Paper Example on Exploring the Echoes of Emerson and Thoreau in Whitman

Question 1: Where do you see echoes of Emerson/ Thoreau in Whitman? Where is he quite different from both? Give examples from the text.

Despite these three authors being different from each other, they have numerous similarities as well. There are times that there appears to be an echo of Emerson and Thoreau in Whitman. As some of the most famous authors of the early 19th century, all the work of Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman is different and unique. The literature before their time was mainly focused on grouping people together and was mainly focusing on religion. Emerson is strongly associated with the beginning of the transcendentalist movement within the United States, Which eventually led to America becoming independent of Europe. In the example of the "Song of Myself", which is Whitman's work gives an echo of both Emerson, Thoreau. The Persuasion for the readers to become their person and to live the normal life is highly relatable. Hence, they all have a similar idea that is also similar to Emerson/ Thoreau. The other example where Whitman's work echoes the works of Emerson/ Thoreau can also be seen in terms of imagery that works for the others as well. They advocate for the readers to get inclined to themselves through the Show of Beauty and nature.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Nonetheless, there are instances where Whitman is different from Emerson, Thoreau. The first instance is that while Emerson started the advocation for transcendentalist movement within the United States as Whitman did not want to follow this procedure. The writings of Emerson, such as nature and self-reliance, are more geared towards the aspect of nature, as seen in the wok of a song of myself. This work by Whitman is focused on personal relationships. II way in which he is quite different from them is that the transcendentalist movement was focused on growing imagery within the physical body of a human being, as in section 20, page 1407. The line states that he knows that he is deathless, and know this orbit cannot be swept by a carpenters compass. He adds that ", I know I shall not pass like a child's carlacue cut with a burnt stick in the night." The video discuss shows where Whitman uses sexuality, which was not seen as an important thing at the time that it was published. This can be seen in section 40-page 1420 talks about the body of a woman.

Question 2: Question 2 picks two of the traits discussed in this video. Where else do you see them?

The two main traits that have been discussed in this video include the ideas of individualistic and democratic aspects that individuals could have. An example is seen in where he talks to his own soul by stating that he believes in his soul and that the other I am must not abase itself to you, And you must not be abased to the other." He also gives details about listening to nature. An example of being involved in the democratic idea is seen when he talks about being the person of people, and being just as immortal. This means that he does not separate himself from everything else, and everything is the same to him. This is an idea that is also seen in from 17, where he states that all men have the same thoughts and that nothing is of his idea.

There are things that can be uniquely seen in the work of Whitman, including the focus on sexuality and the change in norms expected in writing. Which man believed in God and that he was responsible for everything on earth, including the people. This could be seen in the opening section of the poem, where he states that I celebrate myself and sing myself, which is the best way to be in contact with God through the use of being true and original to one's self. The use of God shows a way of getting contact with God and nature and putting distance between individual and Society. Whitman also showed a trait where he is focusing on romantic ideas. He focused on different aspects of people's lives and how it applies to romanticism, as Emerson seemed the only forecast in romantic issues in regards to nature. The Romans in Whitman can be seen in countless places where issues such as marriage are discussed, including the part where he states that, the person he is describing had long eyelashes, and that her head was bare.

Question 3: What do you ultimately love or hate about Whitman? How does his stack up to other authors we've read thus far, in your opinion?

I ultimately enjoy numerous things about Whitman. One of them is the freedom that he allows the readers to have by encouraging them to be their own persons and make decisions that are not based on what they have been told in the past. This is an intriguing idea that not many others allow their readers to have. He was ultimately focusing on modern topics such as sexuality and romance, which man makes it easier for modern readers to relate to his work despite writing in the early part of the 19th century. Whitman's work is also different in how he approaches these romantic ideas by measuring all the aspects of an individual's life and how they apply in Romans. This is an aspect that is different from other authors such as Emerson that seemed to focus on romanticism in regards to nature without focusing on the major subject that affects people individually. This can be seen where he discusses the topic of marriage in poem ten where it states that "She had long eyelashes, her head was bare, her coarse straight locks descended upon her voluptuous limbs and reached her feet." this makes the work of Whitman more enjoyable than the past what does, especially if the individual is looking for the topic of romanticism. His work is also easier to follow along. His work is more cheerful and allows people to enjoy their humanity by encouraging people to love themselves as seen in the part where he states that "I hear the sound I love, the sound of the human voice." the fact that he is expressing and advocating for Happiness makes him unique and different from all the other writers. The only thing that someone could hurt in the work of Whitman is his over exemption and diversion from the norms and at a time when writing did not promote such things. Most of his writings were meant for religious audiences, and therefore it does not give a true reflection of religion through focusing on one's self and self-love. Whitman also sees himself to be different, which makes it difficult to relate to his work. For example, he states that he is "a simple and separate person." This can be seen to be too much self-love. Other authors advocated for humility alternator, which is different from what is advocated for from Whitman.

Reflection of the readings

The readings give different perspectives of writing and various streets of three of the most famous writers; Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. These writers have different styles that are also similar in many ways. They all advocate for individual freedom, and all of them advocate for the acknowledgment of God. However, Whitman seems to be a little bit different because of his focus on sexuality, which was not seen to be against the values and principles at the time. In the early 19th century, not many writers focused on sexuality, and the readers were not comfortable with such ideas being presented to the audience is. This is why Whitman was different as a man who wanted to break this cultural barrier by advocating for people's appreciation for their bodies and overall focus on sexuality, which opened ways for the majority of the modern writers whose main focus is sexuality and romanticism. the focus on sexuality makes the work of Whitman unique and modern. The use of imagery by Whitman makes his work easier to read for most readers and more enjoyable because it is focusing on topics that are modern and relatable as compared to other authors. He also focuses on the human body, which gives a more informative concept. Freedom of sexuality is one of the concepts that re more valuable to modern writers. This was a time that such issues were against the norm, and therefore he opened the ways for many people.