What inspired Emerson?

What inspired Emerson?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), an eminent German writer, whose views on science and nature inspired Emerson, and played into his first book, Nature. Carlyle’s State of German Literature spurred the move by Emerson and others to Transcendentalism.

How did Emerson influence Thoreau?

Emerson acted as a mentor to Thoreau and supported him in many ways. Emerson also used his influence to promote Thoreau’s literary efforts. Some of Thoreau’s first works were published in The Dial, a Transcendentalist magazine. And Emerson gave Thoreau access to the lands that would inspire one of his greatest works.

How did Ralph Waldo Emerson change America?

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803—1882) In his lifetime, Ralph Waldo Emerson became the most widely known man of letters in America, establishing himself as a prolific poet, essayist, popular lecturer, and an advocate of social reforms who was nevertheless suspicious of reform and reformers.

What does Thoreau’s ideal society look like?

Thoreau’s ideal was not reverting to nature, but creating an ideal blend of nature and civilization. So he looked to nature to teach, not how to live outside society, but how to live in a better society. He viewed nature as the best model for a good society.

What does Thoreau wake up his neighbors to?

If the narrator sometimes seems smug and self-righteous, it must be recalled that he is crowing “to wake his neighbors up” to their own greatness, not just his own.

Who did Thoreau inspire?

Thoreau’s ideas about civil disobedience were first spread in the late 1900s by Henry Salt, an English social reformer who introduced them to Gandhi. And Russian author Leo Tolstoy was important to spreading those ideas in continental Europe, wrote literature scholar Walter Harding.

What is Thoreau saying about soldiers?

Thoreau says that soldiers are on the same level as wood, earth, and stones because they blindly do what the government tells them to do. When they do that (rather than paying attention to their own consciences) they are no longer like people.