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Ralph Waldo Emerson As A Transcendentalists

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American reformers, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson devoted themselves to different causes. As a Transcendentalist, Emerson favored a philosophy that read almost as a belief. He infused romanticism with mysticism, a belief in the direct unity with God through a spiritual insight. He strongly believed that for Transcendentalists, the truth transcended even beyond the senses. They believed a lot like the Quakers, in that everyone had a light within them that could illuminate, and put a person in touch with God. During this era, Reformers made possible the developments that would encourage literary production. This was a new way of thinking, and not everyone was ready, or wanted to embrace it. Emerson’s opinion was that the Reformation of society would be accomplished only through spiritual transformation. He believed that people understood God and themselves, by observing their own souls and feeling their own kinship to nature. …show more content…

Emerson’s writings inspired others with his thoughts and expressions, and strong optimism. One well known essay that Emerson wrote called, “Nature,” directly affirms life and the world around us. He embraces the idea of being secluded in nature, and how much a person would benefit from it. By doing this, it allowed a person to experience even the simplest of things, that they would not ordinarily recognize in the everyday busy life. He talked about separating oneself from the material world, and by doing that allowed a person to become aware of the beauty around them that’s always been there. Standing inside and looking out a window is much different, than standing outside where a person could see more clearly, and experience nature with their

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All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque is a story of a young man named Paul Bäumer who volunteers to be a soldier in the German army during World War One. Being at a very young age Bäumer, and three of his friends whom also enlisted to the German army from the same school he attended, felt proud when enlisting “we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks” (AQOTWF p.21). Very soon, however, Bäumer and the young men he enlisted with begin to feel indifferent and embittered of being in the army “At first astonished, then embittered, and finally indifferent.” (AQOTWF p.21/22). Joining the army for Bäumer changed the way he felt about everything he knew in the past, and the way he thought of the people who stayed back home.

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Emerson also wrote about change. He believed that if one wanted to change they could, all they had to do was change their thoughts, attitude, and perspective. Emerson wrote, “If we live truly, we

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To begin, Emerson makes effective use of figurative language such as personification while emphasizing his comparison of nature and the attributes of man. He also uses paradox and with this he accentuates the idea that nature provides wisdom. However, the wisdom it furnishes can only answer so much and we will never fully be reassured of all of which we would like to know. Its infinite knowledge will never fully guide us to that of which we seek. Emerson’s use of paradox allows the audience to contradict the truth and that of what they already believe.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson’s view of the individual was greatly affected by his life experiences. He grew up and even became a pastor in a Unitarian church, but was skeptical

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Revival meetings often took place which helped unify the people through shared beliefs and gave opportunities for potential conversions for non-believers (Palmer). As a result of the Awakening, a strong desire to reform the nation arose. The Second Great Awakening saw the emergence of Transcendentalism, a philosophical movement that emphasised the dignity of the individual and the celebration of nature and life. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are two well known transcendentalist authors who significantly influenced and encouraged non-conformity and for people to follow their own beliefs.

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This inspires many people, including myself, to pursue their dreams and to ignore what others think about them, in turn boosting their own self-confidence, which is something that Emerson would

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People are easily influenced and persuaded by higher authorities. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a key figure in the Transcendentalist movement. This movement promoted ideas of intuition, independence, and inherent goodness in humans and nature. His most famous essay during this time was “Self-Reliance.” Throughout the text he expresses how to avoid conformity set by our society and to follow our own individual path.

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The Transcendentalist Movement was known as a religious, philosophical, and liberty movement that came to be in the middle of the nineteenth century (Milne 836-858).Contrary to popular belief, the transcendentalist movement began as an "unorganized" movement, a group of Unitarian ministers sought out to break from the chains of "cliché cultural pieties" at the time. Instead they favored a "religious" experience of individualism and natural divinity. While it is unknown exactly during what years of the nineteenth century, critics believed it flourished somewhere between 1836 and 1846 lasting about decade. Surprisingly some of the works weren't published till the late 1850's (Whelan 799-802). The followers of transcendentalism drew inspiration

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During the time that the Age of Reason died off, the thoughts and beliefs of Romanticism were on the rise. This movement began to take off so heavily that many began to want to dig deeper into these thoughts and beliefs. Many of the influential Romantics such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, and others wrote many important works of literature that would be the foundation of what would become known as Transcendentalism. Some of the characteristics of this Transcendentalist movement are the belief that humans are born with infinite potential, that one can transcend the physical world, and that one must be in communion with Nature to be fully whole. One of the famous actors mentioned before, Henry David Thoreau, wrote

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Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century poet, essayist, and famous philosopher, was a great influence on writers of his time and even some today. Many of his most famous works such as, “Self-Reliance” and “The American Scholar”, are about past issues that had been going on in his lifetime. Topics such as slavery, ideologies and mankind often fill up his writings. Early Life - Ralph Waldo Emerson, son of Reverend William Emerson, a well known clergyman.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson uses multiple rhetorical devices such as metaphors, analogies, and allusions to argue his main point. The idea that one must rely on themselves and achieve greatness alone is told within these devices. The use of allusions in Emerson’s essay creates deeper understanding whilst supporting his point. These allusions cause the thought that if these historic people could achieve greatness despite nobody believing in them at first, you may be able to do the same. There are also analogies in this essay, mainly speaking about society’s disapproval about individuality and acceptance of conformity.

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People consider Emerson the “father of Transcendentalism”. He believed that man would thrive if he trusted himself. Man was inherently good and could do no wrong. In Emerson’s “Nature”, a work about Emerson’s view on nature, he writes: “We must trust the perfection of the creation so far, as to believe that whatever curiosity the order of things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can satisfy” (Emerson Par 2). Man did not need to rely on society, or entangle himself in the patterns of the world; man’s intuition would be enough for his success.

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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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As introduced earlier under the description of the future advocates of Transcendentalism, Henry David Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller composed the members of the Transcendental Club, Emerson included, and although “Nature” laid the groundwork for Transcendentalism to flourish within society, the Transcendental Club is what truly stimulated Emerson to lecture creatively and write ingenious essays. Conferencing with a group of intellectuals who all maintained similar beliefs, Emerson was able to share theories and receive feedback, resulting in his eventual decision “to begin a magazine, “The Dial,” with Margaret Fuller editing, in 1840… His “Essays” (first series) were published in 1841” (Woodlief). Written only a year after the onset of his magazine and contained within his first publication of “Essays,” the arguments of “Self-Reliance” were undoubtedly affected by the Transcendental Club. As a result, Transcendentalism became the focal point of Emerson’s writing and ideology, examples of which pervades his text: “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.

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Both philosophies were very similar to each other since the two movements were a reaction against the contemporary strict traditions, laws, and religious rules. They both placed a huge emphasis on the individual as well as inspiration from nature. In the following, I will discuss American Transcendentalism and Romanticism in relation to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay ‘The American Scholar’ and Walt Whitman’s poem ‘Song of Myself’. Emerson was an American poet, essayist and lecturer. He is known as one of the people who took a leading part in the Transcendentalist movement, including a champion of individualism.

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