Emerson And Thoreau

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attended Harvard as well, and that was where he was introduced to Emerson. He became fascinated with Emerson’s philosophy while sitting in on one of his lectures. Emerson became Thoreau’s mentor and advisor. A relationship that soon deepened to a friendship. Many people claim that Thoreau’s ideas were simply taken from Emerson’s, in fact, some critics call Thoreau Emerson’s miror. And although their philosophies greatly reflected one another, they differed in many ways as well.
Emerson’s writing focused on nonconformity and individuality. In his essay "Self-Reliance," he wrote, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," and, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist."
Emerson writings were also more focused on the self; philosophy of humanism and Independence from society are all things that Emerson wrote on frequently. Thoreau, while focusing on matters of the self in many of his essays, tended to have more of a ...

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