Humanity or Nature
In “Nature” by R.W.Emerson, the importance of nature, the discussion of spirituality, and the understanding of the world are discussed. In the introduction, Emerson speaks about how humans have beliefs and traditions that try to understand the world, and he begins to question why we continue to follow these beliefs. He begins to ask questions such as “why should we gripe among the dry bones of the past, or put out the living generation masquerade out of its faded wardrobe”(Emerson 1). This question is very important as the reader begins to see the message he is trying to deliver. Emerson does not understand why people are still holding on to old values and accepting these old values rather than living and experiencing the present and creating new traditions based on the present. He wants people to realize the importance of nature and how understanding it will help people understand the world. He is trying to tell the reader that the only way to understand the world is to experience nature and to create beliefs and values based on these experiences.
In this poem, it is clear that Emerson believes in God and also believes in spirituality. He believes that to understand the world, we must form a spiritual connection with the nature around us. Emerson wants people to perceive the world and nature in different ways to be able to establish a connection with them. We see this not only from the introduction but also in chapter one. He gives nature many spiritual connections and gives them significant meanings. For example, he goes on to describe the sky and stars, he says, “The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches”(Emerson 1). From this line alone, we can see the importance that Emerson has given the sky. He gives the sky a divine nature and also gives the sky a very important role in which it decides what the man looking at it can see and touch. Another example is the way Emerson describes the stars and the importance he gives them. This is what he says about the stars, “The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression when the mind is open to their influence”(Emerson 1). He tells the readers that the stars are always in the sky whenever and wherever they look at them but the experience that can be received from looking at the stars is different each time. He is using nature, in this case, the stars, to describe to the readers how understanding nature can help them understand the world. He reverts to the points he made in the introduction which was that we must be able to perceive the world in the present and forget traditions and values. If we do not learn to understand nature and begin to perceive the world differently, we will get nowhere in understanding it. Emerson wants humans to see the importance of nature and how divine it truly is, he wants the readers to realize that nature is not man-made and it is linked all together. Nature is one and whole, not separate.
This point made by Emerson is way different than the points that were made by Du Bois. In “The Souls of Black Folk”, he focused more on human nature and discussed perception with the reader. Du Bois wants readers to see his experiences as a “negro” and wants the reader to see how it affected him. Unlike Emerson, he focuses on changing human nature and years for a fair and equal world. We can see this is what he wants when he says, “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”(Du Bois 1). We can see the distinction between the two and how different their messages are. Even though they are both different it is interesting to see and read both of their works since they both cover “nature”.
