The Father Of Transcendentalism: Thoreau And Ralph Waldo Emerson

Relying on yourself was a major understanding in the minds of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau, who were both part of the transcendentalist movement. Transcendentalism evolved in the middle of the 19th Century with the help of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau. Transcendentalists believed the only way to learn the truth about God, the universe, the self, and everything else, one must transcend everyday human experience to a higher being existence in nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson is “The Father of Transcendentalism,” and he wrote Self Reliance. Self Reliance says to follow your instincts, do what you want to do. Henry David Thoreau is protégé of Emerson who lived honestly and did not fit in with society. Thoreau wrote Walden, Walden is about relying on yourself and being independent. Transcendentalists did their work themselves, did what they loved, and …show more content…
During the Transcendentalist movement, self reliance is shown in Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, and Self Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In Walden and Self Reliance, both texts say do what you believe and rely on yourself. In these Transcendentalism stories both say that oneself should do the work themselves, do what you love, and do not follow society. By embarking his journey near home, Emerson can show how civilization is achievable for anyone. Emerson also lives with nature and God, and he does not live for the past or the future, nor does he compare himself to others, he only relies on his own thoughts and beliefs. Thoreau lives his life with no regrets because he is living the life he has imagined by relying on himself with the help of nature. Emerson and Thoreau want everyone to remember that it is great to be misunderstood and to make a new beaten track. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau were self reliant, transcendentalist leaders who made a new path instead of going in a path that was already