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The Influence Of Nonconformism And Non Transcendentalism

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Transcendentalists are people who believe in 5 important values which together makes a transcendentalist, a transcendentalist. These are self-reliance, connection to nature, freedom of thought, nonconformity, and self-confidence. Non-transcendentalists most likely think the extreme transcendentalists are quite different, but transcendentalists view non-transcendentalists the same; not normal. Transcendentalists view the relationship between the individual and society in a very different light than non-transcendentalists do. They believe that society tries too much on conforming to general ideas and practices, and that this is preventing individuals from having their own spirit of individualism. In other words, they think society wants…show more content…
In other words, we need to do what makes us happy and what makes us more developed as our own individual selves. He says, “...that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to life which he was imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary, new universal and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him.” This is basically saying that if we can put our best foot forward in our hopes, dreams, goals, and desires we will be successful even when others don’t believe in us, or when we don’t believe in ourselves. We will give blood, sweat and tears to pass our previous boundaries we set around ourselves, and a new set of rules will be reformed around us. When Thoreau talks about nonconformity, he also refers to laws. He refused to pay his taxes for the Mexican-American war because he didn’t believe in it. He learned this from his role model and idol, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson wrote in ‘celebrations of the self’ that “good men must not obey the laws too well”, because he knows that they restrict the capability of our individuality. They restricted Thoreau’s ability to express himself against the war which is why he ended up in jail, but felt free there because he was showing society what was wrong with what they
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