Example Of Transcendentalism In Peanuts

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

Transcendentalism was a literary movement in the 19th century that deliberately pushed forth the exploration to define spirituality and nature in a new context. So much as it is to explore, the movement had an undertone of rebellion against current societal circumstances in which writers during this time sought to change not only their environment, but also the reinvention of oneself. Also simultaneously, the Industrial Revolution took place during this time and glorified the economic growth, which sparked an era of new human thinking.

Transcendentalism by definition means to live a rational life with nature and becoming one entity that rules over itself. That seems difficult though because living in this day an age without having to worry about anything or about anyone else is like asking for forever lasting gum. In the book Into The Wild, Chris McCandless tries to do just that and succeeds. While on his journey to Alaska, Chris becomes the embodiment of transcendentalism. He embraces multiply of the qualities of transcendentalism but there were three that were the most prominent throughout the story. He believed in living closer to nature, relied on self trust and self reliance, and also he insists on breaking from traditions like government or paying taxes like most

During these days, we often imagine that if we do not fit into the society, we are left out. The lyrics of “Subdivision” by Rush shows if we do not conform to others, we might be cast out(Sub-division). We often think that having an articulate mind with many thoughts is having a high social status. However, there are certain values in our lives and our beliefs which we should appreciate as the man and nature are all connected which now is a belief referred as the “Transcendentalism”. Although Transcendentalism is a broad topic, the motif following the instincts and living under simplicity drew my attention. Transcendentalism was one of the major turning points of American literary revolutions and can play a huge role in the 21st century of

The first and most indispensable thought around transcendentalism is self-reliance. This word is rather self-explanatory as it is the ability to depend on one’s self. But, the transcendentalist idea of self-reliance isn’t just being able to act without the authority of another but to think without one as well. Emerson said, “ The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion.” (pg1). To clarify

For someone to be transcendental they have to follow a certain set of beliefs and understand what

Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement developed in the early-19 century. This literary movement based on the importance of God, man and nature, allowed numerous authors to become known. Nowadays, in a society full of innovations and in which nature is becoming less and less important, some people still feel the need to live far from the cities, in the wilderness, and still appreciate the simple things of life. Chris McCandless was one of them and decided to live a simple life by following the basic ideas of transcendentalism.

Transcendentalism is a lifestyle in which one strives to rise above and reach a level of perfection. Transcendentalists believe in self-reliance, non-conformity, individualism, simplicity, the greatness of nature, and God being within oneself. Transcendentalism is often represented in modern day pop-culture; a strong example of this is The Hunger Games. The book depicts the life of Katniss Everdeen, a character who possesses many transcendental qualities. The Hunger Games displays many transcendental values and shows that living a transcendental life is positive and will improve one’s quality of life.

American Transcendentalism was an important philosophical and literary movement which placed an emphasis on staying true to one’s beliefs and expressing oneself no matter the situation or consequence. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau fully embraced these beliefs as their influence has allowed these

The time period of transcendentalism changed the views of many people through setting different principles otherwise known as tenets. These tenets I am going to focus on is: confidence, self-reliance, free thought, nonconformity, and the importance of nature. Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement in the 1800’s where people responded to the strict rules back then. They declared that they didn’t have to follow all of the rules and decided to go off of independent tenets. Many pieces of literature contain some or all of these tenets, the ones I’m going to discuss and analyze today are Still I Rise by Maya Angelou that focuses on self-reliance and stanza 1 and 52 from Song of Myself by Walt Whitman which focuses on all tenets of transcendentalism. All of the 5 tenets are very important, but the one that overcomes all the others in my life is confidence. Many pieces of literature contain at least all tenets, but reference them in different ways.

       “Young Goodman Brown” manifests characteristics of the onetime Transcendentalist beliefs of its author in its abundance of symbolism and in its emphasis on individuality and personal responsibility.

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,

One of the most famous texts ever written for the sheer purpose of Transcendentalism was Emerson’s Self Reliance. In his essay, he writes about the importance of nonconformity and individualism. In Self Reliance, Emerson tells us to “trust thyself.” From only two words, one can gather the whole purpose of his essay. With nonconformity, man can defend himself against the tendency to become satisfied with life, and lose his own individuality. With “good- humored inflexibility” the self-reliant person can become someone who obeys himself. When it comes to a battle of law or a battle of morals, the self-reliant man will follow his morals and discard the law. One is not to use their logic, but use intuition. Emerson simply was striving for not the superiority of one man, but for originality and individuality of all humankind. He wanted to

“If a person wished to know what transcendentalism was he should empty his mind of everything coming from tradition and the rest would be transcendentalism” (Boller 34). This literary period has dramatically shaped literature and religion, in America. Many writers like Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson have been influence by transcendental ideas. It is astonishing how an inspiring literature movement can change so much of the world’s view and still is around today.

The Peanuts comic strips have been a motivation for other artist to create content, while bring an analytical philosophical aspect . Richard Greene along with many other authors suggest that the most influential part about the Peanuts comic strips is the ability to connect to the characters. Within Richard Greene’s book he talks about multiple philosophical topics are mentioned. For example the “rhapsody on the theme of Schroeder” and his love for Beethoven is similar to authors and their live for Schulz (Robison-Greene 53). Schulz was able to use Schroeder and his inspiration, Beethoven, as an analogy toward how authors that a creating content for others to view gto have the same passion. The Peanuts comic strips served as a positive influence toward the comic book industry. Greene makes the point that expresses the intention of the Peanuts comic strips (specifically Schroeder in this case), “music alone can serve as a vehicle for wild, creative joy and exuberance and expression of the human experience” (Robison-Greene 56). Schroder gives a positive reinforcement while showing ome as young as he is could look up to such a popular icon, which directly translates to the positive influence that the Peanuts comic as a whole serves as an inspiration towards other comic book artists. Friedrich Nietzsche makes a comparison with Schroeder and the outside world by saying people “prefer to follow paths in life that have been carved out for them by others” (Nietzsche 56). Every character has their own personal purpose which makes them different from the other characters, with a philosophical aspect that can relate to the reader. To analyse what makes the Peanuts comic strips influential to other comic book creators is to analyse the characters and the purpose they serve. Charlie Brown, according to Daniel Leonard has the personality type of wishy-washyness” (Leonard 15). Richard Greene makes the point about how even though the Peanuts comic are usually funny and light hearted it can have some serious content. With Charlie Brown he represents a mistreated boy who is always pushed around by his “friends”. What Megane Brennan says is “how there is an overwhelming sense of optimism in how Charlie Brown keeps on trying”