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Transcendentalism In Literature

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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. Though some tendencies would be better forgotten to time, they tend to be the ones that exist the most. In the book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman is basically “slut shamed” due to her committing act of adultery and having a bastard child. …show more content…

The song says multiple times that love is going to come back into their lives and that all is not lost. This is reinforced when in “Love Song” the also offer help in the form of friendship, as shown when they say “I 'll be right there for you/When you need a friend” (Tesla L. 4-5). The song also says how many opportunities there are for new love even tho this old one has died as shown when they say “Love is knockin ' outside your door” (Tesla L. 11). The song is trying to convey an overall theme that love is eternal and that no matter what happens, love will always find a way to make it back into your life regardless of the way that it had to leave your life previously. The theme of love over all shown in “Love Song” by Tesla falls under the tenet of good comes out of all bad situations. As Jeff Keith sings about love finding a way, it further proves that hope is always present and possible in all of our lives and that we want to believe and do, that the Transcendentalist idea of the law of compensation is very much so in …show more content…

Ender is taught this without realizing that it is the actual war he is fighting in his simulations. Orson Scott Card, the author of the book that the movie is based on, causes the boy to begin to think about his gut feeling that is present occasionally near the end of the movie that what they did was wrong. This thinking leads Ender to believe that he has made a grievous mistake and decides to do his best to right his wrong after a period of time. Ender ends up helping to let the race survive in later instalments of the story and this thinking to actualize that authority of his intuition as to right and wrong is what helps prevent the total genocide of a whole species of sentient life. This being an act of civil disobedience as the race at the time was thought to be a threat to humanity, this is also something used often by Thoreau during his time of writing to try to get government reforms, Ender ends up doing what his intuition, aided by rational thought tells him to

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Evaluating Kessel’s Game Is there a such thing as an innocent killer? Can someone who destroys a planet  and commits mass genocide be viewed as a hero? According to John kessel this is attempted in Ender’s Game a science fiction novel written by Orson scott card in 1985. In 2004 Kessel wrote an article titled “Creating the innocent killer Ender's game intention or morality”. In his analysis he comes to the conclusion that Card presents the protagonist, Ender, as a character who is abused, manipulated, sincere, and innocent.

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Dead Poets Society Transcendentalism is about life in which nature and the soul connect. In the movie Dead Poet Society, one of the characters who shows transcendentalism in Neil Perry. In the movie the students quoted poems and had their alone time with nature. They also relied on themselves and sought the spiritual side of things.

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The United States, it is often thought, was born in rebellion. This is the story reinforced by the Declaration of Independence, and it’s the story promoted by the first elected officials of this country. America has been a nation of protestors -- be it protest against Britain, “savages,” heathens, police, abortion, racism, or taxes -- since its inception. According to the early 19th century Transcendentalists, however, the greatest battle before Americans is the battle for one’s very soul. Dean Grodzins is a Harvard-educated historian, and a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Historical Society specializing in mid-19th century American history.

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In the 19th and 20th century transcendentalism was a new and exciting topic that caused tremendous controversy. In the novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless was a man with a very unique character. In more detailed words Chris McCandless was a transcendentalist. His actions and moods played a big part in his life, from beginning to end. He was a transcendentalist because of his self-reliance, confidence and non-conformity.

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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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“So many people live in unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation” (57). Chris McCandless was determined to not be one of those men, he strived for a life in solitude, away from the demands of society. For that reason he went on an epic transcendental experience that took him from Mexico to Alaska. Along the way, he met and made an impact on peoples’ lives, people like Wayne Westenberg and Ronald Franz. Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild discusses Chris’s journey, and makes the reader question Chris’s reasons for going out into the wild.

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Kevin Sun Mrs. Cohen English 2CP --D February 22, 2018 Another Perspective The film Into the Wild is based on the life of Chris McCandless, a young man who rejected the consumerist society of America in order to live a more simple life. Through his travels, Chris carried essays by Transcendentalist philosophers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, suggesting that McCandless is impacted by Transcendentalist ideals. Two key tenets of Transcendentalism that clearly influenced McCandless’ choices are the value of simplicity and the importance of self-reliance.

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Was Chris McCandless a true transcendentalist? Transcendentalism is a system developed by Immanuel Kant, based on the idea that, in order to understand the nature of reality, one must first examine and analyze the reasoning process that governs the nature of experience. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures. In Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, McCandless is viewed as a transcendentalist.

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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).

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Passion & Aggression Ender once said, “To learn how to truly fight in war, I must show passion and aggression.” During the story of the Ender’s Game, Ender feels like he’s stuck in between love and war. As the story of Ender’s journey goes on, he’s known to fight with so much aggression which makes him feel bad because he makes people not want to ever fight him again. In several parts of the story, Ender feels terrible after showing his aggression to someone because of his passionate side.

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Ludacris, a famous male singer released a song featuring Mary J. Blige in 2007 called “Runaway Love.” This song speaks for itself and Ludacris does an excellent job of portraying his message about various struggles that some people are faced with in life. Runaway Love reperents the struggle of life through hip-hop and rap music. The song portrays a story of little girls who are for instance “stuck up in a world of their own.” The people around them strictly don’t care about them, which leads them having to own up and care for themselves.

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The love song is actually a poem, but one of the meanings of love song, is a poem. This poem is assumed to be directed towards a lover of Prufrock’s, but throughout the story Prufrock seems to be facing dilemmas and indecision when having to choose the things to do and say to his lover. Elliot starts his love song off in a very mysterious manner, beckoning for his lover to join him and take a trip, but not the ordinary romantic

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American currencies, specifically coins, have two sides: a head and a tail. The head and tail are different, yet they are still part of the same coin. Two American authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, represent two sides of the same coin: Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism swept through America as a new worldview in the 1900’s. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material, that deals with aspects of nature.

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Transcendental ideals are relevant to transcendentalists, but no longer valued in modern American life; transcendentalists are against materialism and hierarchies in society, whereas modern American life is built on hierarchies and the unremitting desire to acquire more and live a garish lifestyle. Transcendentalists live minimally, while most modern Americans strive to be successful and gain as much as possible. There is nothing wrong with pursuing success and wealth, but many transcendentalists see that type of lifestyle as monotonous and insignificant. Due to the hunt for prosperity and materials in modern America, transcendentalism is no longer relevant.

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All music has multiple functions. While music can preserve artistic value, it can also simultaneously tell a story, bring people together, historicize, heal, and rejuvenate. Most importantly, however, it sends a strong message and stimulates strong emotions to the listener. The song, “Where is the Love” by The Black Eyed Peas, performs all of these functions. The song symbolizes the sociological conflict theory.

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