Thoreau's Utopia

Henry David Thoreau was one of the most important transcendentalist writers of the mid-19^th Century. He, like some of his collegues (Emerson, Fuller, et al), essentially abandoned modern American society to form their own working, “utopian” society. A utopian society is one that is perfect in every aspect. Most view attempts at creating a utopia as feeble and useless, but Thoreau did not. Maybe Thoreau was unable to create a true utopia, but from Lance Newman’s writings we are able to see that he viewed much of it as a success.Thoreau could not stand the hypocirsy of American government in the mid-19^th Century which is one of the reasons he left it for his own utopia. As well as his sentiments regarding America, Thoreau’s sense and love for Nature was a determining factor in moving on to his utopia.

Thoreau and King

Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” has been known to influence many twentieth and
Twenty-first century icons, but one of the most well known is Martin Luther King Junior who was heralded as sparking the civil rights movement. King has been quoted as saying, “a sit- in at lunch counters, a freedom ride into Mississippi, a peaceful protest in Albany, Georgia, a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, it is an outgrowth of Thoreau’s insistence that evil must be resisted and no moral man can patiently adjust to injustice” (Thoreau 433). Further examination of King’s Stride toward Freedom can help advance the modern readers’ comprehension of Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” within the context of the twenty-first century. Many instances of Thoreau’s influence on King can be seen in King’s writings (Goldman 3). For example in Stride toward Freedom King states, “To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor” (Thoreau 424).

Moby-Dick explors American Political History

Alan Heimert’s “Moby-Dick and American Political Symbolism” explored a few aspects of American history that were weaved into Melville’s tale. Slavery was one of them. According to the Civil War Home Page, of all the roughly 1.5 million families in the American South, about one in four owned slaves. According to the 1860 U.S. Census Bureau, there were nearly four million slaves held in the 15 slave states. These statistics were reflected in the story by the harpooners, who played a secondary role to the ship’s mates such as Stubb and Flask. Heimert also drew a connection between the Pequod and the United States at the time, which was referred to as “the Ship of State.” The Compromise of 1850 signaled the end of a turbulent era for U.S. politics, and this was supposed to reflect the turbulent voyage of the Pequod.

Transcendentalism's Trail through History

At one point, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The Transcendentalist” compared the Transcendentalist philosophy with other movements from different time periods. Some of these movements, like Protestant Christianity, are still relevant today, while others, such as Stoicism, have less impact on our modern society. One movement Emerson mentioned, Idealism, was contrasted with a form of Christianity called Unitarianism. The theology of this religion teaches against the Trinitarian form of God. Another example used was that of Cato and Brutus, two men who were a part of what could be classified as a movement- the Roman Republic. Both men were influential in the assassination of Julius Caesar, who happened to be on his way to becoming Rome’s dictator. While this event isn’t culturally relevant to us, it is a significant turning point in the history of Rome. One example that is still relevant was the Protestant Reformation that led to various modern branches of the Christian faith- Lutherans and Calvinists were just some of the denominations that sprung out of the 16th century event.

Melville’s Take on the Negro Problem in Moby-Dick

I wanted to look at Melville’s attitude toward the Negro problem in Moby-Dick and also in some of his other works--Benito Cereno, Typee, and Mardi. The Negro problem is the representation of African Americans in 19th century literature, and since many of Melville’s fellow authors did not have any African American characters in their novels Melville’s Moby-Dick made it easier to understand the attitudes toward African Americans. Melville did not give careful consideration to the African American character, he based his black characters in his earlier works on the Negro stereotypes--the most common, that they were savages-- that bombarded the 19th century. The black character Daggoo in Moby-Dick is somewhat different from the Negro stereotype. Melville may have considered the Negro Problem in his earlier works and have altered the black character in Moby-Dick so that he (the black character) may stand at the level of the white characters.

The Lasting Value of Thoreau's Walden

What is the value of Thoreau’s years in the woods at Walden Pond? Did he achieve what he set out to do, and if so, what is the consequence of his experiment? Is the effect a lasting one? Leo Tolstoy writes in a Letter to Dr. Eugen Heinrich Schmitt of the value of the ideas and approach of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and “Civil Disobedience.” He compares his own ideas with Thoreau’s and concludes they are driving at a similar notion. Mohandas K. Gandhi also writes about the similarities of his own doctrine of Satyagraha and Thoreau’s civil disobedience. While he believes they were both aimed at the same ultimate goal, their approaches and reasons for non-conformity diverge. Thoreau may have gone to the woods to “suck out all the marrow of life,” as he says, but in his solitary endeavor, he contributed much more to society than his individual goal implies.

Putting The Hip In Hypocrite: Thoureau and Impractical Ideas In Walden

Throughout John Albert Macy’s “Thoreau” there is much praise in adornment of Thoreau’s Walden. Thoreau was thought of a revolutionary of the Transendentalist way. The problem with this is that Thoreau was nothing more than an idealist taking advantage of people’s desire to lead a free life. Thoreau does nothing more than exaggerate and embellish the way he actually lives while degrading the rest of the country for not having the resources he had.