Thoreau Compare And Contrast Essay

In U. S. literature, authors can write about anything, whether it will get published is another story. They can decide if they want to create didactic works where they have meaning, morals, and messages or they can have the art for art’s sake style where they write because they want to evoke emotion or show beauty. Thoreau leans towards didactic style while Poe writes art for art’s sake because of how they were influenced; Thoreau and Poe have similarities and differences that are noticeable as well. Several authors such as Thoreau, Franklin, Emerson, Jacobs, Fuller, the Puritans, and the founding fathers wrote in the didactic style. These authors had morals they wanted the reader to know about. Thoreau is a firm believer that nature is the key to becoming a person less dependent on society. In Walden, Thoreau says “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” By this statement, Thoreau is telling the reader to live in the day and let yourself go to nature. This is proven in Walden when he lists the materials used to be the cabin. It is proven again, in the Economy chapter. Thoreau thought that the way people are incredibly dependent upon the economy is mostly unnecessary. Thoreau says, “One farmer says to me, ‘You cannot live on …show more content…
Thoreau believed nature would aid people in being closer to God and that it would allow people to become better people. Poe thought people have a twisted side about them and that no matter how hard they try to hide it or remove it, it will still be there. Thoreau used romantic qualities of nature through transcendentalism to pull the reader in, while Poe used gothic romanticism to suck the audience in. The way they feel about nature is very different. Thoreau thought nature would make people good and closer to God, while Poe thought nature was the reason people acted