Throughout history, mankind has proven to never stray away from the act of sinning. Humans remain corrupt and greedy while struggling to discover the true quintessence of life, leaving society in a state of conformity to accepted values. During the 19th century, Romantic texts flourished through American literature causing people to self-reflect and consider the more important matters in life. However, societal failings written by authors at the time still remain in modern America. In Edgar Allen Poe 's, Sonnet to Science, he stresses that if facts over intuition continues to flourish then we will lose our creative mind. He articulates this frustration when he declares, “Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art! Who alterest all things
…show more content…
The social norm requires citizens living in the so called “land of opportunity” to receive an education, get a job, start a family, and live a cookie-cutter lifestyle. When can we find time for our imagination and creativity to run wild? An escape from the real world to the utopian state of mind lets us express our true romantic self. In the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter Mitty conformed himself to a simple and unadventurous lifestyle, but his creative mind takes over when he feels emotion and the need for self-expression. Walter Mitty is depicted by his colleagues as unimportant, but his imagination begins to run free and their perception of him as a rational human is altered. Todd Maher, Walter’s coworker, announces to Mitty, “I pictured you as this little gray piece of paper, but now I see you and it 's like Indiana Jones decided to become the lead singer of The Strokes or something.” Washington Irving emphasizes in the story, Rip Van Winkle, how the romantic hero struggles through his monotonous lifestyle and bothersome wife but finds the time to breakout into his happy place. Rip unconsciously wandered to the woods one day in need of an escape from the hardships of the real world. This journey to feel at peace with nature ultimately led him to a dreamlike state where he woke up 18 years later. These characteristics in Rip present how people may be so unhappy with the conformity in the real world so they use their imagination and curiosity with nature to explore their interests in life. Both Rip and Walter present societal struggles of the romantic person trying to find genuine meaning in life by escaping to inventiveness within their mind and
The social norm requires citizens living in the so called “land of opportunity” to receive an education, get a job, start a family, and live a cookie-cutter lifestyle. When can we find time for our imagination and creativity to run wild? An escape from the real world to the utopian state of mind lets us express our true romantic self. In the movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter Mitty conformed himself to a simple and unadventurous lifestyle, but his creative mind takes over when he feels emotion and the need for self-expression. Walter Mitty is depicted by his colleagues as unimportant, but his imagination begins to run free and their perception of him as a rational human is altered. Todd Maher, Walter’s coworker, announces to Mitty, “I pictured you as this little gray piece of paper, but now I see you and it 's like Indiana Jones decided to become the lead singer of The Strokes or something.” Washington Irving emphasizes in the story, Rip Van Winkle, how the romantic hero struggles through his monotonous lifestyle and bothersome wife but finds the time to breakout into his happy place. Rip unconsciously wandered to the woods one day in need of an escape from the hardships of the real world. This journey to feel at peace with nature ultimately led him to a dreamlike state where he woke up 18 years later. These characteristics in Rip present how people may be so unhappy with the conformity in the real world so they use their imagination and curiosity with nature to explore their interests in life. Both Rip and Walter present societal struggles of the romantic person trying to find genuine meaning in life by escaping to inventiveness within their mind and