Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay

Journey of the Resolute Walking is a common thing for us. Walking, jogging, strolling, running, sprinting, shopping are but a few examples of walking commonly seen in current society. However in other parts of the world, there’s a type of walking only done by the devout. It’s a long, laborious, spiritually transformative walk known as pilgrimages. Rebecca Solnit, a writer, joined one of the pilgrims on her journey and wrote about her experience in her work, ‘The Uphill Road to Grace: Some…

The weather is perfect, the sky is baby blue, and the sun is shining over the trees creating a beautiful hue; on a day like this would you be outside or inside? Someone like Chris McCandles would spend every moment of this day outside. In the book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer; the reader is first presented how Chris McCandless is reckless by walking into the wild ill prepared. Though Krakauer attempts to persuade the read that Chris is and was a Transcendentalist hero. I believe that Chris is…

We all have certain aspects to our lives that can be seen as unusual to others in society. Nonconformists do not accept the rules that society has given them to follow. On the other hand, conformists are concerned with the opinions of others, they have realistic expectations, and they follow society’s rules. Emerson’s quote: “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist,” is saying that to be a true person is to be bold, individualistic, and have strong convictions of their own self-awareness.…

Jonathan Edwards was revivalist preacher, philosopher and theologian during the 18th century. He had an important role in the religious revival known as “The Great Awakening” that remodel the protestant religion across Europe and British American during the mid-18th century. Edwards was born in 1703 in East Windsor and he was the only son of 11 to William Edwards. At a young age he was interested in scientific, intellectual and spiritual concepts, so he was set aside for ministry. Both his…

When Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution, he noted that a species’ traits changed when they inhabited different environments. Similar to Darwin’s ideas, American values varied in accordance to one’s circumstances. In the early 1630s, a religious group known as the Puritans fled from England to escape persecution. Their leader, John Winthrop, delivered a sermon known as “A Model of Christian Charity” upon the arrival of their new home, America. It listed out future actions the…

talk about the idea of becoming an independent thinker. Emerson claims that people should break away from the conventionality of society, and become independent people who trust themselves to get their power. In the Apology, Socrates claims that he would not have changed anything about the way he lived his life because he relied on himself and his daimon for his knowledge and understanding of the world. While I agree with Plato and Emerson about self-reliance, I claim that I should avoid…

The Grapes of Wrath, one of John Steinbeck’s signature and most controversial literary masterpiece, is a historical fiction novel that takes place in the Midwest region of the United States during the Great Depression. The book entails the struggles surrounding the Joad family as they journey to California, the “promised land”, in search of a better life. The way Steinbeck tells this narrative is distinct in the style he employs within the story unlike any other author. Known as intercalary…

Walk in Nature Thoreau once said,“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.” In my case, however, it was brief walk. I began by jumping off a deck, a metaphor for leaving society behind. Much like Thoreau did in his Walden Pond experiment. I then took a quick walk by the lake until I reached a fallen tree. I crossed it to get to the other side of the lake, and continued on. By the time I was done, I had sticks in my hair and dirt on my knees. There were not any other people,…

transcendentalism are Ralph Emerson and Henry Thoreau. Ralph Emerson is known as the father of transcendentalism, and is a graduate of Harvard. His first real work is the essay titled Nature. He became a teacher but was kicked out of the school and unable to come back for thirty years. After being a teacher he became a minister. The essay Self-Reliance written by Emerson tells about one 's growth in society and how a person can lose their morals and spirit of nonconformity. Emerson is trying…

Maintaining individuality in a society that practices conformism can be a difficult task. Nonetheless, this task is vital to the identity of an individual. It is also vital to the progress of society since without individuality the world would be led by followers rather than leaders that can discern from right and wrong. It is through autonomy and self-exploration that people can strive for change within themselves and our nation. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and “Civil Disobedience” both…