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The influence of transcendentalism
The influence of transcendentalism
The influence of transcendentalism
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The influence of transcendentalism
The influence of transcendentalism
The influence of transcendentalism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The influence of transcendentalism
Society’s Creation Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that protests culture and society. Toward the end of Chris McCandless’s life he started to show many signs of a transcendentalist. Unlike Thoreau Chris was not in it for his love of nature, but to free himself from a corrupt world and a bitter society. " So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future." (Krakauer p. 57) McCandless and Thoreau both idealized the American wilderness and shared the same thought that living a less materialistic lifestyle would positively affect ones being.
Many people rely on the opinions of others, never truly stopping to personally consider the subject at hand. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an impactful American writer, wrote a piece entitled Self- Reliance. In Self-Reliance, Emerson’s purpose is to promote ideas of individualistic thinking. Emerson uses strong, rhetorical strategies, such as figurative language, allusions, and complex syntax and parallelism to effectively persuade his audience to trust their own thoughts.
In Emerson’s “Self Reliance,” he lived a privileged life in society, but believed you should not blindly follow society and conform to social norms. Emerson is described as a transcendentalist who “believed focusing on the purity and goodness of individualism and community with nature was vital for a strong society.” (“Self Reliance”) Emerson remained in society and encouraged his readers that in order to create a stronger society, members should focus on themselves and follow their own instincts. Chris, also known as Alex, followed these ideas in his own journey in “Into the Wild.”
Similarly, Equality revolutionizes his sphere of philosophy. As he broadens his once narrow scope of the world and allows his imagination to wander, he realizes that the brotherhood is not as divine as it is praised to be. While devising the birth of his new society, he figures that because of the “worship [of the word “We”], the structure of centuries collapsed...whose every beam had come from the thought of some one man… [who] existed but for [his] own sake” (Rand 102). It is due to the endurance of collectivism that success is impeded and the “beams” that are supposed to support the monument of society instead “collaps[e]” under their own cause.
The theme of the essay “Self Reliance” written by Emerson is for beings to not focus on those of others or subside his/her values to fit in with our society, for true geniuses comes from within and are made with their own heart and mind. His idea of self-reliance differs from that of the norm in that he doesn’t encourage those to mix into selfish ways but to be open and proud of their own individuality for that is the true key to life itself. Emerson’s idea is similar to the common use in that he encourages those to not depend on others to define his/her identity. 2. Emerson’s use of figurative language encourages his readers to view his ideas in a clearer and more emphasized perspective.
In Emerson's views, people should “not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”(citation). Based on Emerson’s thoughts, people should not follow the crowd, but instead live their lives and leave their mark on the Earth. Emerson thoughts come from a philosophical movement of the nineteenth century called transcendentalism. Transcendentalism focuses on religious renewal, literary innovation, and social transformation (encyclopedia.com). Because of their belief that God exists in everyone and nature, and that knowledge comes from individual intuition, led to the highlight of individualism, self-reliance, and breaking free from traditions(citation).
Allowing nature to play a part in one 's daily life is believed by the Transcendentalists to be almost a requirement of life. Henry David Thoreau played a major role in the transcendentalist community and left behind some very impactful beliefs. Ever since he was a child he found himself wanting to be out wandering and exploring the world. He spent most of his life learning about his surrounding and different types of occupations. Most of his works revolved around his belief of nature and god as one eternal being.
In this day and age, our country has been reshaped into a better place by the work and reforms of incredible people and reformers of the mid-1800s. After many religious revivals such as the Second Great Awakening from about 1800 to the 1840’s, it inspired thousands of Americans to reform their society. Transcendentalism, known as a belief stating that people should use emotions and intuitions to go beyond logical thinking to reach a truer understanding of the world around them, became a famous optimistic idea often written to inspire Americans by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. This and the religious revival, joined model communities to soon pick up speed on the spirit of reform spreading through the states. Children without
Ever since its creation, the United States of America has given people the opportunity to speak and practice their own philosophies and religion. As a prime example, transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement that gained followers during 1836-1860 that encouraged social reform, self-transformation, and people to rise above their immediate experiences. Developed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and lived by Henry David Thoreau, the essence of transcendentalism was to live life with simplicity and to elevate intuition and imagination over logical reasoning. However in today’s society, true transcendentalism is irrelevant and cannot be practiced.
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”).
Ralph Waldo Emerson was American poet, essayist and philosopher. He was born in on May 25, 1803 in Boston Massachusetts. He studies at Harvard and was teaching for a brief time, Emerson entered the ministry. He was one of the most influential writers and thinkers of the nineteenth century in the United States. He was the first major American literary and intellectual Figure to widely explore write seriously about and seek to broaden the domestic audience for the classical Asian and Middle Eastern works.
Transcendentalism redefined the relationship between spiritual experiences and reasoning by arising the idea that God has a relationship with the individual through nature opposed to through bibles and churches and other religious materials. Transcendentalism was led by transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau who did not reject religion but rather emphasized the individual's part in religion. Transcendentalists often believed that individuals were naturally good and had unlimited potential and the set “rules” of religion corrupts the potential of the individual. Nature and individualism are two aspects of transcendentalism that redefined the understanding of life and relationships and we are given many examples of
In the piece “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of Americas most influential thinkers, Emerson talks about the subject of individuality. Using many different rhetorical strategies, he makes his perspective on the subject loud and clear by using personification, alliteration and analogy. “The eye was placed where one ray shall fall, that it might testify ray shall fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. Bravely let him speak the utmost syllable of his confession” (Emerson). Emerson uses personification, giving “the eye” the ability to talk and confess such as a human would.
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.
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.