Essay On Transcendentalism

1166 Words3 Pages

Krunal Patel Mrs.Dunkle Honors English 27 November 2013 Transcendentalism Short Answer Test 2) 3 examples of how Emerson “Nature” is identified as America’s first transcendentalist writing is by Emerson believe that each individual must develop a personal understanding of the Universe. A good quote that relates to this is “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society” (Emerson 219). My second reason is throughout nature, Emerson stresses on reason and faith. A quote that highlights this point is “There I feel nothing can befall me in life-no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair” (Emerson 221). My last example is the relationship of man and nature are expressions of the divine. A quote from the story is “Yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both” (Emerson 221). These are my examples on how Emerson “Nature” is identified as America’s first transcendentalist writings. 3) Emerson message in “Nature” is the unity of man and nature with god. Also, he shows the relationship between man and nature. By proving his point, he uses many literary terms. One of his literary devices is metaphors. He states, “Nature never wears a mean appearance” (Emerson 220). The quote personifies in a way that makes it more appealing and accessible. Another literary device Emerson uses is personification. A personification found in “Nature” is “But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile” (Emerson 219). Emerson shows here that the stars are a vehicle with which humans capture the true essence of nature. The last literary device in “Nature” is connotatio... ... middle of paper ... ...e by God to merge all things in the world. This can only be realized when a person becomes a part of nature and see the message that everyone comes from god. A metaphor from “Self Reliance” is “Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Emerson 225). What this quote is trying to say is if you trust yourself then you can truly be content in whatever you do or wherever you go. The last metaphor is in Thoreau’s work called “from Walden, or Life in the Woods.” The quote states, “I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains” (Thoreau 243). The comparison is Thoreau’s imaginative, fresh way of saying he doesn’t want to be safe and comfortable. He wants adventure. These are just some metaphors found in Emerson’s writing and Thoreau’s writing.

Show More
Related

  • Emerson And Transcendentalism Comparison

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Emerson’s “Nature” nature is referred to as “plantations of god” meaning that nature is sacred. Also mentioned, is that “In the woods is perpetual youth”(#) conveying that nature keeps people young. Therefore, these excerpts show that nature is greatly valued by these transcendentalists. Transcendentalists would likely care significantly about the environment. In contrast, nowadays nature is often and afterthought. Natures’ resources are being depleted for human use, and the beauty of nature is also not as appreciated by modern people as it was by transcendentalists. The threat to nature in modern times contrasts to the great appreciation of nature held by authors like Emerson and

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless Transcendentalism Essay

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Transcendentalism to some is may just be a long, lengthy word coined two hundred years ago that is not used today, but to other people, people like Chris McCandless, it is a way of life. They use these qualities to shape their life and strive hard to follow them. Chris McCandless was so focused on embodying the qualities of transcendentalism that he failed to see how much danger he was putting himself in. He had little to no common sense as shown by Westerberg. “But there were gaps in his thinking. I remember once I went over to the house, walked into the kitchen, and noticed a god-awful stink. I mean it smelled nasty in there. I opened the microwave, and the bottom of it was filled with rancid grease. Alex had been using it to cook chicken, and it never occurred to him that the grease had to drain somewhere. It wasn’t that he was too lazy to clean it up- Alex always kept things real neat and orderly- it was just that he hadn’t noticed the grease” (Krakauer 45). McCandless embodied the values of transcendentalism by believing in living closer to nature, believing in the dignity of manual labor, and being self reliant.

    Read More

  • The Philosophies of Transcendentalism

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    In this essay, I will compare the philosophies of transcendentalism and anti-transcendentalism through the writings of Thoreau and Emerson vs. Melville. In Thoreau’s excerpt of “Walden”, he tested the transcendentalist philosophy through experience. Emerson’s transcendental writing style is displayed in “Nature”. In Melville’s excerpt of Moby Dick, he exhibits anti-transcendentalism in his work.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalist Journey Essay

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless gives up all his material possessions to seek fulfillment in the Alaskan Wilderness. In doing this, Chris is able to escape from his parents and live the life of many transcendentalists that he’s read about. As John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” Like John Muir, Chris has developed such a profound love for nature that he is called into the wild by it. Ultimately, Chris’s life decisions are a fascinating paradox that make him both a transcendentalist hero and a fool.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism Essay

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    Transcendentalism is based on the belief that institutions in the society corrupt an individual’s purity. Transcendentalists believe that people are at their best when they are truly independent and self-reliant. They also believe that from independence and self-reliance, a true community is formed. Even though Transcendentalism is not recognized, it still exists in the modern society. Though not clearly outspoken as in Emerson and Thoreau’s times, many people in today’s society still have transcendental beliefs. Transcendental ideals are found in songs, films, books and other works such as media and advertisements. One example is the song “Get up, Stand up,” by Bob Marley, it is found to be influenced and has inspiration of transcendental elements such as Solitude (individuality), self-reliance, non-conformism (anti-institution), anti-materialism, nature and spirituality.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism in America: The Philosophical and Literary Movement

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1830s was a time of serious religious conflict. Many people, especially authors, had different opinions on how to find true spirituality. In the end, authors in America created Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a philosophical and literary movement that searches for individual truth through spiritual reflection, complete solitude, and a deep connection with nature. Because this was established by authors, many of them wrote different pieces reflecting and using the beliefs of Transcendentalism. Ralph Waldo Emerson was considered to be the father of Transcendentalism. He wrote many influential pieces that follow and emphasize major Transcendental beliefs. The major beliefs include the over-soul, nature, and senses. In addition to those, there are minor beliefs and overall ways of living. These beliefs were included in Transcendental pieces as a general way to share the belief and to create a movement. Due to the use of nature, senses, and the over-soul as its three core Transcendental beliefs, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” successfully explain the fundamentals of Transcendentalism.

    Read More

  • Free Narrative Essays - Transcendentalism

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transcendentalism A whole month of being nice. From the start, I didn't think it was even humanly possible. Although I always try my hardest to be pleasant, I'm sarcastically witty by nature. This project, no matter how inspirational and uplifting it could be, would decidedly be no walk in the park. Nevertheless, I decided to persevere.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism Reflective Essay

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before I started cheering, both of my parents never knew how much goes into being a cheerleader. Though soccer was the sport I grew up playing, I ended up quitting to try out for cheerleading in seventh grade. I made the squad that year and I immediately became attached to cheerleading, though my parents did not know how to react exactly. Of course they were happy for me since it was something that I wanted to do, but it was not soccer. My dad did not consider cheerleading to be a sport in the beginning, claiming that “there is no team quality to cheering.” It was safe to say that he did not necessarily like that I quit soccer to take up cheering since he did not consider cheerleading to be a real sport. I have learned that going against tradition and conformity is difficult, but is worth it in the end.

    Read More

  • Americas Transcendental Voice

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his first chapter entitled Nature Emerson writes “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.”(615) This reflects his feelings towards society and how it must be left behind to truly find God. Later in this chapter he marvels over how God Had made the atmosphere in such a way that we can see the rest of the universe, God’s almighty handiwork. Emerson ponders just what the future generations of people will still appreciate the city of stars God has provided. In Nature Emerson also expresses his love and admiration for the poet when he writes how a woodcutter sees a tree as a stick of timber where the poet sees it for what it is, a tree. Also in this first chapter Emerson expresses his transcendental belief that children are closer to God when he writes, “The sun illuminates only the eye of a man, but shines into the eye and the heart of a child.”(616). From this first chapter we can tell that Emerson had an almost insatiable love of nature, he believed that god was all around us, in our fields, our forests, and our rivers.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism

    1611 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people have theories and philosophies about life in general. There have been hundreds of thousands of books published by many different people on the ideas of people in the past and the present. Transcendentalism falls in amongst all of these ideas. There have been articles, essays, poems, and even books written about this subject. Transcendentalism has effected many people since the philosophy was first introduced. The idea was complex and hard to grasp for many commoners and therefore it was understood by few people, and some would think that the idea was not understood at all and that was part of the idea. Henry David Thoreau once stated about himself, “I should have told them at once that I was a transcendentalist. That would have been the shortest way of telling them that they would not understand my explanations” (Reuben 1).

    Read More

  • Essay On Transcendentalism

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movement of transcendentalism was a powerful movement that began to emerge in American in the nineteenth century. These powerful movements made readers question, challenge, and examine what they were accustomed too. Transcendentalism was the belief that what the person can see, touch, feel, taste, or comprehend goes beyond those senses. People were to knowledge their thoughts through instinct and imagination not through logic or the senses; they were to trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right. When people were able to receive these ideas not as a religious beliefs, but as a way of understanding life then they were consider a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism was one of the many literary writing styles used during

    Read More

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nature is the means for God and humanity to be reunited wholly. Emerson's enlightenment in the woods and his appreciation of natural beauty is quite profound. By becoming reconnected to the innocence, beauty and purity of nature Emerson had a revelation. He found himself closer to God. Perhaps Emerson is attempting to persuade us into fostering a greater respect for the natural world? He seems to be displeased with the "culturization" of wilderness.

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless: A True Transcendentalist

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Nature.” The American Experience. Ed. Kate Kinsella. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. 388-390. Print.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Transcendentalism

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transcendentalism is a social, religious, and literary movement: a philosophy. Combining elements from the romantic period with eastern philosophical beliefs, it sought to fight against rationalism and conformism by inspiring individuals to look into their inner selves and embrace their own beliefs. One of the spearheads leading this movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson: an American writer and philosopher who sought to teach others what he himself had found. Transcendalists, such as Emerson, viewed society as a catalyst for downfall and instead believed that humans were inherently good and pure; embracing our inner feelings and emotions and ignoring expectations and conformity are essential to achieve happiness and fulfillment. Such ideas can

    Read More

  • Nature in American Poetry

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882), the leader of the Transcendentalism in New England, is the first American who wrote prose and poem on nature and the relationship between nature and man Emerson's philosophy of Transcendentalism concerning nature is that nature is only another side of God "the gigantic shadow of God cast our senses." Every law in nature has a counterpart in the intellect. There is a perfect parallel between the laws of nature and the laws of thought. Material elements simply represent an inferior plane: wherever you enumerate a physical law, I hear in it a moral rule. His poem The Rhodora is a typical instance to illustrate his above-mentioned ideas on nature. At the very beginning of the poem, the poet found the fresh rhodora in the woods, spreading its leafless blooms in a deep rock, to please the desert and the sluggish brook, while sea-winds pieced their solitudes in May. It is right because of the rhodora that the desert and the sluggish brook are no longer solitudes. Then the poem goes to develop by comparison between the plumes of the redbird and the rhodora . Although the bird is elegant and brilliant, the flower is much more beautiful than the bird. So the sages can not helping asking why this charm is wasted on the earth and sky. The poet answers beauty is its own cause for being just as eyes are made for seeing. There is no other reason but beauty itsel...

    Read More

More about Essay On Transcendentalism

Open Document