Importance Of Individualism In Henry David Thoreaus Walden

Imagine you live in a community where there isn’t a central government, everyone care only about themselves, and your family relies on you to make enough for them to survive. You think that it is suitable , in the beginning, because you don’t lose money due to poor trade deals, and you make your own rules on your farm that you enforce, no government involvement. Then you, and everyone else, have a dreadful year, you can’t make enough to support your family. You decide to move, along with everyone else in the community, leaving it a ghost town. Throughout Henry David Thoreau’s essay â€Å"Walden†, he praises the virtues of individualism and self-sufficiency. These virtues will jeopardize and destroy a community either by themselves or together.†¦show more content†¦The four â€Å"necessities of living† are â€Å"Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel,† we need these things before we can function properly (page 114). Regardless, bein g self-sufficient is beneficial to a certain extent. To illustrate, you only grow, collect, and kill what you need to sustain you and your family. Nothing more, nothing less. Assume that everyone else in your community feels the same way. So stores only sell the tools you need to keep your farm up and running. Now imagine you have a dreadful year, your crops don’t take, animals start dying of disease, and you have nothing in storage. You go to your neighbors thinking that they can help you but they can’t. They are going through the same problem as you. Over half of the population moves that year, and soon the rest will leave as well. Thus dissipating the community. Being self-sufficient can only go so far before it leads to disaster. You need to be able to produce enough, so incase something like that happens, you will have a satisfiable supply so you don’t run out. To repeat, being self-sufficient is a superb quality to have in a community, but only in moderat ion. What would happen if the two virtues were both characteristics of the community? You have a community that both embraces the ideals of individualism and encourages the traits of self-sufficiency. Then you would have hundreds of micro-communities within a large community. EveryoneShow MoreRelatedHenry David Thoreau and the Counterculture1357 Words   |  6 Pagesliterary and philosophical movement, associated with Henry David Thoreau and the Counterculture, asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that transcends the empirical and scientific and is knowable through intuition. Imagination and individuality are associated with the term. Henry David Thoreau who was a leading philosopher and poet was a leading transcendentalist. He compiled a novel titled Walden, a non-fiction depicting his stay at Walden Pond where he truly explored nature and his transcendentalRead MoreHenry David Thoreaus Sociological Experimentation in Isolation655 Words   |  3 PagesIn Henry Da vid Thoreau’s writings, he explores a different, more thoughtful way of life. Thoreau was a student of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson gave Thoreau the property on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts; where Thoreau spent about two years living away from the society. Thoreau’s social experimentation required him to separate himself from the society, to be an individual, and to learn from his experiences. Henry David Thoreau was given a piece of property on Walden Pond by Emerson. EvenRead MoreEmerson Thoreau and Individualism in Society Essay1370 Words   |  6 PagesRalph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are still considered two of the most influential writers of their time. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a lecturer, essayist, and poet, Henry David Thoreau is his student, who was also a great essayist and critics. Both men extensively studied and embraced nature, and both men encouraged and practiced individualism and nonconformity. In Ralph Waldo Emersons essay Self Reliance and Henry David Thoreaus book Walden and essay Resistance to Civil GovernmentRead MoreHenry D. Thoreaus views on nature, society, and man.1526 Words   |  7 PagesThoreau Views on Nature, Society, and Man Henry David Thoreaus life began on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. At a young age he began to show an interest in writing. In 1833, at the age of sixteen, Thoreau was accepted to Harvard University. Although his parents could not afford the cost of tuition, his family offered to help with the funds, and in August he entered Harvard. In 1837 he graduated and applied for a teaching position at a public school in Concord. However, he refused to flogRead MoreEarly American Transcendentalism1204 Words   |  5 PagesEarly American transcendentalism has one of the greatest influences towards American society because it is not only a philosophy, but also a religion and physical progression. During the early nineteenth century, Ralph Emerson, Henry Thoreau, and other radical individuals challenged the present day theories of values, ethics, and what it means to live life to the fullest (Timko). If early American transcendentalists were living among civilians today, would present da y civilians think the earlierRead MoreCompare And Contrast Thoreau And Walden1424 Words   |  6 PagesMary Oliver Henry David Thoreau Author, Henry David Thoreau and Mary Oliver are both very passionate about nature and what it has to offer in life, as well as the symbolism behind nature and its creatures in their works of literature, in â€Å"Walden†, and â€Å"The House of Light†, Both authors discuss their views of nature and the beauty of the world that they want to make familiar to their audience. In this essay, I’ll provide my reasoning behind this statement. In â€Å"Walden†, Thoreau talks aboutRead MoreChristopher Johnson Mccandless s Transcendentalism2535 Words   |  11 Pagesnotable transcendentalists known as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and lived life like a transcendentalist based on his behaviors and life values. With the fact that remained in history, the primary conception of transcendentalism was led by the unitarianism, the reaction to the strict Calvinism, which supported that people should live the spiritual life in terms of a continuing effort to cultivate one’s own spiritual resources. David Robinson explicated it in his article â€Å"Transcendentalism†:Read MoreThe Naturalists Of American Literature1087 Words   |  5 PagesJordan Wilson Cole Tracee Howell American Literature 4/9/2015 The Naturalists of American Literature Henry David Thoreau tests the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson by living at a place known as Walden Pond. Here at Walden Pond, Thoreau discovers that in a physical aspect, nature brings a deepness into our minds and into our souls. One’s imagination is uplifted, and this changes a person’s entire perspective of life. Both Thoreau and Emerson believed that nature forces people to not have to dependRead MoreHenry David Thoreau : The Transcendentalist Movement1934 Words   |  8 PagesHenry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was one of the greatest leaders of the Transcendentalist movement. He guided this movement through his writings, personal tragedy, beliefs and friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson. Essentially, Transcendentalism revolves around the ideas of being one with nature and the right to protest peacefully when laws went against one’s own beliefs. Henry David Thoreau was able to lead this movement due to his education, experiences, and family influences. ThoreauRead More Emerson and Thoreau Represent American Identity1511 Words   |  7 Pagesscholar. He asserts that, American scholars must not blindly follow anything; they should first understand the logic and emerge as â€Å"Thinking Man†, a man exploring new ideas. Unlike European scholar, Emerson argues that American scholars must give importance to nature that highly influence human mind, and they must be given freedom to discover and explore new ideas. According to Emerson, true scholars should not be narrowing minded and get stuck with the books. He criticized that the prescribed books