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Individualism Vs Transcendentalism

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Recommended: Thoreau in the transcendentalist movement

Transcendentalists believe in nature, individualism, nonconformity, and a simple way of life. Their beliefs state that a person should only rely on what is necessary to life, and each person should be their own person, meaning that each person cannot fall into the conformity of society. Could it be possible that today 's overindulgent society needs to go back to the beliefs of Transcendentalism? Transcendentalists preach that each person should do what they believe is right, or what their conscience believes is right. Thoreau asks, “Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?—in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable?” (566). The government laws are not always fair. Thoreau questions whether we should follow the unjust laws and fall into the
Ally 2 conformity of society, or follow what our conscience tells us is right. The Transcendentalist value of nonconformity is displayed by questioning the logic of the government. Religion …show more content…

They do not have what they don 't not need. Thoreau explains, “I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar. ”(571). The man was locked in a jail cell, but the only thing he could this about is how the walls were just a waste of stone and mortar. The simple way of Transcendentalism is shown by how he is critiquing the walls for being a waste. Peace is part of the foundation of Transcendentalism. Transcendentalists do not believe that any conflict should be resolved with violence. Gandhi expresses the idea of peace when he says, “No country has ever become, or will ever become, happy through victory in war. A nation does not rise that way, it only falls further.” (577). He is explaining that Transcendentalist trusts in the fact that peace can solve all conflicts, and war is never the answer.

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Transcendentalism is a highly competitive world of the market revolution which strongly encouraged the identification of American freedom without any restraints on people who were seeking financial improvement and personal development. It was a world in which regional developments along with the market revolution crushed traditional and social borders. For example moving from one place to another was a common characteristic of the American life. Transcendentalism believed in individual judgment over existing social traditions and institutions.

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"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”- Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that revolves around self-reliance and independence, commonly in nature, a Transcendentalist wants to find the true meaning in life. I believe that Chris McCandless was a Transcendentalist because he was able to leave his whole life behind and take on a minimalist lifestyle while having a strong relationship with god. However, I believe that I am not a Transcendentalist, but simply an adventurer.

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Transcendentalists were a movement of this time that had both its ups and downs. In other words failure and successes. When it comes to reform movements the things most people really care about is the success of it and if it made any real change to people during the time period. Transcendentalism had an effect on people of the time that really started something completely unheard of and misunderstood. What transcendentalists did was take what was known and look far beyond it.

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Transcendentalist writers were focused on the belief of the divinity of the individual soul, the inner voice, (Crawford, Kern & Needleman, 1961) to overcome social stereotypes and to avoid conformity. It is highlighted the importance to return to nature to enhance the quality of humans beings by living simply since being apart of common social rules is the only way to be in communion with nature’s wisdom. Those transcendental characteristics could be seen in Emerson’s ¨self-reliance¨ or Thoreau’s ¨Walden ¨ bearing in mind that although, Emerson’s ¨Self-reliance¨ adheres more descriptive examples to illustrate metaphors and Thoreau’s ¨Where I lived and what I lived for¨ introduces metaphors creating much more imagery, both make a critique of the modern individual using

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Henry David Thoreau is one of the primary promoters of the transcendentalist movement and has been inspiring people to take on the transcendentalist lifestyle ever since the mid 1800’s. Mccandless was an admirer of Henry’s philosophy but he wasn’t as fully immersed in his work and ideals as Thoreau was to his own. His intentions were not as closely aligned to the movement as Thoreau’s and the difference between these icons are clearly visible. Self reliance is one of the most significant components of the transcendentalism movement that Henry David Thoreau contributed to in his literary career. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” - (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”).

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Transcendentalism is the belief that man is inherently good, is an independent thinker, and goes out into nature to get in touch with himself. Generally, man has good intentions and intends no harm unto others. In addition, man does not need society to give him and develop his thoughts, as he already has them within. To help bring out these already installed beliefs, man has the desire to go out into nature to get in touch with himself and find deeper notions within. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings “Self Reliance” and “American Scholar”, he writes about how being a true individual means that one must have his own beliefs, and not copy someone else’s ideas.

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