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Transcendentalism in the Novel into the Wild

Transcendentalism, defined as the era that transcends the limits of intellect, reason, and society; which allows emotions and soul to aid in creating a relationship with the universe or nature to achieve perfection. This era took place in the 1800s, which was created from the start of controversial debates between New Light theologians and the Old Light opponents. The New Light members believed religion should focus on the people’s personal experience, unlike the Old Light members who valued to have […]

Transcendentalism, an American Philosophy

As I sat patiently on the plane, ready for my flight to Colorado to take off, a sudden announcement over the loudspeaker broke the chatter of the passengers. We regret to inform you that this aircraft is undergoing maintenance. Your flight will be delayed, and we will update you with details as they come. Hopefully we will be taking off soon. Please stay seated for the time being. I sighed loudly, realizing that I would be on the plane for […]

Transcendentalism and “Into the Wild”

Into the Wild recalls the story of Chris McCandless and his journey into the Alaskan frontier. Throughout this experience Chris’s values, choices, beliefs and lifestyle are all examined. McCandless’s ideals and actions mirrored that of the transcendentalism. Transcendentalism was a movement in the 1830-40’s. This group led by Ralph Waldo Emerson had a unique set of beliefs and values. The group’s views were transfixed on individuality, the limitless potential of humans, emotion and feeling over intellect, “Transcendentalists believed in numerous […]

Transcendentalism in “Dead Poets Society”

Transcendentalism is shown when Mr Keating teaches at Walton, the private school that the boys attend. The young men attend a very strict school and their teacher gives them a new perspective on everything. The sense of nature, and simplicity and individuality are presented in the Dead Poets Society and are all portrayed by Emerson and Thoreau’s philosophies making the idea of transcendentalism clear. Mr Keating, the English teacher tells all the young men to rip out the introduction of […]

Transcendentalism – very Important Movement

It developed around the early 19 century in New England. It served as a protest to spirituality. This movement wanted to show the states how every single person had a spirit and a soul. Scholars would regularly hold meetings to discuss spirituality ideas in secret. Their are also numeros novels about transcendentalism. One for example is ,¨Little Women¨ by, Louisa May Alcott. To begin, Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement based on spiritual beliefs. The people who believed in transcendentalism believe […]

Transcendentalism – Idealistic Philosophical and Social Movement

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau started the transcendentalist movement in America in the Nineteenth Century. People in today’s society seem to follow each other instead of following their own thoughts. People believe they need lots of possessions in life to achieve success. Technology and money have made people reliant on them and they can not go without either one. In Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson and in Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David […]

Transcendentalism – a Major Belief during the Early 1800s

Transcendentalism is the belief that men and women have a sense that is beyond what they can see, touch, or hear. Transcendentalists believe mostly in Individualism, Idealism, and Intuitive Thought. Individualism is a major belief of Transcendentalism. Individualism is the belief that we should have the freedom to express our ideas and thoughts. Transcendentalists believe that the freedom of individuality is very important for one’s well being. The followers also believe that religion takes away the ability of self-reliance. Religion […]

Transcendentalism in a Modern World

The quote seize the day, gather ye rosebuds while ye may(Dead Poets Society) represents one of the many philosophies of transcendentalism, a belief based on the idea of individuality and nature. These beliefs are displayed throughout the film Dead Poets Society. It explores these views in a modern way through the eyes of a group of boys enrolled in an all boys academy. Through their actions, the views of transcendentalism can be seen through many perspectives. Dead Poets Society demonstrates […]

How Transcendentalism Affect “The Scarlet Letter”?

Although at times he was critical of the highly influential American transcendentalist movement, author Nathaniel Hawthorne was nevertheless powerfully impacted by it, as evidenced by his most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. Transcendentalism, centered upon the development of a personal, highly individualized relationship with God, views nature as a means of accessing a divine spirit, while rejecting all forms of social constraints, from formal education to organized religion. Transcendentalists argue, that civilization does nothing more than stunt and deform the […]

Thoreau’s Transcendentalism

In the early 19th century, a philosophy known as transcendentalism emerged in America. Members of the transcendentalist movement believed that the thoughts of individuals were bastardized due to societal issues such as politics and religion. Although transcendentalists held numerous beliefs, the three essential values of transcendentalism are idealism, individualism, and the divinity of nature. Transcendentalists believed that individuals should be independent, and not influenced by the rules of society. Along with individualism, members of this movement used creative writing in […]

How Might Transcendentalism be Seen as a Natural American Reaction to or Incarnation of European Romanticism?

The late eighteenth century marked the beginning of romanticism in Europe. Unlike realism, classicism and the convention that preceded it, the Romantic Movement in Europe was embodied by the power of the individual and subjective experience. Nature was deeply appreciated, and an individual’s strong feelings or reactions were believed to lead to a higher truth. The romantic era in Europe was also an idealistic era, leading to social equality, freedom and human rights. When looking at our country’s history, one […]

What is Transcendentalism?

Transcendentalism is exactly what it sounds like. It is the idea that humans have knowledge that transcends the natural senses. This knowledge is gained from a person looking inside themselves and reflecting on the world around them (Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy, par. 1). All of the knowledge that a person needs is inside oneself; people just have to dig deep to find it. Sometimes we just need to forget about the rationalizing part of our lives and look into ourselves […]

What Shaped Transcendentalism?

According to a professor at Stanford University, transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in and around New England during the 1830s, in reply to rationalism. The movement was influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, and taught others that divinity extends all nature and humanity. Followers of transcendentalism held progressive views on communal living and feminism. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two of the many central figures, who were leaders of the transcendentalist […]

The Effect of Transcendentalism on Americans

During the 19th century, led by Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and other talented writers, the idea of Transcendentalism exploded in America. The founders of transcendentalism encourage people to go into nature and discover the good found inside nature. Due to the encouragement of going into nature and live self-reliant, Americans started to live independently. Nature served as the counselor of Americans, and it teaches them lessons. Those who learned the lessons evaluated into another dimension and contributed to […]

The Wonder of Transcendentalism

In Economy, Thoreau discusses not only the practical aspects of a man’s life but also his spiritual nature. In the passage, “”One day…”” he uses the comparison of the striped snake to remind man’s current degradation, while simultaneously allowing hope for an ultimate spiritual awakening. It is fascinating to note that the animal he chooses is a snake, hinting at the form assumed by Satan when he duped Eve in the Book of Genesis. In the Bible, the snake represented […]

The American Renaissance: Transcendentalism, Romanticism and Dark Romanticism

The American Renaissance period, circa 1820-1865, announced a new sense of nationalism that focused on the expression of modernism, academic classicism, and technology. The movement developed from various American authors trying to formulate a distinctive American literature based upon the works of European literature. However, these novels, poems, and short stories that were created, made use of innate dialect, scenery, and historical figures, in order to touch base on the American issues of this time. Some of the considerable issues […]

Healing Societal Issues through Transcendentalism

In the late eighteenth century, romanticism swept through Europe and eventually the rest of the world, which ultimately played a key factor in influencing the philosophical movement known as transcendentalism that was created in the United States. Transcendentalism brought numerous new ideas and beliefs to the world that were extremely significant in helping men and women of all races stand up for their rights and freedom. All throughout history and even to this day, we see examples of transcendentalist beliefs […]

Dr. Martin Luther King – Example of Civil Disobedience and Transcendentalism Ideas

Standing up for what you believe in, no matter the consequences shows how dedicated one can be, just like Henry David Thoreau. King was known for his views on racial injustice towards the black community. He used a peaceful approach to the topic, organizing boycotts and giving large speeches to his mistreated people. He was most famous for his I Have A Dream speech, given on August 28th, 1963 in Washington D.C. During his protests, King was arrested in Birmingham,Alabama […]

Impossibility of Self-Reliance

Transcendentalism is the way of thought that society corrupts the individual and to escape this evil, corrupting society, man must live off the land and be self-reliant in nature. In the investigative report, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless chooses to live as Thoreau did during Walden, engulfed in nature, with little outside influence, living off the land like the natives and being self-reliant. To some, this way of living is appealing as it offers unlimited freedom at […]

Who is Ralph Waldo Emerson?

What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think(Ralph Waldo Emerson). Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher and spokesman for the American Transcendentalists. The Transcendentalists movement consists of a group of New England romantic writers, who believed that intuition was the means to truth. In other words, to be true to yourself. In 1841, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote an essay, Self-Reliance, to introduce the American Transcendentalists. In his essay to the public regarding the […]

Comparitive Review

Emerson and Thoreau Represent Individualism In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s article “Self-Reliance” and Henry David Thoreau’s paper “Resistance to Civil Government (“Civil Disobedience”), both visionary scholars talk about being individual and what changes and reforms should be made in our community. Nevertheless, the two articles contrast in their concept of what changes should be made. Emerson adopts a considerably more broad strategy to what changes an individual must make while Thoreau’s paper dives into substantially more detail in the matter of […]

Transcendental Numbers

The term transcendence comes from the latin word transcendere which directly translates to to climb over or beyond, meaning anything that is described as transcendental is seen as not of normal existence. This definition of transcendence being bizarre or odd holds true when applied to mathematics. The first recorded use of the phrase transcendental number was used by German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in his paper proving that the function sin(x) was not algebraic in nature. But it was Leonhard […]

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”

Transcendentalism is a philosophy that started in the late eighteenth century that stressed equality, intuition, nature, self-reliance, social responsibility, and the power of the individual. This new group of ideas proved to be very influential in the government of certain societies and inspired the government structure in the community of Harmony. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two of the most influential Transcendental writers of that era. Emerson’s Self-Reliance and Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience both suggested social responsibility, intuition, […]

Ralph Waldo Emerson Strongly Believed in Self-Reliance

What problems did he have with individuals relying too much upon others (as the commune Transcendentalists argued for)? Emerson strongly believed in self-reliance because it, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men (213). For Emerson self-reliance is more of a way to be able to maintain the change within religion, pursuits, and education. Emerson’s problems with individuals replying to much upon others were when he realized that his self-reliance isn’t […]

A Modern Transcendentalist

The common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility and murder”. Great minds like Thoreau preached that humanity is harmonious with nature. In reality this was not their point. They sought nature as an escape from a society they found flaws in.Timothy Treadwell seemed to be truly harmonious with nature. For 13 years he lived among the bears in the Alaskan wilderness. With his video camera, he captured moments much closer, and personal than any journalist could […]

Transcendental Wild Oats

Transcendental Wild Oats is a satirical work of art which was derived from Alcott’s personal experience within her own family. The success of this story is based on the validity of the themes discussed, as well as the style of narration used to construct the story. For one, Alcott’s point of view in the story and the third person narration allows her to discuss the utopian experiment. From her point of view, she observes the actions of the characters in […]

The American Dream of a Transcendentalist

Transcendentalism is a movement that started in the 1830s with the belief that the most important reality is what is sensed or what is intuitive, rather than what is thought such as scientific knowledge. Simply, transcendentalists view the world a blessing, and that all human beings are considered naturally good. By that said, transcendentalists believe that evil doesn’t have a place in the world, that evil is unrealistic. Transcendentalists also believe that everything has a purpose in life, and that […]

Transcendentalism Essays