Similarities Between Romanticism And Transcendentalism

The age of romantics and transcendentalists introduced the idea that generally all of mankind was born good. A huge focus of romanticism and transcendentalism is that the contact with nature plays a huge role in mankind, otherwise known as pantheism. Romanticism was a massive idea from 1790 to 1860. Romantics and transcendentalists believed that the individual, on their own, were able to achieve direct define revelation; with the use of texts, priests or prophets as assistance, because humans were born with intuitive knowledge. Romanticism and transcendentalism greatly allows a possibility for unity with others, such as: people, god, and nature. This unity is not bound to social class, allowing all human interaction to be equal. Another completely

Realism draws great attention mainly on objectives from specific regions, such as: the settings in which characters live, certain traditions or practices they participate in and the language, or way, that characters speak. Optimism is very rarely used in the literary works of realism. Authors portray life how it really is in their work, rather than how readers may want it to be. Both romanticism and realism had huge impacts on the development on American literature, shaping the way readers choose to think and feel about what they are reading. Two specific authors who helped to shape and create these writing styles are Mark Twain, author of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, and Walt Whitman, author of the poem “Song of

While Huck and Jim are on their voyage to free Jim, they become very close with nature. They construct a raft using sticks and logs to navigate and float down the river. They use the sun to decide the time of day as well as fish and hunt to harvest their next meal. Huck and Jim created a strong friendship which was enhanced by their contact with nature. During the novel, Huck stated “It’s lovely to live on a raft. We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened.” (Twain, Pg. 90 ¶ 2.) Both Huck and Jim enjoyed being able to connect with nature, and the bond it allowed them to create. The ending of the novel is very romantic, almost as if Twain’s goal was to achieve a story book “happily ever after.” Everything in the ending of the novel goes mysteriously right and all the characters achieve the happiness they were seeking out in the beginning. A few examples include: Jim becoming a free man, Pap, Huck’s father dying so Huck is no longer subject to his alcoholism and abuse and Tom Sawyer, one of Huck’s closest friends, surviving a gunshot wound while aiding Huck and Jim during Jim’s escape. Twain uses realism and romanticism in a balance to keep readers in touch with reality as well as allowing readers to have a happy ending