During the United States Civil War, two major writing ideas shaped by America's society and living conditions began to come together. develop: romanticism and realism. They were opposites in many ways, but also have some similarities. Romanticism embraced abstract ideas and unreal stories, while realism believed that experiences drawn from real events had more impact. However, both literary perspectives aimed to disseminate to the public what they considered “social justice”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Thoreau's Walden convinces his readers that the beauty of life is truly visible only when one lives simply and not in a hurry. Thoreau states: “An honest man has little need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he can add his ten toes and put the rest together” (Thoreau). What Thoreau infers from this phrase is that if one is honest, one should not need to think too much in daily life. Thoreau mocks those who are not “an honest man” because he thinks you have to be intelligent to lie. Thoreau says that if one never took advantage of others and was always honest, one would not need to live a complex life, since ten fingers are enough to remember everything one does. It also states that in today's life there is too much unnecessary communication and too much unnecessary information that could distract from honest and useful information. In the text, Thoreau states: “If you know the principle, what matter are the myriad instances and applications? What Thoreau means is that knowing how an event happened is enough to understand real cases. Thoreau wants to convey the idea that there is no need to know current news that happened in the present if it does not give a new understanding of this world, making it gossip instead of information useful. Walden embraces the idea of ​​romanticism because he includes the concept of simplicity in his text. Walden's type of romanticism denies today's complex society and seeks a more natural one. The excerpt What to the Slaves is the Fourth of July is a good example of realism because it connects to real events experienced by Fredrick Douglass regarding slavery. The author, Fredrick Douglass, relates his writings to the real-time event of Independence Day 1852. He expresses the idea that it is ironic that the United States government claims to seek freedom and justice, but at the same time it also oppresses. and exploits the country's black citizens. Douglass wrote, “The light of the sun that brought you life and healing has bought me stripes and death.” He expresses that although white American citizens could celebrate their freedom from the British government, they, as black citizens, could not celebrate because the "sunshine" of freedom had brought them only suffering and restrictions. Douglass also presents the unjust side of the United States: i The idea that “all men are created equal” was not true for black citizens. Douglass declares: “I am not part of the glorious anniversary!” », by which he designates all people of color (Douglass). July 4 was a day of freedom and justice for white people, but not for citizens of color. He deduces the situation of black citizens in the United States, where they did not benefit from freedom or good living conditions. Therefore, black citizens were "not included" in the great celebration party.