Transcendentalism
The Perversion of the American Dream
The oracle of transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and his acetic companion and one-time roommate Henry David Thoreau (that's correct, when Thoreau got tired of sleeping in the forest, he moved in with Emerson and his family for a few weeks) both had a lot to say about man, nature, the nature of man, and the communion between nature and man, which if properly exploited can lead to great personal gain.
Emerson and Thoreau were great thinkers, philosophers, and purveyors of the English language and their work, although long-winded and at times tortuous, helped to define and shape the American dream. However, in recent years, their instructive thoughts and musings on certain tenets of the American dream, i.e. self-reliance, self-reflection, and critical thinking, have been subverted by 21st century avarice and greed. It is the purpose of this paper to investigate how many of the ideals Emerson and Thoreau stood for and preached, ideals that form the philosophy of transcendentalism and inform the American dream, have been replaced by a desire for materialistic wealth.
It can be argued that Thoreau and Emerson both saw the best in man. They both believed that man had great potential. But that potential had to be unlocked or cultivated. A man had to either retreat to nature to observe the wonderment of life (Thoreau) or engage in intellectual pursuits or meta-cognitive exercises (Emerson) to transcend his humble beginnings and low station in the world.
Consider this passage by Thoreau, "But lo! men have become the tools of their tools. The man who independently plucked the fruits when he was hungry is become a farmer; and he who stood under a tree for shelter, a housekeeper… The best works of art are the expression of man's struggle to free himself from this condition, but the effect of our art is merely to make this low state comfortable and that higher state to be forgotten." (Economy).
In this passage, Thoreau correctly pointed out that men...
Writers such as Poe, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne became known as the key figures in the Dark Romantic sub-genre that emerged out of Transcendentalism. American literature also found its voice through poetry during the 19th century, particularly in the works of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. The two poets produced remarkably dissimilar bodies of work. Whitman rose to prominence during the American Civil War with his free verse extolling
One of his major works was a long poem written in three cantos about the horrors he experienced while being held prisoner on a British prison. ship. There we see a much edgier, angry Freneau who is willing to write about real life in real terms: Here, generous Britain, generous, as you say, To my parch'd tongue one cooling drop convey; Hell has no mischief like a thirsty throat, Nor one tormentor like
The Evolution of American Identity Through Literature The diversity within the American experience, and as well within the canon of American literature, precludes the possibility of singling out two or even ten of the novels, poems, or short stories that best encapsulate what it means to be American. From the colonial and early national era and the fledgling formation of national identity through the struggles of emancipation from slavery and transcendentalism,
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Role of Nature in the American Renaissance Romantic Period: Explore how nature is characterized and glorified in the works of American Renaissance Romantic writers. Discuss the symbolic and thematic significance of the natural world in the context of societal progress and the individual's spiritual journey. 2. Transcendentalism and Its Influence on American Romantic Literature: Analyze the philosophical movement of Transcendentalism and its impact on the literature of the American
Henry David Thoreau also senses this loss of distinction. His book, Walden, published in 1854 at the height of American Romanticism, celebrates his return to Nature -- a sanctum of non-artificiality -- where Romantic writers sought knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Walden is a key work of American Romanticism because of its embedded ideas of solitude, individualism, pantheism and intuition. Thematically rich, Walden tackles the importance of self-reliance, solitude, contemplation and
Yet through his explorations of order, Franklin admits that it is "extremely difficult to acquire" as a virtue (p. 88). Franklin further claims that of all the virtues, "my scheme of order gave me the most trouble; and I found that, tho' it might be practicable where a man's business was such as to leave him the disposition of his time, that of a journeyman printer, for instance, it
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now