Emerson's Nature And Self Reliance example essay topic

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 Rho dora". Some may even go as far as to say that Emerson is the definite center of this movement.

Emerson was not alone in his path of thought; other prominent authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller were dubbed as Transcendentalists. The Transcendental movement significantly shaped and changed the course of American literature; many writers were profoundly influenced by Emerson and Thoreau and in turn began using transcendental thought, whether in response to or by how they imitated transcendental ideas. The roots of Transcendentalism began to grow from Emerson's Nature and Self-Reliance, as well as Thoreau's Walden, which inspired many writers and intellectuals to take part in this optimistic belief that God is inherent in each and every individual, as well as in nature, and the highest source of knowledge can be achieved through individuality, self-reliance, and the rejection of traditional authority. American Transcendentalism was mostly used in literary and factual form, and was partly religious. This term "American Transcendentalism" was in fact defined by three very influential people. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous essayist and poet, Henry David Thoreau, a naturalist, and Margaret Fuller, a well known feminist, author, and social reformer.

Their ideas were a mix of intellectual, artistic, and spiritual elements. They were searching for a different kind of philosophy that was based upon morals and natural appeal. They discovered writings from the eighteenth century from Kant, and ancient writings of Confucius, which helped them to develop ideas for "American Transcendentalism". Emerson and his peers rejected orthodox Christian views of God and spirituality.

They had a much different view of God, creation, and nature-God was a part of his creation, not only the creator. They believed that God was directly inborn in every individual, much different than the church's ideas. God could neither be understood nor described-but he can be experienced through nature and through the self. The idea of God in this sense was viewed negatively by many orthodox churches. American Transcendentalism was seen as a very radical movement during this time and was not accepted by many.

Ideas of secular spirituality were now breaking through, and the Transcendentalists were trying to disconnect from organized religion and move away from Enlightenment ideas. 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 celebrate ideas of the "common man". However, many of his transcendental ideas were criticized. Emerson was seen as an anti-Christ and heretic for his "radical" views on his beliefs that God was an inner dwelling presence. He only wanted to make two important points; two points that he wanted to share with the world were that: human beings must trust themselves and that there are obstacles to overcome in order to trust oneself. His points can be summed up through many of his essays, but there is one particular passage that weighs heavily on his thoughts and ideas. "The other terror that scares us from self trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past acts or word because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.

But... a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines... Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today... So you shall be sure to be misunderstood. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates and Jesus and Luther and Copernicus and Galileo and Newton and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood".

In this passage, he is stating, and re-stating the importance of individualism and nonconformity. His main emphasis in this essay is to become self-actualized and erased of self-doubt. Emerson wanted humanity to trust their own minds, own intuitions, beliefs and values, and not to be ashamed of rejecting common authority. This was the common beliefs of a transcendental mind.

Henry David Thoreau was another influential and successful transcendentalist. Thoreau was stimulated by the natural goodness in his life. He shunned and rejected the artificial and materialistic aspects of life. Thoreau never saw himself better than anyone else and he admired ideas of the Native Americans, which was uncommon of the white man during this time. The answer for Thoreau was to live happily, simply, and freely.

He believed in the "divine sufficiency of the individual", a common theme in transcendental thought-which was most heavily weighed upon by Thoreau. In his book, Walden, Thoreau wanted to experience life and then write about it. One of the most influential and insightful chapters in his book was the chapter titled "Where I lived, and what I lived for". This chapter sheds light onto his actual philosophy of life. He wanted to test his philosophy and live away from the common manifestations of life, and live without the presence of others and possessions. To quote this essential chapter of this book is to explain the simple life and why he chose to test himself.

'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to 'glorify God and enjoy him forever. ' Still we live meanly, like ants; ... Our life is frittered away by detail.

An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. '.