Henry David Thoreau's Influence On Individualism

Henry David Thoreau was an American writer inspired by the transcendentalist foundations of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Followers of the philosophy valued nature and believed that individualism was the key to attaining enlightenment. Thoreau was heavily influenced by Emerson’s concepts. He believed the best way to recreate Emerson’s vision was to seclude himself in the woods. His work, Walden, tells of his experiences living on his own and was geared towards intellectuals like himself. In “Conclusion,” he devised three fundamental rules to live by: live life to the fullest, refrain from being materialistic, and embrace individuality. He supported these themes by experimenting with tone, diction, metaphor, and simile. Thoreau begins by outright telling
It was one of the most important traits of transcendentalism and was reiterated by Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman alike. Thoreau believed that you were most intelligent as a young child because you had yet to be influenced by those around you. That was when your ideas were purest. He even believed it was better to resist the pursuit of higher intelligence. “Do not seek so anxiously to be developed, to subject yourself to many influences to be played on; it is all dissipation.” “To subject yourself” implies that learning was something to be feared. Thoreau used strong language like this to persuade the reader into seeing from his perspective. Another example of such persuasive language is when he says, “Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends.” He compares clothes and friendship in the same sentence, as if to say they are of the same low significance. Valuing friendship went against Thoreau’s vision of individuality, and therefore he dismissed the idea of companionship altogether. He also says that being poor should not be considered a shortcoming. “...if you are restricted in your range by poverty, if you cannot buy books and newspapers, for instance, you are but confined to the most significant and vital experiences…” This quote reinforces the idea that individuality was key to attaining enlightenment. It is strange for Thoreau to say that there is an upside to being impoverished, but it portrays just how strongly he believed in individuality. Books, newspapers, and outside knowledge were enemies of the transcendentalist movement and would only fill people’s heads with untrustworthy