Comparison of Transcendentalists

Furthermore, she has an impeccable sense of the macabre, a sense that could nearly qualify her for membership in an exclusive club of dark masters frequented by the likes of Poe and Melville. In comparison, Dillard is much more enthusiastic in her approach to nature. However, her focus on solely descriptive techniques drains the reader’s interest because most are unable to see the spiritual truth unless they read it specifically. Transcendentalist thought emerges as he discovers the grandeur of a simple life in nature. Finally, Dillard is the greatest departure from Transcendentalist thought through her brutal portrayal of nature. In all the other chapter excerpts, one finds that Thoreau uses examples from his life to draw insight on mankind as a whole. However, Emerson is the most scholarly of the three because he relies much more on pure logical thought, whereas Thoreau and Dillard each have books that describe how nature (with particular examples relating to the stars) allowed them to achieve certain spiritual truths. Two of the most memorable examples of her dark materials are the death of a frog and the vile butchery of gulls frozen into the ice. On the far end of the spectrum is Annie Dillard, who relies almost solely on description and shows little insight. Indeed, she has an enormous affinity for carnage. She seems to dive straight into nature with such memorable cries as “Lightning! Copperhead! Swedish meatballs!” The exclamation points themselves highlight this attitude. In contrast, Emerson and Thoreau have a much more contemplative approach to nature (and especially solitude); they like to think about one topic and draw conclusions from it. She confesses to enjoying chasing after steers. ne sees that he ponders about his own experiences, such as neighbors asking him whether or not he is lonely while at Walden Pond.