Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the essay “Nature” in 1836 during the rise of transcendentalism. This was Emerson’s first published work, and one that he published anonymously. This essay was a driving force for other writers during the transcendentalist movement. He left his place as a pastor of the Unitarian church due to difficulty adhering to their beliefs about the ritual of communion as well as many stories of the Bible. Transcendentalist encourage that one has to be in absolute harmony in nature to experience life and a sort of spiritualism. Emerson’s purpose in writing this essay was to describe nature as it should be experienced by humans, pointing out the error in the ways in which most normally function or interact with nature. Emerson divides this essay into eight main sections that describe the ways he feels humans interact with nature to meet their needs, their desire for pleasure, and how they communicate with and understand one other. Emerson describes that people do not accept everything that nature has to offer, and certainly does not give back to nature. While most people are distracted by their limited view of the world, nature is the way to enlightenment and harmony. Emerson begins this essay describing how solitude is the only way to truly understand and experience nature in the way that it was intended. Emerson’s belief in God was very different than mainstream beliefs. He has a very strong belief in self-reliance and that humans are capable of expanding their way of thinking and making their own decisions concerning religion.
Emerson’s use of language personifies nature, and gives the reader the perception of a spirit or apparition. “In the woods too, a man casts off his years as the snake slough, and at what period soever in life, is always a child” (Emerson, 2013). This is a metaphor for casting off his old life and views of the world, and returning to a state of innocence, of being childlike, with his eyes open to a new view...