Transcendentalism

The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham. The title is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet which begins "Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life". The biographer Richard Cordell notes that the book was influenced by Maugham's study of science and his work as a houseman at St Thomas' Hospital. The novel was first published in serialised form in five issues of Cosmopolitan (November 1924 – March 1925). Beginning in May 1925, it was serialised…

Many books have been written about the wilderness and the wilderness experience. Literary works devoted to describing the very nature of the wilderness and living in the wilderness allow readers to experience, through the author’s perspective the challenges and the satisfaction one feels when living off the land. Which then allows the reader to develop a newfound or a deeper appreciation for the wilderness. These writings describe the continuous relationship between the wilderness and humanity…

The theme of nature is portrayed heavily in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Nature is used to show the freedom or/and exclusion in characters such as Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and mostly Pearl as its symbols such as light/darkness, religion and the forest act upon them. This nineteenth century romantic novel portrays themes of Puritan religion that are contrasted profoundly with nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the comparison of light and darkness to expose both the good and evil in…

The Scarlet Letter is a very well known book written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In The Scarlet Letter two of the main characters, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale become victims of punishment. They both suffer the punishment imposed upon them by others as well as self-imposed punishment. Hester Prynne is the victim of both types of punishment given to her by her community and the punishment she imposes on herself. After Hester is discovered to have committed the act of adultery, she is…

Henry David Thoreau was an American author, philosopher, professor, naturalist, transcendentalist and historian. He is known as one of the best American authors for his great ideas. During his life, Thoreau’s writings were not so significant. He fought for the abolition of slavery in United States of America in 19th Century. People who claimed Africans’ slavery thought that they did not have souls. In their view, Africans are some merchandise. Thoreau’s most famous writings are…

Taylor S. Monson, the current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“General”), once said “We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails” (“Thomas”). In Romantic literature during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, authors rejected rationality, glossing over realistic facts of circumstance (“English”). The mid-nineteenth century, however, brought a new style of literature known as Naturalism into popularity (“English”). Naturalism rejects the…

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born July 4th, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. His father died in 1808 of yellow fever when Hawthorne was only four years old. Hawthorne comes from a long line of Puritan ancestors, one of participated in the Salem Witch Trials as one of the three judges. To distinguish himself from his family tree , Hawthorne added a “w” to the then “Hathorne.” Hawthorne was encouraged to attend Bowdoin College in 1821. While there, he met poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, future U.S Navy…

The theme that was expressed by Nathaniel Hawthorne was Dark Romanticism. The author uses this story to convey that appearance doesn’t correlate with character. Dark Romanticism is the thought that nature is both good and evil. This is can be expressed by Dark Romanticism because Beatrice’s appearance is pretty while her character is poisoned or dark. This is expressed throughout the story because Beatrice had two sides to her a pretty side and a dark side, which was poisoned by her father. Some…

Discuss the texts through this lens by Emerson. What does the quote mean and how do we apply it to the reading and research? How does it connect everything? Should we follow our inner voice? Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “trust thyself, every heart vibrates to that iron string.” This quote essentially means that if you trust yourself, you can truly be content with whatever you do. This quote connects to the Romantic period because of its focus on the conflict between individuals and society…

American philosopher, Waldo Emerson has stated: “I shun father and mother and wife and brother when my genius calls me.” He further explains: “Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.” These criticisms of life are found in Emerson’s Self Reliance, and his essay Friendship, and illustrate Emerson’s belief in hyper-individualism. Hyper-Individualism is a tendency for people to act in a highly self-oriented way with little regard for society. Evidence of…