Contextual American Transcendentalism

A quote from William Bolitho states, “Adventure must start with running away from home”. Into the WIld is a true account of an individual who seeks the natural land of Earth to develop a better life for himself. The author, Jon Krakauer, publishes the series of events that lead to the death of a young nomad, Christopher McCandless. The mysterious death of the runaway intellect was investigated by Jon Krakauer, an editor who retraced McCandless’s steps and interviewed everyone that had an interaction with McCandless or his alias, Alexander Supertramp. McCandless left everything behind, including his wealthy and bright future, to start a new life as a nomadic hitchhiker. He intended to begin a life of religious philosophy, connecting with nature, to connect with himself through optimism, self-reliance and nonconformity, a life of transcendentalism. As he traveled around the Western United States, Christopher McCandless lived an optimistic life which allowed him to overlook the dangers and hardships of his journey detached from society.

Krakauer himself agrees with such claim. Before he even begins to tell the tale of Chris McCandless, Krakauer speaks directly of McCandless transcendance. In the authors note Krakauer writes that McCandless “invented a new life for himself...wandering across North America in search of raw, transcendent experience” (Krakauer Author’s Note). To deny such a direct assessment from someone who shares so many sympathies with McCandless, is ludicrous. Krakauer also compares Mccandless to transcendentalist monks on several occasions. From the description of Chris’s “monkish room furnished with little more than a thin mattress on the floor, milk crates, and a table”( Krakauer 22), to stating that he is “as chaste as a monk” (65). Krakauer even goes

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." Transcendentalist believed in being independent and self-reliant as well as appreciating nature. Transcendentalism occurred in the 1800s in the United States. Transcendentalist believed that one should not rely on others and should rely solely on themselves. They also believe that nature was important in the world and should not be taken for granted. Artist from 2000 up to now share these common beliefs with transcendentalist. One of these artist is Trisha Yearwood who had the song Real Live Woman. Another artist who has a song that follows their beliefs is Lee Ann Womack. Lee Ann Womack has the song I Hope You Dance which also follows along with the beliefs of transcendentalist. Some of the beliefs that transcendentalist had was believing in independence and they also believed in appreciating nature and everything in it for example Lee Ann Womack sings about nature and what happens in it and Trisha Yearwood in one of her songs sings about the importance of being self-reliant and independent she also talks about social reforms and not doing things that is set up by society.

It is not possible to be a transcendentalist in today’s world. Transcendentalism is complex way of life that has many requirements despite the broad belief of accepting one’s own views. With so many different beliefs and ways of life present in today’s world, it would be difficult to believe in one’s self. A transcendentalist would only work in today’s society if every person was accepting of everyone else, dedicated to living simply, and followed all the rules with every concept of transcendentalism; something very hard to achieve. Even if everyone achieved this idea, it would no longer be a transcendentalist society anym but would be more of a utopian society where everyone

Moving out into the the woods and off the grid isn’t for everyone. For a few families, this is a way of life. This lifestyle showcases many beliefs of transcendentalism, many that are still abundantly present in society today. Transcendentalism is shown in the way people live and in the television shows like “The Boonies”. In “The Boonies”, transcendentalism appears in the ideas of Idealism/Individualism and in Nature.

Throughout history, people encounter a stage in their lives where they feel the necessity to assert their independence and challenge their abilities and self-worth. In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the author shares his understanding and kinship with the main character, Chris McCandless, a young man who thrusts himself into a life of solitude and a harsh environment during his search for meaning to his life. Krakauer depicts himself and McCandless as modern day transcendentalists with an abundance of competency, resourcefulness and skills as naturalists. Although McCandless chose to experience a life of solitude and face the hazards that nature presents, his lack of preparedness prevented him from completing his endeavor successfully.

Should college athletes get paid like the professional players on TV? Some people believe they should for many different reasons while other people believe that athletes should not get paid and that their college tuition covers their needs. College student should be treated like the pros, they already get paid from other people, college athletes are already full-time workers without pay, they bring in the most money, and paying the athletes could help with recruiting Colleges should pay their Student-Athletes for the entertainment that they provide for the school. College athletes bring fame and funds to the school if they do well so why shouldn’t they be provided with payment to help their college. Students athletes should be treated like every other student on campus by getting the extra money that they need.

In today’s society, it appears that every week the general public is raving about a new app that was released or some newly created piece of technology. Week in and week out magazines and news sources highlight the newest inventions and and must-have items, encouraging the public to rush for the stores to acquire the new big thing. While such a concept is commonplace in today’s society, there was a time when this idea of materialism was a rarity, and, to a certain extent, frowned upon. American Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement during the 1820s and ‘30s, that emphasized the importance and purity of the individual, and argued that society and its institutions corrupted the purity of every individual. Transcendentalism

For centuries, various civilizations have developed several methods to redirect water from its source to a specified locations. Early Egyptians used a shaduf to lift buckets of water from rivers and as the need to divert water further away from groundwater sources, the more sophisticated the methods became. The Romans built extensive quanats to deliver a fresh water supply while providing a sewage system. Ounce urbanization ensued, the demand for water would require this resource to travel hundreds of miles to reach its destination. Aqueducts, canals, ditches, and dams are all used today to transport water from areas who have an abundance of potable water to areas that lack drinkable water. This was exemplified in the short film “Water on the Edge”. The film addresses the many problems California faces after decades of using various methods for water diversion. Some of the problems include outdated watering systems, maintaining the health of natural systems, and providing water throughout the state while in a drought.

Men, women, and children are all called at one time in their life “to look to the stars” and this mysticism beckons them closer (369). Stars are always there every night to be seen and to help humans reflect from their beauty. Except stars are not the only way to reflect, there are the leaves, the sun, and everything else in nature. Nature is the foundation of life and it is the center of transcendentalism and many other philosophies and religions. Overall, authors and supporters of the transcendental philosophy would disagree on how American society treats children and technology.

Transcendentalism was an early philosophical, intellectual, and literary movement that thrived in New England in the nineteenth century. Transcendentalism was a collection of new ideas about literature, religion, and philosophy. It began as a squabble in the Unitarian church when intellectuals began questioning and reacting against many of the church’s orthodoxy ways regarding all of the aforementioned subjects: religion, culture, literature, social reform, and philosophy. They in turn developed their own faith focusing on the divinity of humanity and the innate world. Many of the Transcendentalists ideas were expressed heavily by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essays such as “Nature”, “Self Reliance”, and also in his poems such as “The

Transcendentalism was a huge cultural movement in the nineteenth century; however, the ideas of the movement still continue to influence our society in the twenty-first century. These ideas of Transcendentalism have continued to exist throughout many years because the ideas remain relevant to society. In fact, the problems that many Transcendentalist writers encountered still happen today in new forms. These similar problems include conformity, the role of government in society, and the importance of nature. In general, people still feel that society needs to better itself for the benefit of all individuals, which is at the heart of Transcendentalism. Some of the ideas that Transcendentalists constantly defended included individualism,

There have been numerous religious rebellions throughout history, but none quite like that of Transcendentalism. This movement embodies the idea that spiritual growth can be achieved through personal journey instead of conflicting with organized religion. By the time of the movement’s onset, newly gained religious freedom in the United States allowed for new ideas and beliefs to prosper freely. At the heart of this movement was Transcendentalism philosophy famous ambassadors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and apprentice Henry David Thoreau. These men believed nature is what forces us not to depend on other ideas but to develop our own.

In depressed economic times, Banking is an industry that is prone to substantial financial losses, from customer’s closing their depository account to an increase in outstanding loan delinquency. An increase in consumer and commercial loan defaults can damage the integrity of a Bank’s outstanding loan portfolio. Such deterioration can lead to an increase of “Non-Performing Assets”.

The American Renaissance was a revolution for literature and writers in America itself that emphasized cultural authority. The American Renaissance took place throughout the nineteenth century, primarily in the early segment of this era. According to, The Norton Anthology of American Literature, “the idea of American Renaissance has been so influential in part of the literature of this time period, and was crucial to the development of American literary traditions” (4). This created a diverse movement apart of the American Renaissance reform called, Transcendentalism. The Transcendentalism period which outlined majority of the Renaissance, was led by writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism is largely defined by the ideals of, religion, self reliance, civil disobedience, individualism, idealism, nonconformity, and nature. Emerson outlined the reform and countless parts of these Transcendentalism ideals, for writers soon to follow this movement. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, presents Emerson’s language as, “…no American writer who placed greater importance on the reader’s active interpretive role in generating new meanings and new ways of seeing the world” (214). Ralph Waldo Emerson’s language was a formation composed of idealism and a philosophical literary movement. Founding father Ralph Emerson, contributed to Transcendentalism by the primary ideals of Nature, and Individualism. These ideals are all exhibited in Emerson’s essays, “Nature”,