The Ideas Of Transcendentalism In The Works Of Emerson And Thoreau

During the hustling, industrial moments of U.S. history, transcendentalism emerged. Ralph Emerson and Henry Thoreau, the founders of the belief, preached in their respective texts about the importance of self realization of one’s potential by using nature in order to prevent a corrupt and immoral society. Although the movement eventually died out in the late 1850’s, the belief still carries on. Pico Iyer, a famous Japanese transcendentalist, once stated, “I left my comfortable job of life to live for a year in a temple.... Happiness comes from matching your wants to your needs,” indicating the important benefits of a person’s self realization on an individual level. In today's society, “corrupt” is used commonly as society seems to be stemmed
Still today, these problems still carry on such as the lost connection between man and nature due to the complication of one’s life. Henry Thoreau noticed this dilemma, and in Where I Lived, and What I lived For, stated that the boundaries between man and nature were, “forever fluctuating”, due to products such as the radio. In Solitude, Thoreau states, “ My own sun and moon and star”, highlighted that transcendentalist ideals simplifies an individual by modeling them after nature and eventually causes them to become self aware of their potential. In agreement to Thoreau, Iyer in “The Joy of Less” doesn’t miss materialistic objects when he states, “ I can’t think of a single thing I lack”, proving that it spending time with nature is beneficial to one’s potential. By following transcendentalist beliefs, an individual models himself after nature, providing framework for them to become
Throughout “The Joys of Less”, Iyer argues that understanding yourself allows you become a meaningful and successful person, Ralph Emerson once stated in Self Reliance that, “To believe in your own thought, to believe in that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,-- that is a genius”, agreeing with Iyer. Emerson argues that by understanding and believing in yourself, an individual will become, “of highest merit” such as Moses, Plato, and Milton. Later in Self Reliance, Emerson states that a sturdy lad is, “worth a hundred of these city dolls”, indicating that a self aware individual that holds their own belief is worth significantly more valuably in society than a person who doesn’t. Transcendentalism makes an individual self aware of their value, allowing them to become extremely