What Are The Similarities Between Walt Whitman And Transcendentalism

ESSAYS 1. Puritan views of New World in colonial America 2. Compare and contrast literature of Whitman and Dickenson in terms of God, man and nature 3. Man’s nature perceived by Hawthorne, Faulkner and Melville. 4. American dream and experience in 20th century American literature 5. Poe’s idea of rationalisation (symbolic poetry, short stories, invention of detective story, science fiction, tension on symbolism and psychological analysis) 6. Transcendentalizm 7. Establishment of the truly American tradition (Irving, Cooper , Poe) 8. Main issues in 20th century 9. Romantic fiction and dark vision of life Hawthorne & Melville 10. J. Edwards and B. Franklin comparison- predestination 11. Winthrop
and Bradford characteristic features of their writings 12. Struggle over humane nature in Hamilton (Federalist) & Jefferson (republican) 13. Compare and contrast two novels of the South 14. The war in “the sun...” and “The red badge...” 15. Bradstreet and Taylor – poetry in colonial America 16. “Huck Finn” is it the greatest novel/ initiation into life 17. Freedom and duty in “Portrait..” 18. “Light in August” 19. Cooper and Hawthorne woman in their writings 20. Withman and Poe’s attitude towards poetry and poet 21. Materialism, the American dream, money in “Great Gatsby”

1)Compare and contrast the poetry of Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are regarded as the best poets of colonial period. She was a happy wife in love with her husband and mother of eight children. ‘The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America’ published in London, is considered the first book of original poetry written in colonial America. Edward Taylor was a pastor. His wrote metaphysical poetry in which he praises God. Bradstreet is considered to be an early feminist. In ‘The Prologue’ she speaks with irony about role of women in society. They are underestimated and thought not to be as intelligent as men are. She presents male perception on women, that they are incomplete .She knows that her poetry may be regarded valuable. As a happy wife Bradstreet writes also love poems. In ‘To My Dear and Loving Husband’ we can see her strong affection. She is grateful for their love. In her poetry we can read about various range of topics. For example what she feels before the birth of one of her children. She does not speak about happiness but about death. Poem ‘In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet’ is a farewell with Elizabeth. She is called ‘dear babe’, ‘fair flower’ and human life is compared to the life of plants which in their best time have to end. Edward Taylor’s poetry is celebration of God. In ‘Prologue’ he speaks about God as the best creator and artist and seeks inspiration from God to praise His works: ‘Inspire this crumb of dust till it display/ Thy glory through’’. Taylor says that he is just a tool in God’s hands. In ‘Meditation Eight’ Taylor writes about Eucharist and his communion with God. He shows loving God who scarifies his Son. In ‘Meditation Thirty-Nine’ Taylor writes about another aspect of his religious experience: sin. He struggle with it but he can not cope with evil. However there is hope for him a sinner, it is God’s Son. He is ‘the sinner’s advocate’. For saving his soul he will celebrate God. Although Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor wrote in the same period they poetry differs. Bradstreet poems concerns ordinary things, her home life, everyday experiences, love and fears. They are characterized by simplicity and directness while Taylor’s verses have sophisticated language. He plays with words and uses conceits. According to him the purposes of poetry is to praise God. Depiction of evil in The Scarlet Letter “The Scarlet Letter” is a very good book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although all events take place in the Puritan Boston many years ago, some aspects may be referred to the contemporary world. One of them is the matter of evil in the book. Hester Prynne is a person who experiences evil done by the members of the Puritan society. She is an adulterer who has a daughter – Pearl and does not want to reveal who is Pearl’s father. It seems obvious that this kind of person is morally wrong and should be punished. So the Puritan society does it – at the beginning Hester has to stand on the scaffold to be publicly condemned. What is more, she lives in an old building on the outskirts of Boston and is treated as a fallen woman. Everyday people show her position in their society and do not let her forget what she has done. But in fact those people are not moral enough to do it. In their lives there is a “second bottom”.They are people who strictly follow religious rules, pray and take care of their minister. But it is only superficiality. They are also sinners like Hester but they sin “in silence”, try to hide it in order nobody gets to know about it. Here evil begins: they punish Hester for deed which also concern them. According to the society it is just that this woman suffers. But nobody realises that members of this community are the last people who should judge her.Another aspect of evil is connected with Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth, whose task is to help Dimmesdale fighting with mysterious ailments, begins to torment him. There is something suspicious, strange and even devilish in his practices. Chillingworth tries to find an entry to the Dimmesdale’s soul. He observes Arthur very carefully, starts guessing that he and Hester have something in common and continues what he has started.All things considered, Hawthorne presented a good example of evil in his book. Evil inside people, which they do not notice or do not want to do it. Owing to this story, readers can learn more about complicated human nature.

Compare and contrast literature of Whitman and Dickenson in terms of God, man and nature

Walt Withman’s and Emily Dickenson’s works have numerous differences. Compared to D’s short and seemingly simple poems, W’s are long and often complex. Yet both twentieth century writers share several similarities when delved WYKOPYWAĆ; DOCIEKAĆ CZEGOŚ; ; SIĘGAĆ; PRZEPROWADZAĆ BADANIA; NAGLE OPADAĆ into thoroughly. Though their approaches differ they often deal with the same themes, and both pioneered their unique style of writing. Using death as a theme is probably the strongest connection that they share. W’s view on it is reflective of his belief in transcendentalism. In “Song of Myself” he uses the scientific principle of Thermodynamics to assert that there is life after death, because energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. D’s writings on death are more complex and paradoxical. She personifies death generally seeing as a lord or compelling NIEODPARTY; NAKAZUJĄCY; ZNIEWALAJĄCY lover. In one of her more popular poem “Because I could not stop for Death” death is like a kindly courter. Many of the other poems are about the moment of death, and what happens when the living cross over into death, she tries to explain what happens at the boundary of death. Although W. And D. Write about death in different context, both seem compel to tackle the issue repeatedly. It is also apparent OCZYWISTY; JAWNY; WIDOCZNY; POZORNY | that neither felt intimidated ONIEŚMIELIĆ; ONIEŚMIELAĆ; ZASTRASZAĆ; ZASTRASZYĆ; NASTRASZYĆ; ZAHUKAĆ about death.
Religion is also another subject both writers struggle with,, and it often ties to the death theme. During the romantic era previous ideals and morals were questioned. Religion was scrutinised and considered outdated or irrelevant. W. challenged the traditional idea of religion, basing his philosophy of transcendentalism. He collapses the distinction between spiritual and secular. He often puts himself into the place of God. Once again he compares himself to Jesus.Despite the tendency of Romantics to dismiss God completely, W. Perhaps due to Puritan pressure, felt the need to address the larger issues of religion and
God. D’s philosophy on death was much more traditional, yet she too constantly questioned Calvinistic beliefs she had grown up with. Her fixation on death is her fundamental part of her religious beliefs, and many of her poems focus on her anxiety over her Elect status. Many of her poems seem to question God’s existence, and importance of Him if He does exist.
Like W. D. feels to challenge the role of religion, yet both are ultimately incapable of tossing old beliefs entirely. W. and D. both have been hailed obwołani as original and unique artists. They each have distinctive voices that may have attempt to replicate and have been unable to do so. W’s style of free verse become synonymous with his name and works, and help distinguished him as a great American poet. His preoccupation with sex, the human body and numerous other “Taboo” subjects, change the American public view of poet and poetry. D’s works are just as unique, due to mainly her odd placement of punctuation, unusual grammar, and simplicity of language. Both write of common and everyday objects and people, while addressing the larger issues of life within that context. While Walt Withman’s and Emily Ddickenson’s works seem to be quite different, they share common themes, namely death and religion. While they view may differ, there is a sense of commonality when reading their works side by side. Both poets are acclaimed American writes, offering up distinct voices and beliefs that echo still today.

"Song of Myself" is a poem by Walt Whitman that is included in his work Leaves of Grass. It has been credited as “representing the core of Whitman’s poetic vision. Public acceptance was slow in coming, however. Social conservatives denounced the poem as flouting accepted norms of morality due to its blatant depictions of humansexuality. I The poem is written in Whitman’s signature free verse style. Whitman, who praises words “as simple as grass” (section 39) forgoes standard verse and stanza patterns in favor of a simple, legible style that can appeal to a mass audience.[5]
C

Critics have noted a strong Transcendentalist influence on the poem. In section 32, for instance, Whitman expresses a desire to “live amongst the animals” and to find divinity in the insects.
In addition to this romanticism, the poem seems to anticipate a kind of realism that would only become important in United States literature after the Civil War. In the following 1855 passage, for example, we can see Whitman's inclusion of the gritty details of everyday life:

Puritan views of New World in colonial America
John Winthrop “Model of Christian Charity” Puritans arrived to America in 1620 they wanted to build there stable settlement which should be based upon the Bible: community should be diversified, there should be rich and poor everything is designed by God and everything has particular role to play or target to achieve; law of grace and Law of nature, the most important is the first one it is given by God for men’s salvation; for that purpose are advised: giving out of abundance, lending (banking), forgiving; Christian community; importance of work by which salvation may be earned; Puritans are supposed to set an example they are like a “City upon the hill (New Jerusalem)”, unity of community, collective responsibility; no one has right to feel superior everyone are equal before God; public morality
William Bradford “Of Plymouth Plantation”, Mayflower Compact 1620 defines goals of colony- to plant the colony in Virginia for the glory of God; defines the mean of civil body- legislative power (Parliament), body which will establish law, offices etc.; formation of commonwealth; judiciary power; government- elected executive power; all promissed obedience and submission to colony; hardship of life in colony is a divine mission; conviction that America had been chosen for a very special experiment, evil in a man can bring that experiment to ruin;
“The Diary of Samuel Sewall”- man needs spiritual nourishment, intoleration toward other denominations, separation of sexes- they spent free time in separation, mixed dancing is a sin; witchcraft and trials; marriage is a transaction;

Good And Evil- Moby Dick Melville’s Moby-Dick, Queegueg and Ahab show distinction between good and evil through the treatment of others, themselves and situations. Although Queequeg is a pagan, he has many Christian attributes .Ahab is not the person that everyone would expect to be the most iniquitous character of them all. Most would say that Moby Dick himself personifies evil however, he has innocent characteristics about him. Queequeg lived in a misnomer throughout Moby-Dick because he is not the savage that everyone knows him as, but as a person with Christian attitudes in the body of a savage cannibal. Ahab is the absolute evil in the book. Maybe one time in book there is an expression of his good qualities is where we are shown that there are few time the little humanitarianism still in him shows through. One time was when he was walking around the decks, and causing the crew grief. His evil is shown mainly through his revenge filled efforts to kill the white whale, which adds to his madness. He has Perth, the blacksmith, melt his razors to make the barbs for his harpoon. He then asks Queequeg, Tashtego and Dagoo to give their pagan blood to baptize his harpoon in. Worst of all he baptizes his sea sword by “I do not baptize you in the name of the father, but in the name of the devil.” He later expresses his belief in a darker faith but still sees Moby Dick as the ultimate evil and the prize. Moby Dick is not the personification of evil by any means. The whale shouldn’t just let the humans kill without a fight, like any other animal would. If anything, Moby Dick is the victim, not the murderer. Moby Dick is not the normal teacher fabricated “Christ Figure” saturated novel. Instead, it is a book with real Biblical reference and examples such as the forces between good and evil. It is demonstrated through Queequegs kindness and Ahabs insanity which cost the lives of most of the men of the Pequod.
Struggle over humane nature in Hamilton (Federalist) & Jefferson (republican) Jefferson supported farmers and …. , he had faith in people, idealistic, power in the hands of people, man should be educated, arrive at moral perfection, should not be condemned if he does sth wrong, does not have to taught what is good and what is evil – he has an inborn capability of distinguishing between the good and bad.
Hamilton supported aristocracy and trade, realistic, power should be kept out of the hands of the people to protect them from making a change in government that should cause disaster. Stressed the power of the nation, the central government and the strenght of the country wheras Jefferson the individual person and human dignity. H. Was the leader of the Federalist Party, and a long political enemy of J. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon written by American theologian Jonathan Edwards, preached on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. Like Edwards' other sermons and writings, it combines vivid imagery of the Christian concept of Hell with observations of the secular world and citations of scripture. It remains Edwards' most famous written work, and is widely studied both among American Christians and historians, due to the glimpse it provides into the theology of the Great Awakening of c. 1730–1755. In the final section of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards wishes to show his theological argument at work throughout scripture and biblical history. This is done at length, invoking stories and examples throughout the whole of the Bible and comprises the bulk of this section. Edwards ends the sermon with one final appeal, "Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come." Without explicitly saying, Edwards indirectly gives a sense of hope to those currently out of Christ. Only by returning to Christ can one escape the stark fate outlined by Edwards. Effect of the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a typical sermon of the Great Awakening, emphasizing the widely held belief that Hell is a real and functional place. Edwards hoped that the imagery and message of his sermon would awaken his audience to the horrific reality that he argued awaited them should they continue without Christ.[1] The underlying point is that God has given humanity a chance to rectify their sins. Edwards says that it is the will of God that keeps wicked men from the depths of Hell; this act of restraint has given humanity a chance to mend their ways and return to Christ.[2] Jonathan Edwards' sermon continues to be the leading example of a Great Awakening sermon and is still used in religious and academic settings today.

Materialism , The American Dream and Money in "The Great Gatsby"
Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel takes place following the First World War. Materialism : Ever since the beginnings of monetary means, the main focus of living is getting more money and to be as successful as possible. This became a huge issue during the 1920's. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald proves this to its entirety. When having to decide between an empty marriage with her husband Tom and Jay Gatsby, her love interest, she chooses Tom even though he doesn't make her truly happy. It is then evident all throughout the novel that materialistic properties of wealth and status triumphs over love. In 1917, Daisy became acquainted with Jay Gatsby from Louisiana. Though they seemed very close with each other, marriage wasn't in the picture love did seem important for Daisy, it didn't top the fact that Gatsby had no money to support the both of them. This is one way that materialism proves itself to be on top. Daisy and Tom's happiness is based on both of them coming from money, marrying for money and getting more money.It is not until later on in the novel however that true colors are shown. Fitzgerald shows how materialistic tendencies make people unremorseful and cold-hearted.The American Dream is something which drives the characters in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The American Dream is the firmly held belief that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their goals and become rich and prosperous if they only work hard enough. What is it about The The ideal American Dream is not so realistic. The characters of The Great Gatsby cannot grasp the concept that The American Dream is an illusion because not everyone can get what they want if they work hard. Jordan Baker seems to have everything going for her. She is a famous golf-player who is wealthy and thin, but she is not happy with what she has. She will do anything in order to win. She knows that her success is fickle and that it can leave at any moment because it was not built on hard work towards The American Dream. In contrast, Myrtle Wilson does not have many material items. She has a loyal husband, but Myrtle wants everything else. Myrtle looks at the East Egg folks with envy and a little bit of animosity. She feels that she deserves more; she feels she deserves Tom, his money, power, and influence. Another character who believes he deserves more power and influence is Tom Buchanan. Tom is already powerful, rich, and has a beautiful daughter and wife. Tom is not satisfied with that. The American Dream to him means he deserves more. One woman is not enough for Tom, he wants two. He also feels that he gets more power because of his mistress Myrtle. Because Myrtle is of a lower class he has complete over her. Myrtle depends on Tom to get her into a better society, closer to The American Dream. Money: In "The Great Gatsby" money is one of the most important things in the world. In the beginning there was Daisy Buchanan who got to know a military man by the name of Jay Gatsby. These two spent a lot of time together and grew to love each other despite the fact that Gatsby was poor. However, there came a time when Gatsby had to go to war and left Daisy at home. He continued to write to her and asked her to wait for him until he returned. She agreed at first , but along came a rich man by the name of Tom Buchanan and began having relations with Daisy. She didn’t really love Tom but he had money and power so as any girl in the 1920’s would do she married him for his wealth. Her one true love was Gatsby but he was away and didn’t have any money so she wouldn’t marry him just out of love. love should be the most important thing in a relationship Daisy chose money over all. Also Daisy had a friend name Jordan Baker who really liked Nick but could not marry him because he had no money. However, to the ladies of the 1920’s it was okay to have an affair with a poor person but it wasn’t all right to marry them. Both women in each case show affection towards another person in the story but are driven away from them because of their financial status.. Money has caused some people to rise and some to fall, but in the late 1920’s a man without money wasn’t a man at all.

TRANSCENDENTALISM / według Emersona i Thoreau/ The Transcendentalist movement was a reaction against 18th century rationalism and a manifestation of the general humanitarian trend of 19th century thought. The movement was based on a fundamental belief in the unity of the world and God. The soul of each individual was thought to be identical with the world - a microcosm of the world itself. The doctrine of self- reliance and individualism developed through the belief in the identification of the individual soul with God. Ralph Waldo Emerson the towering figure of his era, had a religious sense of mission. Emerson accused the church of acting "as if God were dead" and of emphasizing dogma while stifling the spirit.
His philosophy has been called contradictory, and it is true that he consciously avoided building a logical intellectual system because such a rational system would have negated his Romantic belief in intuition and flexibility. In his essay "Self-Reliance"..Yet he is remarkably consistent in his call for the birth of American individualism inspired by nature. Spiritual vision and practical, aphoristic expression make Emerson exhilarating; one of the Concord Transcendentalists aptly compared listening to him with "going to heaven in a swing." Much of his spiritual insight comes from his readings in Eastern religion, especially Hinduism, Confucianism, and Islamic Sufism. For example, his poem "Brahma" relies on Hindu sources to assert a cosmic order beyond the limited perception of mortals. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
He is of French and Scottish descent, was born in Concord and made it his permanent home. From a poor family, like Emerson, he worked his way through Harvard. Throughout his life, he reduced his needs to the simplest level and managed to live on very little money, thus maintaining his independence. In essence, he made living his career. A nonconformist, he attempted to live his life at all times according to his rigorous principles. This attempt was the subject of many of his writings. Thoreau's method of retreat and concentration resembles Asian meditation techniques. The resemblance is not accidental: like Emerson and Whitman, he was influenced by Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. His most treasured possession was his library of Asian classics, which he shared with Emerson. His eclectic style draws on Greek and Latin classics and is crystalline and as richly metaphorical as the English metaphysical writers of the late Renaissance. In Walden, he tests the theories of Transcendentalism and re-enacts the collective American experience of the 19th century: living on the frontier. Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience," with its theory of passive resistance based on the moral necessity for the just individual to disobey unjust laws, was an inspiration for Mahatma Gandhi's Indian independence movement and Martin Luther King's struggle for black Americans' civil rights in the 20th century. Thoreau is the most attractive of the Transcendentalists today because of his ecological consciousness, do-it-yourself independence, ethical commitment to abolitionism, and political theory of civil disobedience and peaceful resistance. His ideas TRANSCENDENTALISM /samo pojęcie/ The Transcendentalist movement was a reaction against 18th century rationalism and a manifestation of the general humanitarian trend of 19th century thought. The movement was based on a fundamental belief in the unity of the world and God. The soul of each individual was thought to be identical with the world - a microcosm of the world itself. The doctrine of self- reliance and individualism developed through the belief in the identification of the individual soul with God. Transcendentalism was intimately connected with Concord, a small New England village 32 km west of Boston. Concord was the first inland settlement of the original Massachusetts Bay Colony. Surrounded by forest, it was and remains a peaceful town close enough to Boston's lectures, bookstores, and colleges to be intensely cultivated, but far enough away to be serene. Concord was the site of the first battle of the American Revolution, and Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem commemorating the battle, "Concord Hymn," has one of the most famous opening stanzas in American literature. Concord was the first rural artist's colony, and the first place to offer a spiritual and cultural alternative to American materialism. It was a place of high-minded conversation and simple living (Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both had vegetable gardens). Emerson, who moved to Concord in 1834, and Thoreau are most closely associated with the town, but the locale also attracted the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, the feminist writer Margaret Fuller, the educator Bronson Alcott, and the poet William Ellery Channing. The Transcendental Club was loosely organized in 1836 and included, at various times, Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Channing, Bronson Alcott, Orestes Brownson, Theodore Parker, and others. The T. published a quarterly magazine, The Dial, which lasted 4 years and was first edited by Margaret Fuller and later by Emerson. Reform efforts engaged them as well as literature. A number of Transcendentalists were abolitionists, and some were involved in experimental utopian communities such as nearby Brook Farm (described in Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance) and Fruitlands.
Unlike many European groups, the T. never issued a manifesto. They insisted on individual differences - on the unique viewpoint of the individual. American Transcendental Romantics pushed radical individualism to the extreme. American writers often saw themselves as lonely explorers outside society and convention. The American hero - like Herman Melville's Captain Ahab, or Mark Twain's Huck Finn, or Edgar Allan Poe's Arthur Gordon Pym - typically faced risk, or even certain destruction, in the pursuit of metaphysical self-discovery. For the Romantic American writer, nothing was a given. Literary and social conventions, far from being helpful, were dangerous. There was tremendous pressure to discover an authentic literary form, content, and voice - all at the same time. It is clear from the many masterpieces produced in the three decades before the U.S. Civil War (1861-65) that American writers rose to the challenge.

Discuss Franklin’s model of self-improvement in The Autobiography.
Perfection – the state that almost everyone desire.
However, it is not so easy to achieve this goal. It requires a lot of hard work and perseverance. Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography is an example of such a process. It shows how one can live well and how one can get through hardships. Franklin's book, a story of self-betterment, is written so as to be a model for the betterment of others. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He formed both the first public lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. From an early age, he has a great inclination for books. Sometimes, it was difficult to get a book but Benjamin always managed to find one. He mentions that often he was able to spend all night reading the book that was borrowed in the evening and had to be returned early in the morning. Benjamin also shows great determination to better his writing and debate skills. Scrupulously, he copies sections from the Spectator and other works with the intent of learning how to write himself. What is more, he is also interested in constantly checking himself to make sure that he is improving. This
general motive for writing and correcting the errors, both indicate Franklin's constant interest in self-improvement.What is also connected with Franklin is Deism. in the philosophy of religion is the standpoint that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that a supreme being created the universe. Franklin is a believer in that philosophy. It is based on a belief in God but not in any particular denominations. To Deists, God created world and people but allows them to live on their own without interfering. Franklin’s belief in Deism lead him to create the aphorism, "God helps those who help themselves." Therefore self-improvement is very important. Eventually, Franklin creates " the bold and arduous project of arriving at Moral Perfection." He prepares a list of 13 virtues that are, in order: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility. He sets about creating a weekly plan by which he will develop one virtue per week, eventually perfecting them all. He decides to improve one virtue per week, marking his successes and failures in a small book that he has with him at all times. At first, Franklin finds many faults, but over time he manages to correct most of them. Hovewer, there is one virtue that is the most difficult for him to acquire - Order. The reason for this is Franklin's good memory that makes Order not as necessary. Despite the fact that Franklin cannot perfect all his virtues he is pleased. He derived enjoyment from acquiring these virtues and he hopes that the readers of his Autobiography also take pleasure from it To sum up, The Autobigraphy provides an example of a virtuous man that achieved a lot through a solid work and his perseverance. It contains a model of self improvement that can be adopted by everyone and be useful towards the betterment of society.

nature in walden thoreau and emerson
‘Nature’ is an essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This essay had an influence on Thoreau's ‘Walden’. These two authors claim that nature is very important part of our world. Emerson wanted to find himself by going to nature and observing the stars. He wanted to see God, man and nature are all one. We are a part of nature and a part of God. Nature is created by someone stronger and more powerful. Nature is so perfectly composed that it can support and serve man. Thoreau in “Walden” also claims that man is a part of nature. Thoreau places a high value on natural observation. He demonstrates that man can live successfully in the middle of nature. He derives intellectual stimulation from plants and animals. The animals are a good company for him and they accept him as a familiar part of their environment. Nature is empathetic to him. Thoreau shows that nature is a reflection of human emotions. It supports his belief in man as a part of nature. For him, the role of God as creator of nature is inspirational. Like Emerson, Thoreau claims that being in nature is a good way of becoming a part of God. He tells people to go out to nature in order to learn about themselves. Much like Emerson, Thoreau thinks that the best way for people to experience God is through nature because we are surrounded by his creation. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about finding oneself through nature, but they do it in different ways. Thoreau discussed the individualism found in nature and Emerson discussed spirituality. Thoreau focused on finding oneself within nature. He stated that people can do it only through nature. Emerson focused on nature as a way of find unity with the Universal Being. Both Thoreau's novel and Emerson's essay talk about nature and about spending time in nature. But they do it in their own way.