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Thoreau And The Transcendentalist Movement

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At the turn of the early 19th century, a wave of new ideas evoked social justice, new literary techniques, and a sense of individuality. This revolutionary concept of life was later called transcendentalism. Transcendentalist focused their studies on reforming society and to better understand life's relationships. These educated Americans encouraged society to move forward and to cease looking towards Europe for inspiration, and to simply be themselves. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson both were highly accredited transcendentalist. Their combined philosophies had a positive influence and an extensive impact on Martin Luther King Jr. and today’s society.

Ultimately it was Emerson's and Thoreau's works that fed the transcendentalist movement. Emerson’s first book, Nature (1836), is the most known of his works. His book coincides with the most basic idea of transcendentalism, that everything in the world is a microcosm of the universe. His belief that people should make decisions off of their own experiences, and not a higher power, allowed men and women to think for themselves. “Every spirit …show more content…

People in society now have learned to make their own conclusions and follow their own beliefs. In America we have laws that protect all people of color and of all sexual orientations. A prime example of modern transcendentalism, is the fight for equal marriage laws in America. Transcendentalist beliefs are present in modern music, paintings, newspapers, Television, and literature. The basic foundation of America is accredited to the transcendentalist of its past, who have also influenced today’s transcendentalist. “Once you attain the state of Absolute Oneness or Non-Duality, you become one of those spiritual legends that humanity so gloriously venerates as the founding fathers of religion.” ( Abhijit Naskar, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting

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During the 1830s, an intellectual movement took place called Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the idea that an individual is the center of the universe and is more powerful than any institution. This way of thinking was very new to the people during that time. Even though the movement took place well over one hundred years ago, traits of Transcendentalism are still abundant in society today. For example, the movie Wall-E contains many traits of Transcendentalism.

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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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Discover Transcendentalism When one lives in self-reliance and protest against the general state of spirituality they would be called a Transcendentalist. A movement in the 1820s to 1830s really brought attention to this. Authors like Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and even a popular film called Dead Poets Society. When one is in this state of self-reliance and Transcendentalism they will usually find happiness in themselves before anyone else.

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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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Transcendental Connections between Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Chris McCandless in John Krakauer’s Into the Wild Henry David Thoreau, Jon Krakauer, and Chris McCandless are all strong believers in Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a 19th century philosophy that values self-wisdom, individualism, and non-conformity. Both Thoreau and McCandless embrace these ideas greatly. Chris’s actions in Into the Wild show that the transcendental beliefs of Thoreau were important to him.

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Transcendentalism was a 19th-century philosophical and literary movement that emphasized individualism, nature, and spirituality. Although the movement itself was relatively short-lived, its ideas continue to influence American culture in a variety of ways. In this essay, we will explore specific examples of how transcendentalism has had a modern impact. One of the most significant ways in which transcendentalism continues to influence American culture is through literature.

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Henry David Thoreau is not only an American essayist, philosopher, the representative of transcendentalism in the Romantic Period of 19th century, but also an abolitionist and naturalist. But he was not famous for his lifetime until 20th century when the environment was becoming worse and worse, with his masterwork Walden drawing a lot of attention and being called the classic works of transcendentalism. Thoreau expressed his unsophisticated, deep and unique feelings about nature and explored the true value of life when he lived nearby Walden Pond and wrote Walden. Many scholars have been continuing researching on it, finding that Walden displays a strong transcendentalism which is similar to Taoism, which prevailed on the course of the Spring

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“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau are two works that convey the ideas of Transcendentalism. In “Self-Reliance” Emerson says, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” He is stating that nothing is as important as a person’s own way of thinking and beliefs. Instead of listening to other people’s minds, people rightfully should make decisions based on their sacred thoughts. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau writes, “That government is best which governs least.”

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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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Braeton Richardson Lisa Hayes English 5-6 27 September 2016 Gone But Not Forgotten Emerson and Thoreau are two of America 's most notable poets. Their works are recognizable to masses of high schoolers and college students alike, because of the size of their contribution to American literature. Transcendentalism is present in today 's society and affects the way we think, even so many years later. In literature today there are aspects of transcendentalism that can be seen as timeless.

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Transcendentalism is called the American Renaissance, it followed the first Industrial Revolution and had many great leaders that pioneered it. Transcendentalism and Romanticism are similar and share great leaders, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, but their ideals relate to man differently. Romanticism focuses on exploring the mortality and Transcendentalism focuses on exploring the spirit and individuality of man. The period of Transcendentalism grew during the 1800s and was led by people such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne primarily, though Hawthorne was very involved in Romanticism. Emerson was mentor to Thoreau and taught him about Transcendentalism and about the exploration of the individual.

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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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The transcendentalism time period is described as a time that stressed equality, social responsibility, and the power of the individual. Although this time period had many influential authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two of the most influential writers of this era. Throughout both Self Reliance, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Civil Disobedience, written by Henry David Thoreau, the lesson of non-conformity to society and the idea that it is each person’s social responsibility to stand up for themselves is discussed. One of Emerson’s main goal of Self Reliance was wanting to explain an important idea of individuality and that humans should not conform to the societal views that were being forced upon them and that

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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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Transcendentalism, a philosophical and social movement, demonstrated how divinity spreads through all nature and humanity. One of the main ideals of transcendentalism, living simply and independently, define as the principle. In matters of financial and interpersonal relations, independence projects as more valuable than neediness. Henry david Thoreau elaborates on these transcendentalist ideals when he travels into the woods and writes an essay.

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