Ralph Waldo Emerson Summary

A Review of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Oscar W. Firkins

Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American man with a plethora of words pertaining to his thoughts and ideologies of life. He never failed to share his political or religious views with the public. Emerson was a renowned lecturer, essayist and preacher during his existence. With the intention to restore the identity of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in 1915, Oscar W. Firkins published his opinions to the Journals by Ralph Waldo Emerson in a book. The purpose of this book was to encapsulate Emerson’s life (which he did), in the biography called Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Oscar W. Firkins, the critic and author of Ralph Waldo Emerson, showed nothing but interest in the subject at hand. He writes about his knowledge

He appealed to people by sharing his essays, lectures and poetry. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s first book was titled Nature, this book consisted of the very thoughts that best depicted Transcendentalism. Emerson spoke of society and how it is corrupting the minds of humans by making materialism common and undermining self-reliance. He believed greatness could be achieved through oneself. I agree with Emerson when he talks about people being the best versions of themselves when independent and away from society in nature. The most significant aspect about Ralph Waldo Emerson is his involvement and importance to the Transcendentalist movement. He is known as the father of transcendentalism, the movement took place during the late 1820’s and 1830’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It began with the founding of the Transcendental Club and the purpose of the organization was to think spiritually as opposed to thinking scientifically. This movement became popular to other scholars in nearby areas of Cambridge. Thus, Emerson met new people through the Transcendental Club such as: Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Thomas Carlyle, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Theodore Parker and others. “In 1836 and later, a club of perhaps a dozen thoughtful persons, men and women, formed the habit of meeting at each other’s houses for the informal discussion of such topics as mysticism, pantheism, personality. Nobody knew who first dubbed them the “Transcendental Club”: the culprit observed a prudent anonymity” (Firkins, 1915, p.66). In the Transcendentalism chapters of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Firkins goes into depth on one piece of writing from the Journals that Emerson wrote during the transcendental period. Firkins then goes on to explain the relationships between Emerson and Thoreau, Hawthorne and a few others. He has meticulous opinions about the personal affairs of Emerson in his review when referring to both Emerson’s