Out, Out: The Rise Of Transcendentalism

In the era of Romanticism there are certain characteristics that pertain to the style of writing, this includes the importance of the individual and the imagination, as well the emotional side of human nature. Many of the writers during this period were captivated by supernatural motifs and had optimistic outlooks in their writings. The Anti-Transcendentalist era differ from the Romantic era with its pessimistic outlook in literary pieces. The Anti-Transcendentalism or Gothic era focused on demonic ways of writing and the writers of this time saw the potential for evil in everyone. Writings of this time focused on mankind's greed, betrayal, and other dark motives. The differences in the two movements can be seen in the literary works from Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Starting a journey with only a useless rifle and ten pounds of rice is not a problem for Christopher McCandless. Into the Wild by John Krakauer, is a thrilling novel about a young man named Christopher McCandless, who leaves a materialist society and decides to journey into the wild. Christopher Johnson McCandless graduates from college and tells his parents that he is going to spend the summer traveling in his car, a used Datsun. He changes his name to Alex Supertramp in hope to start a new lifestyle, away from everything he knew. A natural disaster happens which forces Alex to abandon his car after it is damaged by a flash flood. He then loads his belongings into his backpack and sets out on foot. Alex

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 is defined as the philosophical movement that manage an insistence to the idea of culture and society. For example, Robinson gave a meaning of it with the quote, “This philosophy,

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.

“Transcendentalism […] has primarily much the position of the sun […] We are conscious of it as of a kind of splendid confusion […] But the circle of the moon is as clear and unmistakable, as recurrent and inevitable, as the circle of Euclid on a blackboard” (Chesterton, 24). These words encapsulate the driving rationale of the anti-transcendentalist argument – that although individuals seek transcendentalism, they can never truly realize it, or, to compare with the sun, see it. Rather, they inevitably place attention on the “moon,” the perspicuous reflection of transcendentalism – that is, individualism – and neglect the responsibilities of society. Emerson institutes the philosophy of transcendentalism in his essay, Nature, teaching that divinity pervades all nature and humanity. Although transcendentalists would offer that man can only better his spiritual life by embracing individualism, pursuing the ideal, and being one with nature, the ability and appeal of transcendentalism to advance enlightenment upon the soul of the individual rests on the false suppositions that feckless man can achieve perfection and that nature embodies God, thus causing transcendentalism to conversely detriment the spiritual life of the individual, isolating him, prescribing his rebellion, and invigorating his selfish pursuits, simply because he confides his soul in creation instead of the Creator (Tocqueville, 482).

Transcendentalism is a literary movement in the 1830s that suggest that every individual is capable discovering higher truth through intuition. Transcendentalist live by 5 tenets which are the importance of nature, self-reliance, simplicity, self-trust/confidence, and nonconformity. The movie Dead Poets Society is about a teacher who teaches his group of students how to live transcendental. The movie shows great acts of transcendentalism through each of the characters using the different tenets. Mr. Keating and Knox Overstreet in dead poets society shows that living transcentally is worth the consequences.

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.

Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that began in the late 1820s and 1830s in eastern United States. This movement was a reaction to all the protesting going on against intellectualism and spirituality. For the transcendentalists, the individual was the center of the universe. No institution, whether is was religion or politics, was greater and more powerful than the human itself. Ralph Waldo and Henry David Thoreau were two very famous writers that made up most of the Transcendental movement.

Emerson’s plan for Americans to become thinkers and doers in the new country during his time would not be very effective in the twenty-first-century America. Although some may argue that seeking transcendental beliefs would be more beneficial, twenty-first-century America has developed into a more technologically advanced society than during Emerson’s time.

whether that be a different person or group. Taking challenges into ones own hands instead of waiting

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.

Transcendentalism was an American literature movement urging people to look past everyday material life, and reach into their souls to find inner peace with themselves. Transcendentalism originally came from Kantian idealism. This idealism was credited by Immanuel Kant.