Transcendentalism In Emily Dickinson's The New Immorality

Transcendentalism as a way of life has been studied by many scholars, throughout time. Transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, believed that by simplifying their way of living they could surpass their human emotions in order to separate themselves from the negative characteristics of society. These Transcendentalists believed that living in society left them vulnerable to the negative effects of human emotions and desires. Transcendentalism is not an unrealistic way of living despite the arguments of Anti-Transcendentalists who view it as idealistic and extreme. A major concept of Transcendentalism is the complete rejection and negative view of society as a whole. Transcendentalists were able to see the negative effects that society had on a person and their morals. They believed that by completely isolating themselves and submersing themselves in nature, they would be able to escape these damaging effects of society. In an essay published in 1960, “The New Immorality,” the author, Joseph Wood Krutch, expresses concern for society and how society is progressing. The essay is very critical of the immorality of society’s young people. He calls this immorality, “the paradox of our age.” Throughout the essay, the author brings into question what is and should be socially acceptable and the personal morals of …show more content…
This thinking is replicated in some of her other works as well. Another poem with an emphasis on Emerson’s ideology of individualism is Dickinson’s “I Took My Power in My Hand.” The first two lines of this poem read: “I took my Power in my Hand- And went against the World-.” These two lines set the mood in a Transcendentalist focus on Emerson’s