Transcendentalism

Each piece of writing had a different example of Transcendentalism. The whole point to this frame of mind is that people need to do as they think they should and not how other people believe they should. It’s different from Romanticism and Rationalist by saying live for yourself. The others were saying that we as a group should believe in God or Use what God gave us. It’s more like they wanted people to all see things the same way and wanted to all be a group of one. Transcendentalists believed do what you feel is right and believe in what makes sense to you.

"Nature"
I would have to say that in Waldoe Emerson’s "Nature", the whole point is to be one with nature and where we came from. If Transcendentalism is about God speaking to us through nature then this was definitely describing that. "I am nothing: I see all; the currents of the universal being circulate through me; I am a part or parcel of God." This is a perfect example of Transcendentalism in how he says he is part of god and God can see through him.

I guess by believing in this he thought poeple were generally good. I can see how that is a nice thought and all but I just don't really see how anyone could think that way. I mean life is hard now but from what i've heard it was a lot worse back then. The death rate was more likely and diseases spread faster. I couldn't think that way, but we are all different. It takes a lot of faith to believe in something that strongly.

"Self-Reliance"
The meaning of this passage isn’t all that similar to "Nature". It seemed to be more focused on accepting yourself for who you are. My favorite part would have to be the part he talks about being misunderstood. He give’s example’s of great men who were misunderstood but did great things. Then he says, "To be great is to be misunderstood". That’s a pretty cool way to look at things and it shows that transcendentalist looked at life with a much broader opinion.

He seemed to be the kind of person that believed if you followed your heart you would be okay and do the right thing. I think him saying "To be great is to be misindersood" meant that if you follow everyone elses opinion, the you won't be listening to god, sense god talks to you through your heart. So to be great, you'll listen to your inner self and not what everyone else tells you todo.

"Resistance to Civil Government"
This is also a good example of someone who believed people should think for himself or herself. He believed that if you don’t agree with something then you shouldn’t be a part of it. He also said it isn’t your job to stop it, just stay away from it. He made his example by not paying taxes to a government because he was against slavery. Unfortunately there isn’t really a place in the world where you can just live by your own rules, and not have to be apart of the government. All land is pretty much owned by someone.

He kind of pulled that off though. I read that he lived in a cabin in the woods for two years. He did this to distance himself from society, and of course the government. I thought it was interesting how he really seemed to follow Emersons outlook on life. The whole great equals missunderstood thing was something Throreu really lived by. He didn't want to be like everyone else, he wanted to live life his own way. He listened to his heart and noone elses. I'm sure a lot of people thought of him as kind of crazy back then, and they probably still would today.


Scenario Number 2

If I were in Chris’s shoes I would decide to do what would work out the best for me in the next couple of years. If your wife wasn’t supportive and decided you had to either choose to between a job as a teacher or her, then it would be a hard choice. I am a rather stubborn person so would probably take the job then possibly regret that decision a few years down the road. It does say though that she would be the one that would have to pay for his extra schooling so without her support you’d be screwed anyway and wouldn’t be able to return to school. I guess after a while though I would just ask her to support my decision and that and hope that she would, if not, I then I would just always wonder.

A transcendentalist on the other hand would probably say do what your heart is telling you to do and support yourself. For example Waldoe Emerson said in "Self-Reliance" that you should think for yourself and except yourself. He would say that if you didn’t go back to school and become what you wanted to be you would be going against yourself. You wouldn’t be doing yourself justice, instead you would just be doing what you thought would make everybody else happy. I believe he would tell you that you only get one shot at life, and you should do what you feel would make you the happiest.