One of the most influential pieces of literature that Ralph Waldo Emerson composed is Nature. ... As a self-reliant individual in 1845, Thoreau decided to conduct an experiment on Emerson's land at Walden Pond by building himself a cabin and living in simplicity and seclusion for two years (Baym 963). ... He encourages his readers to deviate from the magnetic field of society constraining them, and instead to pursue simplistic solitude and communion with nature. ... Because he had not paid a poll-tax in six years in protest of slavery and the Mexican War, Thoreau was imprisoned for one night. ...

• Word Count: 1963
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate