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Essay / Critical Analysis of Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
As human beings, we take everything for granted. We don't think about nature's struggle to blossom into something we can find divine. Nor do we think about the hours and passion that a writer may have devoted to this piece of literature that we pick up and read. We are pregnant creatures who complain when it's too hot outside, without even thinking that the heat keeps us alive, or we get angry when it rains too much, without appreciating it to keep nature flourishing. Ralph Waldo Emerson talks about humans' disregard for nature and our detachment in his work "Nature." We will examine Emerson's view on the lack of compassion and respect that humanity feels for the world around it. Nature was not uncommon for being a theme that Emerson drew on very frequently. It wasn't because he was a "man, a man" living in the woods, off the land or anything; but because he believed that by being in contact with nature, we were also closer to God. At the beginning of “Nature,” Emerson writes: “I am not solitary when I read and write, even if no one is with me (Emerson). » Now, upon first reading, anyone would assume that they are not alone because they have the characters from their reading/writing to accompany them. However, since Emerson believed so passionately in the continuing presence of God, I believe that is what he is referring to. As a transcendentalist, Emerson believed that “God was not distant and unknowable; Believers understood God and themselves by looking into their own souls and feeling their own connection to nature ("Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson"). world around him. He speaks of the stars as a relationship between man and God. Whatever we do, God forgives and will always be there. We may turn our backs on Him, or think we know better, but His love is a never-ending, everlasting love. Works Cited Emerson, Ralph. "Nature." emersoncentral. Np, October 3, 2009. Web. December 6, 2013. “Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography.” biography. AE Television Networks, LLC., and Web. December 6, 2013. “Industrialization and environment.” fubini.swarthmore. Swarthmore College Environmental Studies, February 3, 2003. Web. December 6, 2013. .Wilson, Eric. “Web of American Transcendentalism.” Legacy of Transcendentalism. No. Internet. December 6 2013. .