Transcendentalism was a literary movement during the first half of the 19th century. The philosophical theory embraces aspects of self-examination, the celebration of individualism, and the belief that the fundamental truths existed outside of human experience. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) and Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) were key figures of American Transcendentalism, expressed the challenge to all the forces of age, tradition, stability, custom, and prescribed authority. As loyal individualists, Emerson and Thoreau emphasized defending the …showed first 75 words of 1549 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1549 total…figures of American Transcendentalism, expressing the challenge to all the forces of age, tradition, stability, custom, and prescribed authority. Immortalized by their works they emphasized defending the right of each person to follow his own conscience. In conclusion, it has been found that an important theme in “Self-Reliance” and Walden is self-discovery and individualism. By juxtaposing the two works, the extent of Emerson and Thoreau sharing similar outlooks was found to include their discerned differences.