...Transcendentalism Essay The transcendentalism era is a religious movement that started in the 1800s. Transcendentalist such as Margaret Fuller edited “The dial” and Henry david thoreau wrote “Civil disobedience”. Ralph Waldo Emerson; one belief of a transcendentalist; is believing that everyone is naturally good. He also believed that a person’s power is limitless. He wrote both of “Nature”, and “Self-Reliance”. Ralph Waldo Emerson a transcendentalist who believed that people should be independent is why he led the transcendentalist club and relates his theme to the hunger games movie. (“Guided Notes”) Ralph Emerson is a transcendentalist who wrote the essay “self-reliance”. The theme of “Self-Reliance” is being able to rely on yourself or...
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...Do You Hear People Sing? — A Brief Analysis of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience Abstract: Civil disobedience is the valuable spiritual wealth of American spirits. From Henry David Thoreau to Martin Luther King, civil disobedience theory also had developed into a new stage. American people began to commonly accept and practice the civil disobedience theory, which pushed American Civil Rights Movement forward. This essay focuses on the origination of the civil disobedience and briefly introduces its development. Key Words: Civil disobedience Conscience Government 1、 Thoreau’s Imprisonment The Mexican-American war, which started from 1846, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico over the territorial dispute of Texas. Most abolitionists and transcendentalists were against this war, because they thought that this war was an act of a bullying government anxious to grab land from a weaker nation. Some even thought this war was a conspiracy of the southern slaveholders. Then Texas admitted slavery, while Mexico forbade slavery. They regarded this war as the expansion of slavery, which could strengthen the influence of the south in federation. Therefore the abolitionists and transcendentalists did their best to resist this war. Among them, Henry David Thoreau was a famous representative. Thoreau did not agree this aggressive war. To resist, he refused to pay the Massachusetts poll tax, which was a “per head” tax imposed on...
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...Chris McCandless was only 22 years old when he decided to commence his excursion to Alaska. He met people on the way, but he never stayed in one place for long. Is anyone who does not agree with society a transcendentalist? McCandless does not conform to society but does not prove to be a transcendentalist but rather a spontaneous idealist. The movements do, however, bounce off each other in many ways. Transcendentalism, started in the 1830s, was best known as a theoretical movement with the belief that your knowledge based on life and nature was more important than social status and knowledge based on social class. Idealism is best defined as impractically alluding without thinking about the practicableness of the situation. Transcendentalists are well known for their general beliefs of living simply, knowing your own value, and appreciating nature. Idealists are people who believe things should be the way they see it, instead of how reality truly is. Idealism is a...
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...Civil Disobedience Essay Thoreau expresses the Transcendentalist belief that all people must live as individuals, not as mindless parts of a society that may or may not be just. He claims that citizens have the power to create a better government, but they are afraid to take a stand and make changes without the support of the majority. An example of this is Gandhi’s Salt March against the British, who put a tax on their staple ingredient, salt. This is how Gandhi’s vigorous salt march began. Gandhi’s Salt March relates to Thoreau's idea in “Civil Disobedience,” because it shows how Gandhi refused to obey the British law and attempted to make his opinion known. Gandhi’s Salt March emphasizes Thoreau’s idea on how important it is for individuals to come together as a society and voice their opinions to the government on what they believe is right. The Salt March was a reaction to the British tax on salt. Mahatma Gandhi, the British, and some protesters were involved. The British had previously colonized India and therefore were trying to regulate their economy. The Salt March took place in India on March 12, 1930, due to the unreasonable tax on salt, which Gandhi didn’t find fair. He then started a...
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...evident throughout the stories. One of the most prominent themes expressed is the element of self-reliance. All four authors convey self-reliance as a desire of one to accomplish feats without assistance from parents, and that it helps to give a sense of importance and independence. Civil Disobedience, Self-Reliance, Into the Wild, and “It’s All On Me” all include self-reliance as a vital element. In Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, the importance of self-reliance is stressed, stating that “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step forward to obtaining it.” Thoreau, in this quote from his story, calls for self-reliance, not self-reliance for one man, self-reliance as a nation. He believes that if the people will do right, rely on themselves rather than the government, then the overbearing government would not have to be as powerful. Thoreau believed in the motto, “The government is best which governs least.” He trusted the people to be reliable enough to run a government which did not have to govern much. This trust he puts into the people of the newfounded United States is an example of early transcendentalism....
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...Mexican-American War, which he protested heavily against as he believed it to be a plot to extend slavery. Dr. King on the other hand was in the heart of the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960s, objecting the oppression of African-American lives with unrestrained fervor. In Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” and Dr. King’s “Letter to Birmingham City Jail” they shared comparable principles, since they both fought against the unjust actions of their era by their preparedness to go to jail for their views and by informing their reader the significance of fighting for what they believe to be right. Firstly, in both essays they wrote about how they...
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...Transcendentalism took off in the 1800’s with a little help from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Emily Dickenson. These transcendentalists expressed their beliefs through writings such as poems and essays. These few transcendentalists went out of their way to represent their ideals and beliefs. Only a number of people understood the idea of transcendentalism because it is so complex and involved a much deeper thought process. It was this complexity within Transcendentalism that makes it stick out in history still to this day. Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England. Transcendentalism was developed in reaction to rationalism in 1836. It taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity. The transcendentalist members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the better known transcendentalists, became a transcendentalist in 1832 which lead to the writing of “Self-Reliance” and “The American Scholar.” He later became the central figure of his literary and philosophical group, known as the American Transcendentalist. In the 1840’s he founded and co-edited the literary magazine The Dial. In 1841 and 1844 he published essays, including, “Self-Reliance,” “Friendship” and “Experience.” In “Self-Reliance” Emerson writes: A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of...
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...Henry David Thoreau, Abolitionist, Transcendentalist, Protester, Individualist, bold, is the most important man who affected our nation today. His actions have inspired so many to do the right thing. His actions have also led him to his choices as an influential writer. Thoreau disobeyed, he disobeyed the government. He refused to pay a poll tax, believing that it supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery. Because of this, Thoreau was arrested by a sheriff and jailed overnight. But being the Protester he is, Thoreau used his jail time and refusal to pay the poll tax as a way to inspire and raise awareness about the Mexican-American War. After he was released, he wrote an essay called “Resistance to Civil Government”, later titled “Civil Disobedience.” The essay was written about how tyrannical the government’s actions were and how we were to change things. “Civil Disobedience” has been an influence to peaceful protesters around the world, such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Without Martin Luther King Jr. our country might still be discriminating and racist. Without Thoreau’s inspiring essay, Martin Luther King Jr.’s protests may not have been as effective and peaceful as they...
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...I have recently attended one of the workshop offered by WCTC. It is called “Don’t eat the marshmallow.” One particular thing which struck me as interesting is the concept of grit. Grit is associated with courage, conscientiousness, long term goals, endurance, resilience, and excellence. These traits are things that a regular person never thinks about, yet many studies have relieved that successful people have the majority of these traits. I cannot help and self-reflect on these concepts and make a connection to some of the most influential people who have shaped my beliefs and state of being. I am most influenced by famous authors from the 19th century. Writers like Ralph Waldo Emmerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Jack London are authors who...
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...Named three months after his birth, Henry David Thoreau was an accomplished author who lived from 1817 to 1862. A major writer in the Transcendentalist movement, Thoreau penned several poems, essays, and other works including “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” and Walden. Thoreau harboured an affinity for life, having lived a full one himself; penned works discussing the importance of life; and produced literary pieces that arguably are some of the most influential and exploratory of his time. David Henry Thoreau was born on July 12th, 1817 and named after his late paternal uncle three months later on the 12th of October. Thoreau was the third child of John Thoreau and Cynthia Dunbar, younger brother to Helen and John Jr, and older brother...
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...virtually represent them and tax them without full representation. The American colonists embodied the transcendentalist ideas of writer Henry David Thoreau in the belief that a law that is not just should be violated. Through civil disobedience, the colonists brought a greater awareness to their displeasure with British taxes, and inadvertently helped to separate from Britain to form the United States. In the early 17th century, thousands of British natives sailed across the Atlantic ocean and landed in various places throughout the Eastern coastline of America. Men were given charters of...
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...* Henry Thoreau * Others: eg. Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne… * Romanticism---a retrospect * Background of Romanticism in Europe? * The Industrial Revolution * The French Revolution * Ideological change * Definition & Features of Romanticism? * Romanticism(The Romantic Movement) * 5 key features * Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, recognized for expressions of exoticism, individualism, emotionalism, and the beauty of nature, rejecting the ordered rationality of the Enlightenment as mechanical, impersonal, and artificial. * Imagination; * Nature; * Individualism; * Glorification of the Commonplace; * The Lure of the Exotic * American Romanticism * Time: Romantic period---early 19th century to the outbreak of the Civil War * Forms: novels, short stories, and poems replaced sermons and manifestos as America’s principal literary forms * Background: * exterior: Romantic movement in Europe (inheritance) * interior: Westward movement and economic boom; * Literary themes: * Highly imaginative and subjective * Emotional intensity * Escapism * Common man as hero * Nature as refuge, source of knowledge and/or spirituality American Romanticism * Distinctive features: * Tended to moralize and instruct ...
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...state without exception. If one feels that the state is immoral or unjust, it is his or her duty to persuade the state to act differently. Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher and a transcendentalist in the mid 1800s. He is well known for his essay, “Civil Disobedience,” which he wrote in response to his one-day prison sentence for committing tax evasion. “Civil Disobedience” covers Thoreau’s definition of the social contract. Thoreau claims it is necessary for one to violate the social contract if complying with it defies his or her own moral codes. The social contract can be seen throughout government systems today. The United States government provides for its citizens; examples include equal treatment, free education, and public safety. In return, its citizens must sacrifice some of their freedoms. They must, for example, pay taxes and follow laws, regardless of whether or not they agree with them. However, at times it may be necessary to follow Thoreau’s beliefs and defy the state’s laws if one feels that they are violating their own moral principles. Socrates' interpretation of the social contract can prove to be less advantageous in practice. Thoreau’s method of civil disobedience is the better of the two versions. Body Section 1 (Support of Claim) Henry David Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience” in response to his evasion of his delinquent poll taxes. He refused to pay because he felt it was unjust to fund the Mexican-American war. In doing so, he broke the social contract...
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...websites such as Facebook and Twitter are periodically updated with happenings and insight into the lives of others. This would likely seem meaningless and idiotic to Henry David Thoreau, a prominent transcendentalist American author. He encourages his readers to live lives “simple and well as Nature”, independent from those of others and society (Thoreau 53). He therefore moved to Walden Pond on July 4, 1845 for two years and two months in order to live a simple and independent life. Thoreau claims that “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 have not lived” (61). In Walden, Thoreau upholds beliefs that he shares with transcendental authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson. These beliefs include solitude, self-reliance, immersion in nature, and spiritual rebirth. Transcendentalism, a philosophical movement in the 19th century, stood against the individual’s conformity to societies and institutions. Instead, transcendentalism encouraged individuals to rise above society and live free, independent lives. Transcendentalism stemmed from discontent with Calvinism, a popular religion of the 19th century founded by John Calvin. Transcendentalists rebelled against predestination, the theory that individual are predestined at birth to go to heaven or hell. Thoreau brought with him to Walden Pond another transcendental belief, the importance...
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...4 March: City of God – Utopian Reader – include a little bit on it – 22 volumes in all. Christianity – Augustine – classicly trained greek scholar. City in north Africa. Story like apostle Paul – orginially a person who persecuted Christians – north African wealth family from – found enlightenment in Christianity. Once he joined became one of the early scholars trained in greek – regulized Christian theology. Influence on western world – top four or five who influenced. Confessions and City of God his writings…look up! What’s the purpose of improving human society – complex – why do it? Can human society be made better? Why bother, what is the point, justification? Takes effort, misery involved, change, unknowns, takes energy, takes risks. HAPPINESS – justification for improving society. What do you have to have to be happy? What is happiness – PHI 101 – happiness according to whom? Lack of misery; literally the elimination of misery. Secondly, food – gives pleasure – Happiness is lack of human misery and maximizing /pleasure and happiness. Bliss 24/7 – hedonism Epicureanism – eliminating misery and maximizing happiness. The justification of utopianism = why did plato want the republic? Justisifcation for improving human society among the Greeks? Poor always poor, always unhappy, death claims everyone - it is rational to maximize pleasure and eliminate misery. Do eternally accouding to plato. Opinions – 1. Relativism is a retreat in the 20th century. Can’t...
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