical health of a person. In order to achieve this kind of satisfaction, “...Henry David Thoreau delivers an insightful and stinging rebuke of the capitalist work ethic, condemning the greed of businessmen and farmers who drove themselves as mercilessly as any slave driver on a Southern plantation and who used their workers like machines” (Raymond). Comparing northern bosses to slave masters, Thoreau clearly is disgusted and repelled by the sprawling factories which, in his eyes, prey upon the poor and enchain them. In turn, those impoverished workers, mainly Irishmen, are partially to blame as they
Growing out of Unitarianism, …show more content…
Considered a section of social reform movements of the time, “...they [transcendentalists] took advantage of the multiple meanings of ‘idealism’ as both an epistemology and as a moral and social critique of the ‘materialism’ underlying the Unitarian alliance of commercial and religious interests” (Bickman). Thoreau, being one of the prominent transcendentalists, relates his thoughts and criticisms of that culture in …show more content…
He recognizes that he almost was tainted by the luxuriousness that the town’s life had to offer, but just escaped the stifling grasp of society: “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 59). Too often, people are caught in society’s idea of success, which entails money and greed. Showing disdain for these unredeeming motives, Thoreau questions and critiques these societal pressures and challenges readers to rid themselves of cupidity and selfishness. Instead, replacing these qualities with morality will be beneficial for the mental and physical health of a person. In order to achieve this kind of satisfaction, “...Henry David Thoreau delivers an insightful and stinging rebuke of the capitalist work ethic, condemning the greed of businessmen and farmers who drove themselves as mercilessly as any slave driver on a Southern plantation and who used their workers like machines” (Raymond). Comparing northern bosses to slave masters, Thoreau clearly is disgusted and repelled by the sprawling factories which, in his eyes, prey upon the poor and enchain them. In turn, those impoverished workers, mainly Irishmen, are partially to blame as they