Transcendentalist Journal Entry: Thoreau And Ralph Waldo Emerson

566 Words3 Pages
Transcendentalists Journal Entry During the early to mid-nineteenth century, a movement known as transcendentalism took root. Transcendentalists believed that knowledge could be achieved through intuition and contemplation of the internal spirit. They sought time and peace with the natural world and apartness from the city, where corruption was happening during this time. Transcendentalism represented a new way of understanding truth and knowledge. Transcendentalists lived apart from cities and people, as close to nature as they could be. Transcendentalist authors believed a perfect world was one without societal walls and pressures. In our society today, we view The American Dream as accomplishing oneself within society. Transcendentalism teaches that the true path to success is through individuality and spirituality. Therefore, the transcendentalist American Dream cannot be accomplished through obtaining goods or status. Only connection to nature and God can fulfill the Transcendentalist dream. Despite the ever-changing world, Transcendentalists accomplish their American Dream through connection to God and the natural world, without material goods or social status.…show more content…
Transcendentalism was a reaction to the quickly changing, industrial America. Thoreau and Emerson could have both succeeded as wealthy men with high status. Rather than seeking out material goods and names for themselves in the confused country, Emerson and Thoreau rushed to the woods in an attempt to transcend to a higher level. They sought a strong relationship with God and the natural world. The writers hated the industrialization of America. Thoreau extensively spoke of the importance of individuality. He believed being separate and distanced from the world was important. To Thoreau, accomplishing The American Dream meant being special and separate from people, but never from God or His
Show More
Related

  • Henry David Thoreau's Life And Accomplishments

    401 Words  | 2 Pages

    On July 12, 1817, Henry David Thoreau was born in his grandmother’s home in Concord, Massachusetts. His mother was Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau and his father was John Thoreau. He had two older siblings and their mom and dad moved constantly for a few years. Helen and John Jr. when they had gotten older, they were both schoolteachers and decided Thoreau should go to Harvard. “They even contributed from their teaching salaries to help with his school expenses (Henry)”. He entered Harvard College in 1833

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

    1459 Words  | 6 Pages

    To a certain extent, Into the Wild is a modern-day Transcendentalist classic, and mostly not the story of a mentally disturbed young man. To understand this, one must first realize what exactly a Transcendentalist is, and what it means to be mentally disturbed. Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement that stemmed from social factors in 1836, as a reaction to rationalism; it is essentially the protest over spirituality and the intellectualism that results from gaining such experiences

    Read More

More about Transcendentalist Journal Entry: Thoreau And Ralph Waldo Emerson

Open Document