Similarities Between Emerson And Huckleberry Finn

Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Thoreau were known as the Transcendentalist writers; however, Huckleberry Finn has very similar beliefs. All of these men wanting to be one with nature and to be themselves. Finn may not have been the most civilized man; but his ideas can relate to the twentieth century Transcendentalist. Emerson and Huck are similar in the fact that they did not care what others thought of them, but they just lived their live as they wanted to. First example from “Self-Reliance” is when the Emerson says, “that envy is ignorance, that imitation is suicide” (2). Emerson is saying that everyone is special and that everyone should just be themselves because otherwise they are wasting their God-given gifts. Huck can relate to this because he never cared about what others thought of him, but he just did whatever he wanted to, mostly relax in nature. Also Huck never envied someone else’s goods or money, but he was thankful for the little he had. Next example from “Self-Reliance” is “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist” (2). Emerson is also saying to just be oneself and not follow others. An example in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is when Miss Watson is …show more content…
In Walden Thoreau is trying to get away from society and learn what nature has to teach him. This is also what Finn is trying to do throughout the entire book. At the beginning he wants to get away from society with Miss Watson, and after his father captures him, he is able to escape to freedom. In the nature Huck is able to escape from all his worries and do everything he wants to do such as smoke his pipe. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau writes, “That government is best what govern not at all” (224). Thoreau does not believe that society should rule over us which Huck also seconds. First off, Huck does not really believe that slavery is a good thing because he believes Jim should be able to live