Transcendentalism in Emerson's Self Reliance and Thoreau's Resistance to Civil Government - Assignment Example

Discuss how the essays "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and "Resistance to Civil Government" are examples of Transcendentalism. enter the Name and Code Number University or College Name of Professor 13th December, 2011. Part. 1: Introduction Transcendentalism was developed in the 1830s and 1840s in New England. It was an American literary and philosophical movement. It is based on the philosophies of Kant and other great philosophers. It deals with the fact that human’s own instinct and their own perceptions, views about things are the basis for deriving meanings. Everyone has their own way to perceive things and this is what transcendentalism is all about. When one looks deep into himself to find out meanings and reasons of things he connects himself to God. This helped in strengthening the belief that God was present. According to Quinn and Edward (2006), when one gets to know about himself and finds God then he feels the existence of a “microcosmic” world. According to Emerson (1995, p. 20-30), nature is an “organ” through which God speaks to an individual. He regarded God as “universal spirit” in his writings. One is born with religion, culture, laws, rules and society. One has to follow the rules and regulations set up by them. When one is born as an individual, he should have the freedom to think deeply and to connect with his inner self. He should be able to find meanings himself. He should find his God himself and live life accordingly. This is what Transcendentalism is all about; to know oneself. It is not something chaotic or going against the government or laws but it is just about exploration of one’s own self. “Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson and "Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau is perfect examples of it. Part. 2: Emerson and Thoreau: transcendentalism Emerson was a great written, philosopher, poet and lecturer and was born in May 25, 1803. Oakes and Elizabeth (2004), write about Emerson as someone who believed in “individuality”. Emerson saw imagination and human thinking in a very different way. He said that the thinking, imagination and perceptions of human beings are made by nature, which according to him is an organ that is used by spiritual entity to speak with humans. He focused on discovering one’s own self. Henry David Thoreau was a great philosopher and was student of Emerson. They both shared a great thinking and are the most prominent names when it comes to transcendentalism. It is said that the person who knows himself is the one who knows the real meaning and reason of his existence. People are too busy in everyday lives that they do not focus on their own self; they do not have time to communicate with their own soul and that results in lack of self awareness and distance from godliness. 2.1: Individualistic approach The essays "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and "Resistance to Civil Government" by Henry David Thoreau are examples of Transcendentalism as they convey the “individualistic” approach in them. Both Emerson and Thoreau discuss in their respective essays that one has to have knowledge of himself and connect himself to nature instead of relying on experiences. According to Emerson (1967, pp. 20-30), a person should have full right over his decisions, his behaviors should not be shaped by the rules made by societies and government and he should be a free man. In the essay “Self Reliance”, Emerson has written according to the most important principle of Transcendentalism which is to be free from rules and obligations and live life as an individual. In the essay “Resistance to Civil Government”, Thoreau discussed individualism in detail and in its real spirit. As Thoreau (2009, p.4) said that humans should be “men first, and subjects afterwards”. His writing compels one to think as an individual who is free from boundaries and rules. A man has to think as an individual first, discover himself and think about what he thinks is right and wrong by getting to know about himself and get beyond the boundaries. One should know about himself and develop his thoughts and formulate a conduct of life rather than follow the herd. Similarly, he believes that one should communicate with his own soul and develops his own thought rather than getting bound to follow the pre set rules of societies (Emerson, 1967, p.3-6). 2.1: Non-Conformist The common thing in both essays is the idea of “non-conformist” which is to be someone who discovers himself, who even finds God himself rather than following what is handed over from one to another and that one should know himself to know nature, God and truth. As Emerson (1967, p.1-3) said, “Let the subject be what it may be”. He focused on the fact that one should be himself. He should have full right to live the way he wants to according to his own thinking. Similarly, Thoreau also focused on this thing that one should have the right to think about himself. According to these writers the scared and holy being is you. Human beings should respect their own existence first. They should connect to themselves to have connection with God. When one tries to communicate with nature, with his soul and surroundings, he thinks in much more depth than imaginable. Different people perceive the same thing differently. For example if a painter paints the sky red, some people would assume it to be something related to weather, while others might think that it is something related to hurricane, some might state it having relationship with death and some might relate it to the chaos of the inner self. There are different perceptions, meanings and conclusions about the same subject. Hence, human beings cannot think one way or alike. Therefore, people are encouraged to think and develop conclusions about things themselves. Emerson also wrote in his essay that society acts as an agent which does not let the individuals think individually about different things. Similarly, Thoreau also said that men should not become robots who follow the social obligations, they should be given opportunity to discover what they think is right or wrong. The solution of getting free and generating one’s own conclusions about things by both the writers is self awareness and self reliance. The person who is unable to rely on himself is not a heroic figure. It is no bravery to live life according to the principles, rules and obligations enforced by others instead one should be bold enough to think about things differently and to develop his own unique conclusions about things. Quinn and Edward (2006) discuss that according to some critics how a stable life form would is possible if people decide to live their own way. But the writings of Emerson and Thoreau are all about self reliance, self awareness, self discovery and thinking beyond the boundaries. They are not and cannot be related to acting against governments. They made people think for themselves in their essays as the most important entity in the world is one’s own self. It should not be neglected. Freedom of thought is the most precious thing in existence. Both of these philosophers had the courage to break the traditional way of thinking and make transcendentalism stand out. Transcendentalism was developed in its true spirit by Emerson and Thoreau. The essays "Self Reliance" and "Resistance to Civil Government" are great examples of it. They make a person believe in his existence. There does exist “microcosmic” world. As Emerson (1995, p. 20-30), said that nature acts like an “organ” through which “universal spirit” communicates with an individual. Both the essays include this thing in them. When one gets beyond the natural boundaries and succeeds in finding himself then he develops his thoughts in a better way. Part. 3: Conclusion It is not possible for the entire individual to think alike. Everyone is born unique hence they all possess unique thinking. All humans perceive the same thing differently. For some the color of red is about passion, for some it is bloodshed and for some it is about appetite. These essays are transcendentalism’s examples as they focus on and make a person think and develop his own unique concept about things rather than following what he is born with. Emerson and Thoreau were influential writers but they also had a lot of criticism because individuality was not accepted by the people even in that time. Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were influenced by Thoreau’s essay “Resistance to Civil Government”. They believed that the thoughts of his are difficult to understand and have a lot of depth. According to Julian (1885) Emerson looks towards the human life with a lot of depth. His intentions are not to make people stand against the government or to setup a new society instead he wants to illumine the conceptions and imagination of humans as individuals. In my opinion, the essays "Self Reliance" by Emerson, and "Resistance to Civil Government" by Thoreau are examples of Transcendentalism in the true sense. As they have all the fundamentals that are the basis of Transcendentalism. They contain individualist approach and non conformist spirit in them. Everyone is unique in existence and he should have connection to his inner self so that he gets the knowledge of himself and things around him and develops conclusions that are not based on mere experience but on self reliance and logic. As Emerson (1967), said "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Part. 4: Works Cited Emerson, R., W. “Nature”. Penguin 60’s: BompaCrazy.com, (1995), pp. 20-30. Emerson, R., W. “Self-reliance”. BompaCrazy.com, (1967), pp. 1-30. Julian, H. "Emerson as an American." Bloom, Harold, Ed. The American Dream, Blooms Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, (1885). Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 12 December 2011. Oakes, Elizabeth H. "Emerson, Ralph Waldo." American Writers, American Biographies. New York: Facts on File, Inc., (2004). Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 12 December 2011. Quinn, Edward."Transcendentalism". A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, New York: Facts On File, Inc, (2006): 2. Blooms Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc.. Web. 12 December 2011. Thoreau, H., D. “Civil Disobedience - Part 1 of 3”, The Thoreau Reader, (2009), pp. 4. Web. 12 December 2011. Read More