...Jonathan Veldhuyzen Professor Matthew Towles English 201-002 11/21/2014 Ralph Waldo Emerson: His own God and Transcendentalist Worldview “The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, though their own eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insights and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us,” (940, 941) were the words written by Emerson in the introduction of his renown work “Nature” as he espoused that men should not necessarily believe in a God through ideals seen in the Bible and evidenced in nature, but rather use their own logic through poetry and philosophy to determine their own God. His writings espoused beliefs that do not reflect a Christian worldview, but rather bases man’s salvation on his own intuition. Emerson was a rebel in his time, he had independent views that did not align to any system of values. According to “Anthology of American Literature,” Bronson Alcott declares that “Emerson’s church consists of one member-himself.” These words signify that Emerson’s ideas and values were so radical for the time that very few people shared his beliefs. Yet, he was not alone in espousing thinking that seemed somewhat pantheistic and contradictory to what he had preached many years earlier. During the 1830’s Ralph Waldo Emerson joined with some other literary authors of the day in supporting a set of values that looked beyond a Supreme Being for...
Words: 1121 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 552 - Pages: 3
...The Puritans’, Enlightenment/Founding Fathers’, and Transcendentalists’ View of God American literature was influenced by three different religious philosophies between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. Even though the Puritan, Cotton Mather; the Enlightenment author and Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson; and spiritual philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson had a different view of God, each philosopher believed in God and felt a connection to our Creator on some spiritual level. Their ideas differed particularly on predestination, science and rationale, and intuition. (clearly stated thesis) During the seventeenth century, Puritanism was the most common form of religion and played an important role in Puritan life. Since God was at the forefront in Puritanism, individuals believed that human and natural occurrences were messages from God. Cotton Mather was a great historian and a highly respected clergyman during this period. In one of his most famous works, The Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather gives his account of the Salem Witch Trials in which he was convinced that he received this command from the Lord. Cotton Mather believed that witches were doing the work of the devil and had to be destroyed before the Puritans could fulfill their destiny as “a people of God.” The Puritans believed they were chosen by God to serve a special purpose which was already predestined. According to the Puritan beliefs, one cannot choose salvation; since God was all-knowing...
Words: 548 - Pages: 3
...They called themselves the Transcendentalists. They had very radical opinions and were nonconformists when it came to organized religion. Their goal was to share a personal sense of spirituality and to tell that everyone had a private relationship between themselves and the universe, better known as 'The Eternal One' theory. Many important authors gained fame form this movement, such as : Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. Ralph Waldo Emerson is often regarded as the heart and soul of the Transcendentalism movement. He left Unitarian church ministry to focus more on physiological and spiritual writing. His first well known essay was "Nature" ; It gave insight to Emerson's view of the natural world, and in it he said that through exploring nature, man would find out more about himself. He also believed it was fundamental that man take a break from the distractions in society and get lost in ones thoughts about the natural world. “The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship”. This direct quote from "Nature" embodies the principles of the transcendentalist movement by restating their belief on separation from the church to build a better 'Eternal Self' with the universe and nature. Henry David Thoreau was inspired to start writing with a more transcendentalist view after borrowing a copy of Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, from a neighbor. he was so heavily influenced by this essay and Emerson that he went to Walden Pond...
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...Ralph Waldo Emerson was a Unitarian Minister that left his home to find an entirely new meaning to life, which is exactly what Chris McCandless did as well. Emerson’s belief was that you should do what you thought was right, and not follow anyone else’s opinion but your own. In the biography Into the Wild, Chris demonstrates qualities that convey transcendentalism. He left his whole life behind to go into the wilderness and find a better meaning of life that didn’t involve any materialistic items. He wanted to travel on his own without the help of other people, which demonstrates that he relied on only himself to get through the dangers of the wild. Ralph Waldo Emerson would agree that Chris McCandless was a transcendentalist, because he followed most of what Emerson believed to individualize...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...“Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” As Ralph Waldo Emerson outlined in this quote, those who wish to be present in society, therefore classified as “a man”, must live by a transcendental way of life. Transcendentalism, a political and social movement, takes root in nonconformity. It alo relies heavily on the reflection of the Divine Soul that can be found in all objects, and on the importance of nature. The journey into nature, taken by Chris McCandless, is a direct representation of the views of Emerson, as reflected in “Nature”, and “Self-Reliance”, put into action. Emerson wrote both of these essays in order to show the positive impact transcendentalism can have on one’s live, and why more people should live by it, like McCandless. In his essay entitled “Nature”, Emerson wrote, “The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things.” By separating oneself from the material world, all the detrimental aspects of life will be eliminated. In this essay, he also references childhood and the importance of childhood curiosity even as an adult. People should think of their childhood, and about...
Words: 835 - Pages: 4
...Transcendentalism is the belief that all people are innately good and that they should voice their opinions without caring what others think. In time Ralph Waldo Emerson created this philosophical belief and wrote about his ideas in the essays Nature and Self Reliance. Although Emerson is most widely known for his Transcendentalist views others have referenced Transcendentalist ideas in either their art, music or writings. The singer/songwriter Bon Jovi's songs are abounding with Emerson’s theories from his essays. In the song It’s My Life Bon Jovi sings about how it is important for people to say what they believe and to disregard what others think to lead a happier and more fulfilling life; which encompasses some of the fundamental ideals of transcendentalism and Emerson's essay Nature....
Words: 503 - Pages: 3
...The best know Transcendentalist writers include the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who became well known for their strong political opinions (Brodrick). Issues that are extremely important to the Transcendentalists such as slavery and the forcible removal of Native Americans from their land are not addressed, and barely mentioned in the body of the...
Words: 776 - Pages: 4
...There are many different points in the story Into the Wild where things Chris McCandless does and ways that he acts suggest that he had a transcendentalist way of thinking about things. From his distaste for money, need to find his true self, and his views on how society was corrupt and impure, Chris exemplifies his high moral standings and his outlook on how things should be. There are many good examples that help to prove that McCandless was a transcendentalist in the essay Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. One belief of transcendentalists that McCandless expresses multiple times throughout the book is a need to disconnect from corrupt society and find his inner self by taking trips with strange motives, and retreating into the wild...
Words: 428 - Pages: 2
...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 bards and sages. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson conveys that...
Words: 1143 - Pages: 5
...Essayist, poet, philosopher, and transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) penned the “Concord Hymn” as a commemorative hymn sung during the ceremony dedicating the North Bridge Obelisk battle monument in Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1836. The hymn remembers the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first battle of the American Revolution, marking it forever with the line “… the shot heard round the world” (4). Although written about men who fought and died bravely in 1775, Emerson’s “Concord Hymn” encourages readers to remember all men (and women) who serve and die protecting freedom. In the first stanza, Emerson names the North Bridge “the rude bridge” giving the imagery of a poorly constructed bridge crossing the river (1). The colonial farmers’ flag unfurled there in battle on April 19, 1775. Stanza two moves the reader forward in time, marking that the bridge has long since been swept away, the British defeated, and Americans though victorious, are “silent” and slow to remember (6). The third and fourth stanzas are current time (1836). Stanza three is commemorating the day that they are setting the Obelisk to honor those who fought and gave their lives for freedom. The spirit of freedom in stanza four that dared patriots to fight and die is forever marked in the “shaft” of the North Bridge Obelisk (16). A possible reason the teacher selected the “Concord Hymn” for our memorization piece is that the author, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and another author we are currently...
Words: 256 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 1980 - Pages: 8
...While comparing Henry David Thoreau's Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854) and Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature (1836), there are comparable beliefs regarding simplicity and the capacity of the human mind. Transcendentalism is considered a philosophy of self-reliance and individualism, however transcendentalism was often seen as more than a philosophy; it was treated almost as a religion. Nature was viewed as its church and it idealizes God as its sacred being. Emerson’s and Thoreau’s key theme in their writings was to help one reconnect with nature and gain a simpler understanding of life. For instance, Henry David Thoreau experiments the transcendentalist beliefs about nature by living at Walden Woods in a small cabin on Emerson's property. Here Thoreau discovered the simplicity in nature and the exposure it brings to our mind. Both Emerson and Thoreau believe that nature is what imposes us not to rely on others' ideas but to establish our own. Nature is always changing so we must keep seeking for the meaning of human life. Thoreau wanted to live a simple life, in order to find a deeper meaning of human existence. He writes, "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...
Words: 1160 - Pages: 5
...Transcendentalism is a formal word that describes a simple idea. People have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel (The Independence Hall Association). That is the basic idea of transcendentalism. Tanssendalism is based on imagination and intuition not logic or sense (The Independence Hall Association). A transcendentalist is a person that believes this as a way of understanding life relationships (The Independence Hall Association). “The individuals most closely associated with this new way of thinking were connected loosely through a group known as The Transcendental Club, which met in the Boston home of George Ripley.” (The Independence Hall Association). The leader of the group was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson who graduated Harvard was though of a the first true “american thinker (The Independence Hall Association). “He believed that people were naturally good and that everyone's potential was limitless.” (The Independence Hall Association). He was truly a revolutionary thinker. He inspired people to look into nature, art, and life most confusing questions (The Independence Hall...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...Transcendenlism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson and other significant transcendentalists like Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Amos Bronson Alcott, Fredric Henry Hedge and Theodore Parker. Both Emerson and Thoreau demonstrate a recurring reverence for the almighty consistently through nature with passages such as Emerson comparing the friendship he has with god and nature “The forest is my loyal friend, Like God it useth me (Emerson, 295).” It was my least favorite because for some reason, I just could not grasp the concept of this...
Words: 820 - Pages: 4
