Summarize Emerson Transcendentalism

“Would men but generously snap our chains, and be content with rational fellowship, instead of slavish obedience, they would find us more observant daughters, more affectionate sisters, more faithful wives, more reasonable mothers – in a word, better citizens.”

Self-reliance is targeted towards the reader, that the reader needs to take action for their needs not anyone else’s needs. Emerson’s use of words will open the reader’s mind and compose the reader “trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (3). Meaning that the reader can’t allow anyone to say how to live life, live it the way you like it. The reader needs to “follow the beat of your own drums” (Pixler). It’s your life, your way, don’t allow society to tell say what anyone can and cannot do.

Transcendentalists believe that using their principles, humanity can inch closer and closer to utopia, the perfect society. Transcendentalism, the flawed doctrine, instead leads its adherents on the road to nowhere, and many of the principles fail spectacularly when applied in real life. Transcendentalism is too idealistic to be realistic. Simply put, transcendentalism is wrong. Their ideals are not just incorrect, they are potentially dangerous.

Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, central figures of Transcendentalism, expressed their beliefs through works such as “American Scholar” and “Into the Woods” in the nineteenth century. They believed that one must be in simplicity, solitude, and away from technology to appreciate the beauty of nature, which is essential for a better spiritual understanding of oneself. Transcendentalism, which focuses on spiritual interactions with nature, is relevant in today’s hectic life with temptations of materialistic goods and burdens of technology. The retreat that Webb offers every year is a good example of how Transcendentalism shapes students to have spiritual richness and mental strength. On retreats, students go off campus with bare necessities for three days to camp sites in nature to reflect and appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. Viewed through the lens of Transcendentalism, retreats allow students to prepare for a new and busy school year to come by helping them to realize their own goals, to get rid of distractions of technology, to get inspired by nature for a better understanding of themselves, and to enjoy a moment of solitude to truly reflect on the deeper meanings of life.

Transcendentalism is a philosophical/social movement that sprouted to life in the mid 1820s and 1830s in the eastern United States. Transcendentalism emerged from English and German Romanticism, and was also influenced by ancient Hindu thoughts and writings. The main belief of transcendentalism is that humans and animals were born pure, and society and industrialization turned animals and people dirty and unclean spiritually. Like most other religions, transcendentalists had principles to live by. The Ten Tenets of Transcendentalism are the following:

Self-reliance essay of Emerson was a combination of the thoughts, ideas, and activities that he had recorded in his journals over a number of years. In the entire narrative, Emerson emphasizes the need for one to rely on his/herself for knowledge and guidance. He discusses the essay in three parts. The first part of the essay focuses on the importance of self-reliance by indicating the benefits of one thinking for his/her own self rather than blindly accepting other people’s idea. In the second section, he discusses the relationship between self-reliance and individualism. He states that people who have the desire to be self-reliant need to realize their worth as a person and keep it under their control. In the last part, Emerson shows the relationship between self-reliance and the society that one lives in. He argues that self-reliant people can transform a society into a more desirable and realistic place.

Society is always changing beliefs and bringing new ideas in. Now millions of people believe in different things, and some of those many beliefs revolve around the idea of transcendentalism. For the people who don’t know what Transcendentalism is, it was introduced by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1800s. Another person who believed in Transcendentalism is Henry David Thoreau, who wrote the essay, “Civil Disobedience.” Which consisted ideas of standing up and protesting peacefully. Some of the ideas consist of self-reliance, which is relying on oneself and not trusting others. The other ideas are individualism, being yourself, not living simply, and having a close relationship to nature. These ideas will always be incorporated in modern day society. There’s many programs around and ideas with people saying that others should be themselves, and not act like other people. An idea that branches out from being yourself would be peer-pressure. Peer-pressure basically pressures others into doing things they’ll regret because they’re usually pressured to make bad decisions. This is one of the many examples of why society still revolves around transcendentalist ideas. Even though the Transcendentalist era was in the early-to-mid 1800s, the beliefs such as being different from others, expressing one's feelings to others, and other ideas are still incorporated into modern society.

Every day we think about what we do and what others do, what’s right from wrong what we want and what others want we usually forget what we want for our self’s.

Why follow societal views? Ralph Waldo Emerson's, “Self Reliance”, and Henry David Thoreau’s, “Where I Lived and What I Lived For”, are both texts that influence the idea of transcendentalism which influences the way people think about society's actions and how self-reliance. Emerson’s text goes in-depth about relying on oneself instead of the use of inventions that rid of bodily functions. While Thoreau’s text also goes in-depth about one's life and how time should be determined by the individual and not the clock of society. Being away and being different from society, individualism, are explained by Emerson and Thoreau through their use of description; however, Thoreau in addition to description uses compare and contrast and problem and solution all to show that individuality is a part of life that is missing from modern day society.

During the 1820’s, Ralph Waldo Emerson had developed the social movement of Transcendentalism. His ideas had immensely flourished amongst society. Some of his ideas pertained that our spirit progresses deeper into nature, and that our thoughts and soul go beyond what the world sees it as. He believed that society should not be conformed to worldly regulations, and he encouraged things such as; self independence, appreciation of nature, and to consider beliefs that reach beyond scientific knowledge. Transcendentalism also focuses on the idea of letting go of things of this world, and focusing on yourself to fulfill potential in life.

He stating that people try to change themselves to fit in with society. He states that a lack of knowledge leads to envy and imitation of others. He states that you should be your own person and not develop yourself according to how the other person is.

Self-Reliance is an essay that Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote to help guide his audience to rely on their independence. He wants to teach them that they need to be dependent on themselves. The method of Emerson’s writing worked well in the past and continues to do so in the future by using figurative language and emotion to appeal to the audience’s inner self and help guide them, however his style of writing could divert some.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the pioneer of the transcendentalist movement and Edgar Allan Poe, the pioneer of the American gothic movement, had ideas that sought to explain the state of mankind; ideas which were considered revolutionary for their time. It can be argued that both authors speak about something the soul longs for. Emerson encourages individuals to be self-reliant, which is to be true to oneself. On the other hand, Poe writes much darker works that deal with the human psyche and directly confront the problem of evil. Poe’s “The Imp of the Perverse” and “The Black Cat” can be read as criticisms and refutations of transcendentalist ideas, such as Emerson’s, by analyzing why the narrators commit murder and expose themselves.

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.

What is Transcendentalism? The term originated with the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who used it to refer to knowledge not known through the five senses. Its beliefs affected, in varying degrees, virtually all American writers during the romantic period. In America the movement started with one man: Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's transcendentalist ideas are best reflected in his essay "Nature." The beliefs of transcendentalism greatly affected American writers of the mid 1800's (St. John et al. 196).