Ralph Waldo Emerson makes his transcendental message blatantly clear in the accusatory first paragraph of his essay, “Nature”. In implementing the idea that modern society should spend less time reading and socializing, and more time encompassed by nature, he fails to recognize the unrealistic standards he is setting.  Emerson states, “…why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe? The sun shines to-day also.” So early in his essay, Emerson has already established biases and boundaries between society and nature. While intellectual items such as books and historical works are deemed as “dry bones”, nature is represented by the gold, gleaming sun. Navigating through one’s life as a “transparent eyeball” is likely to make for an oblivious existence, rather than the soulful one that Emerson glorifies. Emerson does raise some convincing points regarding natures evident importance, however, his lack of objectivity makes his message far-fetched and nonrealistic.

W.E.B DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk, reveals exactly why it is impossible for one to completely delve themselves into nature and ignore the intellectual expectations of society. Dubois expresses that in order for the blacks of the South to have power, they must provide themselves with a ripe and formal education, as he himself did. In his piece, DuBois writes, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.” By acknowledging the strife faced by African Americans in society, DuBois indicates that the minorities of America do not have the privilege of isolating themselves in nature. He expresses that as much as they may wish, there will always be a veil of judgment between the African American and the white man, and as a result, they must keep themselves educated and ahead of the game.

In The Veil Transcended: Form and Meaning in W. E. B. DuBois’ “The Souls of Black Folk” Brodwin states a simple yet revealing line, “The spiritual compensations for such sacrifice could be great…” (1).  Both “Nature” and The Souls of Black Folk contain elements of spiritual meaning, although used in different contexts. And while Emerson preaches transcendentalism, DuBois strives for basic civil rights and spiritual contentment. Clearly, one is more obligatory than the other.

The books and historical knowledge that Emerson considers to be distracting, are what DuBois believes to be the only objects that could assist African Americans in climbing the social ladder. “The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.” Although the point that Emerson makes in the following quote is in regards to the innocence of children, it ironically showcases his own childishness. It may be advisable to retain some childlike aspects of yourself in order to live happily, but to constantly relish in that unblemished mist is self-damaging. The African American in DuBois’ world could only do so if they wanted to submit to a life of ignorance. There may be beauty in the “heavenly worlds” that Emerson describes, but one can only ponder the sunsets of nature for so long. And for a black individual, that would mean an eternity behind America’s color-line.

The “veil” described by DuBois is what most notably counteracts Emerson’s view of nature. DuBois reiterates throughout “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” that the veil is a borderline that will always exist between the blacks and whites of American society. “To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.” However, what is more difficult than merely being black in America, is being a black individual who lacks the knowledge and awareness that comes from education. One is rather educated and aware of the veil or ignorant of the veil and everything else in society. This further supports the idea that many in modern society cannot simply indulge themselves in the peace of nature. How could a minority in such an unequal world relent to a life of nature and meditation, when there are so many injustices in the world to question?

Emerson may not have been writing his essay through an ultimately political viewpoint, however, it is hard not to consider how difficult it is for minorities to follow his suggestions. “Nature” is almost like a chapter out of a fantasy novel, as it largely contains unrealistic advice that is hard for most to relate to. The Souls of Black Folk, instead, illuminates the irrationality of Emerson’s piece. Rather than isolating oneself from the issues and expectations of society, one should make themselves aware of the surmounting social problems in America.

The people who live on this planet have finite resources and a finite amount of time, but there are many who do not see the bigger picture. Most people seek immediate satisfaction despite knowing this information. The reason this happens is because their perspective of the world is incomplete and not drawn from a fuller understanding. Authors DuBois and Emerson demonstrate in their writings that not all things are as they seem; not nature, and not the other people they live around.

In Ralph Emerson’s Nature, he starts by saying that time is “retrospective”, constantly evolving and changing as the newer generations of people come in and experience life for themselves. As he writes through Nature, it appears as though most of his writing has a heavy emphasis on this perspective viewpoint. An evolving perspective persists throughout Nature and is expressed in a multitude of ways. In Chapter I of his writing he describes the process of a man in isolation, yet never in a state of solitude. Given the right tools at their disposal, a person can truly see nature around them as it really is, and not how it is perceived by most. This insight gives readers the ability to understand the significance of his argument of retrospective; it provides a fair amount of description to how the perspective mind works and what allows a person to truly persevere.

While Emerson highlights the importance and the positive effects of perspective, the opposite can be said for W.E.B DuBois in The Souls of Black Folk. His words in writing appear to be intentionally vague, operating in a way to be open to interpretation through the use of rhetoric and question. One thing is clear about his writing, and it is the experience of racism and the struggles of people of color. In his first chapter, he recollects memories from when he was a boy, and the sudden realization that he was unlike the other boys due to an encounter with a new girl in town that refused his card. That life-changing moment was able to change DuBoi’s understanding of what it means to be a black boy in a city that hates him and his own people.

DuBois lived in a time where his country did not take kindly to people of color, and in Chapter I of The Souls of Black Folk, he recollects moments of pride whenever he outperformed his peers and in those moments, saw himself in a more pleasant light. However, the people around him sought to bring him down, altering his perspective, and the minds of other black youth around him as they continued to be oppressed.

Both of these authors articulate the importance of perspective in vastly different ways, but overall achieve the same goal of enhancing the reader’s knowledge on how the world is perceived and how the world is in reality. In this dual world, it may become difficult to ascertain the difference between reality and envisioning. But, the important takeaway is that one must be wary of these two worlds and set them apart from one another.