Comparison Of Society And Solitude By Frederick Douglass And Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many people either spend majority of their time alone or in a group, but never an equal amount of both. People become overwhelmed from always questioning their position in the chaotic society. They desired to know how their puzzle piece fits into the puzzle, known as society. Some famous authors, during the transcendentalist period express their thoughts about life, such as Henry David Thoreau described in “Walden”, how people need to find their purpose in life and Ralph Waldo Emerson in “Society and Solitude” explains that life should be lived in simplicity and in the present. Frederick Douglass, unlike the other famous authors, in his speech, “What to a Slave is Fourth of July?” illustrates how people finding their identity can lead to impact
in society. As famous influential writers, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederick Douglass explain that an individual should maintain a balanced relationship between the individual and the society to fit into society, especially during cultural turmoil.
An equal balance between being alone and being in a group is a way to create harmony in a person’s life and to find their identities, as Ralph Waldo Emerson describes.
In “Society and Solitude,” Emerson expresses how to create a balance when he says, “Solitude is impracticable, and society is fatal. We must keep our head in the one and our hand in the other.” He describes how the head is the independence of being by alone and the hand is the the sympathy for others that through affection we get closer together with others. If a person spends too much time by themselves, they will never rise to their full potential, and if a person spends too much times with others, they will sink down with the sympathies for others. Furthermore, the balance permits one to find themselves within and learn from others to reach a higher level and become a better person. In addition, Emerson states “Conversation will not corrupt us, if we come to assembly in our own garb and speech, and with that energy of health to select what is ours and what is not.” The balance is created from realizing what , as humans, are necessities in life. Sometimes, when too much time is passed with others, people change their outlooks on life, on themselves and consequently this causes questioning themselves and changing. One person should not change based on what others say, they should express oneself in their own way. Therefore, a person should find their balance between individual and society to gain time to
find their true identity to fit into the society. The impact of changing themselves only affects themselves, and that is why Frederick Douglass explains that people should voice their own opinion and not follow others.
For example, in his speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, he declares, “The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men,” to display that those signatories believed in something and though it could cost their life, they did not run away, they stood and faced the challenge head-on. Douglass displays how people should distance themselves from society, similar to Emerson’s opinion to create the balanced relationship, and should take the time to understand who they are. Overuse of collaboration and communication with others causes distance from themselves and leads us into the traps of society, however do not limit it completely. Every single individual’s opinion and action together forms society, not just the decisions of one person as Douglass says, “There is not a nation on earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than the people of the United States at this hour.” He refers to specific nation as one whole piece, but he never mentions the specific individuals of the nation, because every one person in the nation is responsible for this action. For a change to happen, the change starts within the individual person, finding their belief before reaching out to society, after the change would be emphasized on convincing society. Frederick Douglass claims that the balance
between society and the individual is obtained by finding the opinion to voice to others later. To achieve a balance, Henry David Thoreau explains that life should be lived simply and in the present. His piece of writing, “Walden”, he expresses “Our life is frittered by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” Thoreau displays his opinion on how a person should their life, in simplicity because details cause distraction. Humans were giving the beautiful gift of life, and humans do not even enjoy it. If a person can bring their life to its lowest terms, they can find their purpose in life, they can find their true identity. Many wonder, what their purpose in society, but how will they find it when tensions from the details proliferate everyday? Thoreau wants people to harmonize with nature and find their purpose. He also explains that to gain simplicity, people need to live in the present when he states “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? ...Men say a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take thousand stitches today to save none tomorrow.” Furthermore, people occupy their precious time given to worry about the future, to prepare for the future because humans fear of what is ahead, but they are wasting time to realize that they are not enjoying it. The past cannot change itself and the future is yet to come, the present is what the focus should be, because when the time comes for that time in the future, looking back at the past will not be a memorable history. Henry David Thoreau describes that a balanced relationship allows life to be simple and in the moment, and more time to find the purpose in life.
Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederick Douglass describe that a balance between being alone and being in a group to find their purpose for their place in society. During cultural turmoil, people have many thoughts wondering their mind, waiting to express themselves in public, however people's insecurity does not allow it. People need to commit time with themselves and with society if they wish to find their place in society. Sometimes finding harmony and peace with nature is the way to achieve their dreams to voice their opinion. No matter what the situation is, every individual has a purpose in society.