Transcedentalism Overview

         Transcendentalism is is a ideological movement where believers sought to escape societal influences to think for themselves in different ways, and also to seek unlimited thinking by unlearning what was previously learned so that one's thinking is not restricted. Individualism, on of the main ideas of transcendentalism, is shown in the quote "I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterwards." (Thoreau 213) because it shows the idea of how people should be people before they are objects to the government and the confines of society. The transcendentalist idea of intuition is shown in the quote in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. He says "The only obligation which I have right to assume is to do at any time what I think is right.". (Thoreau 213)The quote shows intuition because he claims that he will do what he thinks is morally right from what he believes. The idea of self reliance is present in Nature. Emerson says " The power which resides in him is in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, and nor does he do until he has tried.".(Emerson 184) Self reliance is shown as that one needs personal experience to make judgments of their own to trust their own thoughts. The other main transcendentalist idea, optimism, is represented in Civil Disobedience as Thoreau shows his optimistic view in being detained. He says "I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through, before they could get to be as free as I was." (Thoreau 214) Thoreau shows optimism in his writing by viewing being a jail cell as a positive situation as he is not have to be surrounded by societal influences as he is more confined to solitude and little communication.