Transcendentalism: If That's What We Want

Transcendentalism, if That’s What We Want Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that was all about individualism. It urged people to break free from the norm and to just follow their own passions and aspirations. The movement began in the early 19th century, and one of the first leaders was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Under his wing, another key player: Henry David Thoreau. They felt the individual should be just that, an individual, and that nature was a great teacher and a magnificent tool and guide to finding what the person believed in and the path they wished to follow in their life. The writers themselves lead lives where they did what their intuition advised them, and did not abide by rules and expectations they did not believe in. Even today, transcendentalism can be found all over modern pop culture. Whether or not it is done intentionally, today’s artists very much exemplify the values and beliefs the transcendentalists believed. They show how these ideals are applicable even today, and how significant and innovative the work of the original transcendentalists was. Three of the main ideals of the early transcendentalism …show more content…
In Walden, Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” He talks, like Marina, about not living with any excess, and only doing the things that meant something and made his life profound. They both stress the idea that when their time to go came, they would like to make sure they paid attention to the “essential facts of life,” which as put by Marina, love is one, and not be afraid to die because of not having had a satisfactory and truly meaningful