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Henry David Thoreau is by far one of the most influential writers of the 17th century. He grew up in Concord Massachusetts and had a brother he could always count on. He later grew up to attend the famous college Harvard, but his family was financially unstable. By the time he was to graduate, the Great Depression fell upon them and he had to make ends meet. Thoreau learned right then and there that nothing was given to him; he had to work for what he wanted, or make what he had work. At this time it is imaginable that no one could just up and get a job because of the depression, So Thoreau knew he had to find a way to live with more grace, with more simplistic views. Early on as a child, his family suffered, until Thoreau took his brother and they both came up with an idea to help people versus try to take advantage of them and hurt them. They started a school right in their home town, just to help people who could not help themselves. Early on the ideas to help people and to live with more simple views shaped his transcedalism thought into what people know it as today ("Henry David…
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Henry David Thoreau was a environmental scientist, American philosopher, and a poet. Henry David Thoreau’s work has been seen having foreshadowed central insights of later philosophical movements like pragmatism and existentialism. He was a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement. Thoreau is on of the most Transcendentalists today because of his ecological consciousness, independence, commitment to abolitionism, his thought of peaceful resistance. His poem style and habit of close observation are still…
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Answer: Transcendentalism is a way of thinking. It started in the 1800’s and was created by philosophers. It is a way of realizing what is going on around you and knowing what you believe and to stand up for the thing you want.…
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Transcendentalists are believed to go above and beyond and be independent. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both stress that transcendentalism is all about individualism. According to Emerson, the main idea of transcendentalism is to withdraw from society: “To believe you own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men(that is genius” (185). Emerson focuses on following the heart. Similarly, Thoreau relied on civil disobedience. He wanted people to stand out and take charge: “For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever” (193). He is saying that it takes one person to stand up…
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We, as readers populating the latest incarnation of the same democratic experiment, owe it not to Thoreau, but to the continued development of our society, to read and understand the Transcendentalism of Thoreau; because of the valid and compelling rhetorical criticisms of inertial institutions that remain timelessly applicable. Some might argue that we gain a sense of how difficult it is to resist social conformity when we consider that Thoreau himself was unable to live consistently how he advocated. His failure presents us with the question of undertaking the moral and spiritual burden of democratic citizenship. I would say that this is exactly the question which…
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Thoreau was a writer like no other. In March 1865 he decided to build a log cabbing by walden pond. He built this cabin in Massachusetts in a town called Concord. He builds this cabin to as a personal experiment. He was using this cabin as a tool to transcend from the society. He had his mind made up and put into detailed focus that he would find out everything there is to discover about humans. The reason why he built the log cabin away from everyone is because he thought that the only way for him to focus was to get away from everyone. He didn't want to have anything on his mind bothering him. He didn't want any daily errand or concerns taking away his focus. Thoreau didn't want to be swayed by any of the materialism. He no longer wanted to be caught in the trending narrow mined society we lived in.…
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Transcendentalist were very well educated people who came together and began trying to find how to express their spiritual and religious preferences through writings. They started creating many types of personal literature, essays, poetry, philosophy and many more types of writing. A little after America had gained its independence from England these select few people wanted to be recognized for those who began literature in the independent states, beginning in Massachusetts. The transcendentalist wanted to start their own movement of literature and be different from any other nations, forming their own types of writing writings. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a well known transcendentalist who tried to inspire people to rely on themselves and being…
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Transcendentalism in the nineteenth century brought in a wave of outstanding writers, poets, and philosophers in the literary world which brought light to a whole new perspective of the American society by regularly challenging common societal traditions and beliefs as the nonconformists they…
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They spoke out against materialism and slavery as well and were in much opposition to the Industrial Revolution. According to transcendentalism, if one did not find themselves in nature, they were corrupt and most likely did not have their morals sorted out correctly. They spoke out against slavery, and the Fugitive Slave Law specifically, which applied to their own section of the country, the northeast, because they strongly believed that each human should have their own personal liberties and freedoms, and not be bound to society or others in any way. This held the same for industry, as it caused more and more people to become part of this one big machine, which progressed American society economically, but may not have benefitted all who were involved in it. The transcendentalists were borderline socialists, and followed the idea that everyone should get equal opportunity because we are all good people who deserve it, however, again, did not think that everyone should be so involved in society. They should, instead, decide their own actions for themselves, and to do that wholly and completely, they must separate themselves from others so they are not influenced by them. Emerson said, “All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man…
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Jan 1, 2006 - Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were giants of .... B. This series of lectures will, thus, emphasize the lives and thoughts of Emerson andThoreau but will link ... as diverse as Hawthorne and Dickinson, Thoreau and Whitman. .... most Americans knew they existed, especially those from India.…
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In modern society, a person is forced to conform to the standards placed by stereotypes. Namely, the idea that having a the goal of labor, no matter the occupation, is to climb to the highest tier and obtain the most income possible, regardless of passion or interest. That ideal has become a major flaw in the functionality of people claiming to live a successful and fulfilling life. Based on the philosophies and writings of Henry David Thoreau, there is a connection between Thoreau’s concepts regarding society by exposing how working joylessly only for the sake of gaining wealth is not a true way of experiencing a fulfilling life.…
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Ralph Waldo Emerson is arguably one of the most influential American writers of his time. If it were not for his inspirational essays, many writers, including Henry David Thoreau, could of went completely different routes in their careers. Emerson is also responsible for the Transcendentalists movement, where Thoreau was also a major part of. As two major parts of Transcendentalism, the two obviously shared very similar views on the ways things should work. They believed in nonconformity, were anti monarchical, democratic supporters, and had a belief that the individual mattered more than a group. The two believed that people themselves were divine, and they should not have to live committed or live unlike how they want. Their beliefs were…
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Our current time is accelerated. Everything moves quickly; far more quickly than in the time of the Transcendentalists. If either of the Transcendentalist writers Thoreau or Emerson could see what the world has become they would be absolutely horrified. We continue to increase our speed and yet it seems that the faster we go, the more impatient we become.…
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Today in class we discussed common elements of Transcendentalists writing. The five most prominent transcendentalist writers are Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Margret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau. There are four common reactions and four general agreements found in these five Transcendentalist writer’s work. Transcendentalist writing was a reaction against rigid rationalism, the empirical philosophy of John Locke (All knowledge comes from sense impressions), formalized religion (Especially Calvinist orthodoxy), and social conformity, materialism, and commercialism. These elements which were common in the writing found prior to the era of transcendentalism,…
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In the movie Dead Poet Society the high school students at Welton Academy have a teacher named Mr. Keating. Mr. Keating teaches the boys in his class how to live a life with transcendental values. By doing this, he teaches the boys how to be self-reliant on themselves and how to show individuality. He doesn’t teach his class like other teachers. He doesn’t go straight from the book like every other teacher, instead he actively teaches them how to write poetry and be themselves. Having transcendental values has both good and bad effects on people. Yes, transcendentalism values give people a sense of individualism, but maybe those people need the input from others. Transcendentalism is a good thing because it gives a person a feel for what they want, and not what other people want; that’s true happiness.…
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