Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are considered two of the most influential and inspiring transcendentalist writers of their time. Both men extensively studied and embraced nature, and both men encouraged and practiced individualism and nonconformity. At first glance, one may conclude that these men's thoughts were parallel and their beliefs identical. But with careful study of their essays and poems, and understanding of the way in which they lived, Emerson and Thoreau become very different thinkers, with some very different thoughts and opinions. A basic theme common i