Question

Based on Thoreau’s transcendental beliefs, why might he have written an essay opposing the war?

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

You sort of have to combine the feeling Thoreau had about nature, individuality, spirituality and  civil disobedience to get the idea what he would have thought about war.

He would oppose war with every fiber of his being.

To him, war was a reflection of what was the worst in mankind. There is no nobility in war. Spirituality would especially oppose it, since in his mind spirituality meant serving what is above your head without compensation of  any kind (and that last includes things that you would never think of).

Civil disobedience would dictate action of some kind. Vietnam and Civil Rights were not the only things being upheld by people who were transcendentalists by nature. Not participating in society at all would have been something Thoreau would have agreed with.

War would have been at the very bottom of those activities he would have upheld and civil disobedience would have been his first response to governments that have run amok in his mind. The ideas contained in Walden would be confirmed in the evil of the civil war.

Anyway, the book reflects many of the key Transcendentalist themes, including the importance of individualism, the necessity of maintaining a connection to nature, and spirituality.

Answer 2

Answer:

the answer is: to explain the individual’s responsibilities within a corrupt society.