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Transcendentalism is an idea that focuses on the good things in life. A main element in Transcendentalism is nature. Nature is the most important thing in the world because it is what the world is made up of. Everything Transcendentalists believe in is based on things found in nature. Anything unnatural, or man-made, is considered ruined by man. Another big focus in Transcendentalism is God. God ties into nature because He created everything in it. Another key part of Transcendentalism is stressing to people that they should be themselves. People are too caught up in being like everyone else.
Transcendentalism makes a point to change that way of thinking. Transcendentalists do not care about writing about facts and things based on reason. They choose to write about intuition and imagination. Ralph Waldo Emerson is known today as a great philosopher and leader of the Transcendentalist movement. His views are considered extremely radical to many people. Emerson believes that all things are connected to God. He, like many other Transcendentalists, believes that people are too consumed in material possessions. Through his essays, Emerson advises people to be self-reliant.
By doing this, he wants to encourage people to learn how to be individuals. Emerson goes farther than blaming society for creating standards that cause each person to give up his or her individuality. He criticizes the American Government, too. He believes that the Government is an obstacle for productivity and achievements for Americans. It seems as though Emerson is urging the people to create a better government. Henry David Thoreau, a student of Emerson, once wrote, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away”. This means that every single person “hears a different drummer”. Unfortunately, instead of dancing to it, he or she falls into line with everyone else. This tiresome uniform in personality is exactly what Transcendentalism is trying to put to an end. Whenever someone chooses to be different and follow his or her own standards, people criticize them. That person gives everyone else someone to taunt. Society tells us to act a certain way and completely reject anything else. Society sets its standards so high, making it almost impossible for someone to attain.
This quote promotes the Transcendentalist’s view of life. Transcendentalism focuses on a person being himself. Many times people are afraid to show who they truly are and instead choose to blend in with the crowd. This has become a custom since before the nineteenth century and continues on today. It is very rare to find a person willing to be different and show it with pride. Emerson makes being an individual sound like it is a simple thing to do. The truth is that no one in their right mind would run off to live in the middle of the woods surviving with no money and few material possessions.
His technique is basically to run and hide. In this day and age, society is unavoidable. Emerson’s philosophy is too hard to obtain. The philosophy people should live by is much more realistic. People need to be the best that they can while dealing with reality. No one should ever dumb himself down to fit in, or try out for a sport they hate in order to be cool. If each person has confidence in him or herself, he or she will be able to do what he or she loves while putting all of his or her talents to good use.