For this post, you will need to define transcendentalism and discuss its characteristics. Then, you will need to research Emerson and Thoreau, and find what life experiences in both men's lives may have had an influence on their writings. After, you will need to compare "Self-Reliance" to "Walden", and find two examples in each piece (4 total) that support your comparison. For the response portion, you will need to agree with one post and disagree with one post.
104 Comments
Kylie C
12/18/2014 08:35:14 am
Transcendentalism is/was a philosophical social movement. It is the idea that I order to understand reality and the world we live in, one must first understand what laws control and effect nature. The two leaders of this idealistic philosophical Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
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JAYLON WELLS
1/1/2015 04:54:35 am
I did agree I don't believe that transcendentalism is both a social and philosophical movement
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Lauren Barczak
1/4/2015 04:36:31 am
I liked how you put a lot of information about Thoreau and Emerson. Your quotes have no connection. There is no explanation for why there is a comparison.
Dylan Garthe
1/4/2015 06:37:42 am
I agree with your argument and I appreciate all of the detailed information that you put into your response, but the quotes that you used are not exactly linked directly so the argument that you made. You should have used their history to prove why they would say the things that they did.
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Raquel Jackson
1/4/2015 10:28:48 am
I really like the way you worded this and hit every point. You really knew what you were talking about and did really good research if any. Very well done.
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Chris henckel
1/4/2015 10:46:54 am
I agree with what you said, you clearly did research
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Brooklynn Schmanski
1/4/2015 12:00:46 pm
Although I agree on some of your main point, I dont agree with how you compared Walden and Self-Reliance. You showed no relationship between the quotes that you presented.
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Kim Shults
1/4/2015 09:50:19 pm
I agree with you. But the quotes don't really fit.
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Tristin Vezzetti
1/12/2015 04:46:17 am
Very well written response; everything was stated perfectly and I would personally not change any part of this response.
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William Page
12/25/2014 01:09:23 am
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and '30s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the teachings of the Unitarian church at Harvard Divinity School.
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Kylie C
12/29/2014 11:14:06 pm
This piece is very well done. You've hit every mark and then some. You have that you've taken the time to research both figures as shown by your excellent facts. Not to mention, above all, your argument makes sense. Well done.
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Brandon Gann
1/1/2015 04:16:59 am
After reading through your post, and thinking about what you believe and have stated, I can do nothing, but agree with you. I like that you decided to state the different things that both Thoreau and Emerson had written as well as info about each man such as Thoreau being a bit of an anarchist. I agree with your stance on the similarities between Self Reliance and Walden.
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Zeta Barrie
1/2/2015 06:18:13 am
I completely agree with your comparison, i loved how you put so much effort into the biographies of the two men, it made your response that much better. We used some of the same quotations and your explanations to what you thought they meant were perfect, very nice work!
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Dylan Garthe
1/4/2015 06:40:43 am
I like how you took an intellectual approach to the ideas of transcendentalism and how you laid out the information. Everything is very informative.
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Alyssa Ziemianski
1/4/2015 07:47:06 am
Your response was well written and I like how you included both Thoreau and Emerson's writings in your blog.
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Daevon Morgan
1/4/2015 09:33:54 am
I agree with you Will. This is very well thought out, and it's very obvious that you are fully aware of your stand point, and you make it very clear of what transcendentalism is.
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Chris henckel
1/4/2015 10:49:15 am
I agree will, i think your responce was very well written
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Patricia Camarata
1/4/2015 12:13:36 pm
I fully agree with your definition of transcendentalism; some think it only has to do with religion but it does not. Very nice job on your writing.
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Justin Lenard
12/29/2014 01:06:09 pm
Transcendentalism is the thought that spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. (www.merriam-webster.com) Two people who had experiences in this way, which led to their writings, were Emerson and Thoreau.
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Kylie C
12/29/2014 11:28:20 pm
Okay, your augment was absolutely brilliant, except for one small detail. When you used the quotes in your argument (good choice in quotes by the way) you never stated anything to back them up. When using quotations in a paper, they must be backed up. The supporting evidence can be subtle and found somewhere thought out your paper, or space dab right next to it. Other then that, every thing in your paper
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Jessica Bozick
1/2/2015 03:33:03 am
I agree with what you had here. I really liked the quotes that you used. They defended your point great. I feel you explained things very well.
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Zeta Barrie
1/2/2015 06:22:16 am
I thought you did a nice job with the biographies of both men but i didn't see much of a comparison in your response. You used quotation examples but didn't really compare between the pieces of literature. So i guess that would be my disagreement.
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Tony Colucci
1/3/2015 04:03:19 am
I have to say, this was a good read except for the comparison between "Self Reliance" and "Walden." Sure, you pointed out that they are similar in believing in yourself, but all I see to explain this are examples and no real connection between the two. Half the quotes are also left undefined in your own words, which was pretty dissapointing.
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Kara Gerniski
1/3/2015 03:16:04 pm
You did a very nice job! But I agree with zeta, I think you could of done a little better on the comparisons of the literature. However, other than that everything else was very well said.
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Jason Kudwa
1/4/2015 07:45:48 am
I agree with how you must control yourself in order to change, and without the help of others, can really be the best way to understand yourself.
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Raquel Jackson
1/4/2015 10:28:26 am
I would have to disagree on the way you created this. Yeah, you described everything pretty good but you didn't really compare them
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Jade Harrison
1/4/2015 10:49:32 am
Im going to have to disagree on your post only because I don't know what is being compared to Walden, it seems like you just have quotes but nothing to like actually compare or back up.
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Chris henckel
1/4/2015 10:51:33 am
I think you did a very good job, however, more comparisons would improve your responce
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Abby W
1/4/2015 12:06:19 pm
I think you did a great job on your post but, along with many others, I think you could have added more explanation to the quotes you picked and you could have added more details to make this longer.
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Patricia Camarata
1/4/2015 12:11:19 pm
I liked your essay, but one thing I would disagree with is your version of the definition of Transcendentalism. I think it is more than your definition which I agree with but it is missing something more. Transcendentalism is an American literary, philosophical, AND political movement. But everything else is good.
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Cody Wallace
1/19/2015 08:47:11 pm
I agree with your post, although there wasn't much comparision. Well written.
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Brandon Gann
1/1/2015 04:10:16 am
Transcendentalism may have been a philosophical movement that occurred in the mid-19th century, but I think that the meaning of transcendentalism is to believe in what you want, and to form your own opinion on issues and topics rather than go with the crowd’s opinion. The early to mid-19th century was a time of forming different opinions on a range of topics and issues, whether it is spiritual, personal, or something completely different. Some key figures in the Transcendentalism movement where Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and after reading over “Self Reliance”, “Walden”, and doing some research on both men, I found events in each of their lives that, in my opinion, made them think the way they did. First, I researched Emerson and found a timeline with many things that occurred in his life, some of which stood out. I read that on February 8th, 1836, his wife died from Tuberculosis at the age of twenty, I then learned that he sailed to Europe two years after the passing of his wife where he met with people like Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Carlyle. The next major event on the timeline was when he first started writing “Self Reliance.” I believe that this was caused by him meeting the people he met in Europe, which was caused by the death of his wife. I later went on to research key events in the life of Henry David Thoreau and managed to find a timeline about his life, what I found was similar to that of Emerson. At one point in Thoreau’s life, he was the head of a school known as Concord Academy, though that Academy was later shut down to the unfortunate loss of his brother John Thoreau. The next major event on the timeline was him going to Walden Creek and then, years later, publishing “Walden.” I believe that this event in his life caused him to do what he did because he needed time to think about what had happened to his brother and also required time to think and sort things out.
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JAYLON WELLS
1/1/2015 04:53:11 am
I agree that is what the basic meaning of transcendentalism is.
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Tony Colucci
1/3/2015 04:07:25 am
This is everything I looked for in a good response to the prompt and more. The arguments made here are undeniable and greatly put in order. I especially liked the comparison here, and the way everything added up is a straight 10/10 score. Excellent work.
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Lauren Barczak
1/4/2015 04:40:47 am
Your comparison between "Self-Reliance" and "Walden" was excellent. I like the quotes you used and I like how you describe the comparison of the two.
Nicole Killinger
1/4/2015 07:15:50 am
I think you wrote this article very well. All your definitions I agree with.
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Justin Lenard
1/4/2015 08:54:31 am
I agree with what you said in your writing, especially when you brought up that transcendentalism is beleiving in yourself and your opinion. Nice work!
JAYLON WELLS
1/1/2015 04:47:57 am
Transcendentalism is a movement that was developed in the 1820's to 1830's. It basically is a set of ideas that opposes the general religion of society. It goes against the general human mind set. Its like a different view or different perspective on things. In Emerson's early life, he went through some very tragic events. He lost some of his younger siblings in childhood and he also lost his father near his eighth birthday. I believe that those events effected his mind set and beliefs later in life. In Thoreau's case, he just kind of lost interest in the general mind set and religion. Self relianceand Walden. At one time in his life Walden had a ccertainview upon things. For example he disagreed with all forms of government assistance for the society. He believed that if people wanted to succeed they had to do so by their own means. Another example of this was when he abandoned his life in society and went out into the wilderness to find what it meant to truly live. During this time he had to be very self reliant and find his own food and build his own shelter.
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Will Page
1/2/2015 11:45:08 pm
I agree with your post, and I especially enjoy how you broke it down into basic terms that helped me understand the thought of transcendentalism.
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David Goralczyk
1/5/2015 07:40:22 am
I also liked your post because like Will said you didn't make it a complicated piece you just kept it sweet and simple.
Kara Gerniski
1/3/2015 03:22:27 pm
I agree with what you said, I really liked how you talked about how he went into the wilderness to find what it mean to live and how you said he was self reliant during this time. I also agree with what Emerson experienced as a kid had an impact in his life later on
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Alyssa Ziemianski
1/4/2015 07:52:00 am
Your response was well, although, I'm not sure if you were supposed to use direct quotes from "Self-Reliance" and "Walden" or if you are supposed to just say examples.
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Dominique Martin
1/4/2015 07:56:40 am
I agree with your post and like it's straight-forward approach to help others understand your point of view
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jade harrison
1/4/2015 10:40:46 am
I agree with what you said, very straight forward and up front. Also very easy to understand.
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Jazmine Weiss
1/12/2015 01:47:57 pm
I agree with what you said. your post was very easy to read
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Jessica Bozick
1/2/2015 03:29:59 am
Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement in the 1820 and 30s in the united states to protest against spirituality and intellectualism at the Harvard university.
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Brandon Gann
1/2/2015 11:59:00 pm
I agree with everything that you stated, but once I read one of your quotes, " Absolve you to yourself and you shall have the suffrage of the world" then read what you thought the quote meant, and I began to disagree, I think that it means that once you drop all tethers or worries, you can think clearly and be he person that is looked up at in the world. Aside from that everything you wrote was perfect in my eyes, nice job.
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Liz Offer
1/4/2015 03:33:17 am
I agree with this because i think they were both very alike in many ways. You did a great job showing how they are like each other and a very good description of what the quotes meant.
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Brooklynn Schmanski
1/4/2015 11:56:36 am
I truly agree with your response. I agree with what you said influenced their writings.
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Zeta Barrie
1/2/2015 06:13:21 am
Transcendentalism is a philosophy based upon the doctrine that the principles of reality are to be discovered by the study of the processes of thought, or a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical: in the U.S., associated with Emerson. It developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were very important people to the idea of trancendentalism. They basically taught humanity through nature and what it is like to be self reliant as indivuals.
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Will Page
1/2/2015 11:43:18 pm
Zeta, i have to disagree with your comparisons. I do not think that "Self-Reliance" is about simplicity, but rather strengthening the complexity of the mind. Its not simplicity that would enable the mind to do wonders, but rather intricacy.
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Chad Manion
1/4/2015 08:36:23 am
i agree with your comparisons, and it helps me understand it more. i also do think Self- Reliance is about simplicity.
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Jazmine Weiss
1/12/2015 01:49:15 pm
I believe self resilience isn't about simplicity but more about discovering yourself. not paying attention to how complicated or simple that may be.
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David Goralczyk
1/3/2015 02:19:30 am
Some people may have a different definition of transcendentalism but what the meaning of a dictionary says it is is the way that divinity is in everything in the world, nature and the human world. Now to understand this meaning you must understand the meaning of divinity. This is the state of being god like or godly. Now some people might have a different idea of who or what is divine based off of what their religion, or spiritual beliefs tell them. But, the meaning of transcendentalism is based off of the beliefs of the unitarian church so it is most likely what the people of the unitarian religion believe.
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Lauren Barczak
1/3/2015 02:55:59 am
Transcendentalism is any system of philosophy holding that the key to knowledge of the nature of reality lies in the critical examination of the processes of reason on which depends the nature of experience. Characteristics of transcendentalism is nature holding the truths of life, natures innocence and an escape from the evils of society, pursuit of critical, solitary lifestyle, and emphasizes the need for spiritual living.
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Tony Colucci
1/3/2015 03:52:38 am
The roots of transcendentalism can be traced back to the early 19th century times of Eastern North America, when people remonstrated against the general state of spirituality and intellectualism. It was seen as a result of people seeing that Unitarianism importance of free conscience and intellectual motive. Transcendentalists saw a goodness in people and nature, and thought that this goodness was hereditary, and ruined by the political and religious disputes at the time. They believed that if one truly saw themselves as relevant, and not others, they and their actions were utterly pure, untouched by the influence of greater beings.
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Kara Gerniski
1/3/2015 03:04:14 pm
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and '30s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spirituality and intellectualism at Harvard University. Emerson was born on May 25, 1803 and was the second of five sons who survived into adulthood. Emersons father died from stomach cancer less than two weeks before his eighth birthday. Emerson formal schooling began when he was nine at the Boston Latin School. He went Harvard College and was a messanger for the president his freshman year. Half way through his junior year, he started keeping a list of books he had read and started a journal in a series of notebooks that he would call "Wide World." His senior year at Harvard he served as a class poet and presented an origanl poem on Harvard's Class Day. Emerson wrote many things like Self-Reliance, Nature, First Series, and Second Series.
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Jessica bozick
1/3/2015 11:59:54 pm
I feel like you wrote this very well but i dont agree with the way you wrote about the mens lives. You really didnt explain how the things that happened in his life affected his writing other. Other then that the rest was very well written
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Liz Offer
1/4/2015 03:37:35 am
This was a well written paper,but i don't think you put enough about them both and how they both were alike or not. There needed to be more detail on why you thought not. The rest of the paper was great.
Nicole Killinger
1/4/2015 07:18:30 am
I liked your writing very much. Only thing is I feel that you should have compared self-reliance and Walden a little bit more. Other than that you did a very good job.
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Justin Lenard
1/4/2015 09:02:10 am
Nice job on the writing, the only thing that you could of added a little bit more of was the comparison of the two writings but other than that, it was a well writen piece.
Liz Offer
1/4/2015 03:30:02 am
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that was developed during the 1820’s to the 30’s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spiritually. An example is, the state of intellectulism at Harvard.
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Dylan Garthe
1/4/2015 06:21:10 am
Trandcentdentalism is the idea that to understand the world we currently live in, we must understand the rules/laws that control nature. Two main leaders of these ideas are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
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Jason Kudwa
1/4/2015 07:43:48 am
While I agree with your explanation on what transcendentalism is, I disagree with that nature is controlled by laws, but rather that you control yourself with nature. Without laws would be easier rather than being controlled.
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Nicole Killinger
1/4/2015 07:13:33 am
Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement in the 19th-century associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson. This movement was about what was reality and what was knowable. An example can be what is possible and what is not. It is a different way of thinking. Transcendentalism is, to me, the more challenging way of life.
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Jason Kudwa
1/4/2015 07:39:56 am
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and '30s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University. Emerson and Thoreau lived two totally different lives, yet kept the same thinking in mind about this topic. Emerson lost his father early from stomach cancer, as well as only being of two siblings out of five that survived into adulthood. He was a child that was raised by the woman of his family, and grew up to be a very smart man, who had many things in his childhood that could’ve influenced him into these writings. Thoreau had many works in his life, which included: Walden, Civil Disobedience, and Resistance to Civil Government. He believed in small government, and the people should have the right to most things. Both men were very intelligent, and wrote about the true meaning of self-thought and how to truly be you. In "Self Reliance," Emerson says, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." This meaning is to say to trust yourself with your actions. Don’t allow someone else to tell you how to live. He also states, “The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude...". Thoreau in “Walden” explains that “The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men…” Explaining his conformity and also “simplicity I say let your affairs be as two or three." Basically saying you only need yourself to survive, not others’ opinions.
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Alyssa Ziemianski
1/4/2015 07:44:24 am
Transcendentalism is the understanding of the nature of reality. This means that one must first examine and analyze nature before understanding it. Transcendentalism’s characteristics are the belief in nature, manual labor, a man’s relationship to God, and even self-trust and self-reliance. Two prime examples of leaders of this way of life are Emerson and Thoreau.
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Dominique Martin
1/4/2015 07:52:30 am
Transcendentalism is a word used to describe a movement in which people go above and beyond to describe what appeals to the 5 senses. Characteristics describing this would fall into the categories of social statements and a way of knowing.
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Chad Manion
1/4/2015 08:33:30 am
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820's and '30s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian church.
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Cody Wallace
1/4/2015 08:59:33 am
Transcendentalism philosophical and social movement that developed around 1836. It was influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy as well it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity. Many people have theories and philosophies about life in general. Transcendentalism has effected many people since the philosophy was first introduced. The idea was complex and hard to grasp.
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Daevon Morgan
1/4/2015 09:41:11 am
Transcendentalism is the belief that one should be connected with nature and his or her own thoughts. It opposes religious beliefs. This movement began around 1836 in England, and thisbmovement inspired many things. In relation to "Walden" the character showed the meaning of transcendentalism best because he was fully in tact with his natural being. He was in love with the wilderness. The point of transcendentalism is to be your own person instead of making your decisions based off of a religion or what other people think. This movement inspired the idea of being an interesting individual and being able to throw in ideas based off of your own "taste."
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Cody Wallace
1/5/2015 12:23:56 am
I agree with everything you stated, I also like how you gave what you think transcendentalism is toward the bottom.
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Brandon Manardo
1/4/2015 10:15:01 am
Transcendentalism is the religious and philosophical movement in the late 1820s and 30s in the Eastern region of the US as a protest the state of intellectualism at Harvard and the doctrine of the Unitarian church.
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Cody Wallace
1/5/2015 12:47:15 am
I disagree with the last part of your writing. Not all 4 of the quotes stated show independence. Although the rest was well written.
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Tristin Vezzetti
1/12/2015 05:04:43 am
I have to disagree mainly because of the quotes, they, like Cody said, they do not all show independence. Other than that, very well written response.
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Raquel Jackson
1/4/2015 10:47:27 am
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Abby W
1/4/2015 12:01:27 pm
I agree with you 100%. I like how you incorporated society being a key factor as something that tries to pursude people's thoughts and opinions. I think you did a great job with your research and had good quotes.
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Chris henckel
1/4/2015 11:14:11 am
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and '30s[1] in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian church as taught at Harvard Divinity School.
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Chris henckel
1/4/2015 11:20:09 am
Harvard where he met thoreau and became very good friends with him.
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Lexi Skowronek
1/5/2015 03:33:46 am
I don't agree with the particular quotes you used on here. I like your writing and all of it is very well put together, but the quotes do not go with the context of self-relinance or living simply. Apart from that, very well written and excellent writing!
Brooklynn Schmanski
1/4/2015 11:47:20 am
Transcendentalism, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is : "a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things". Its characteristics are : self-reliance, living close with nature, doing things one's self (without help), personal relationships with God, and the need for a spiritual existence. Thoreau and Emerson were both transcendentalist writers who used this very often throughout their many writings.
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Lexi Skowronek
1/5/2015 03:21:12 am
I agree with everything you said. Your information on both men was very accurate and informative. The quotes you used showed the main points of the stories very well. Great job!
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Patricia Camarata
1/4/2015 11:48:57 am
Transcendentalism is an American literary, philosophical, and political movement of the early nineteenth century. A Transcendentalist is a person who seeks to rise above common thought or ideas. Inspired by English and German Romanticism, they worked with the logic that a new era was coming. They were criticizers of their modern-day society for its automatic obedience, and insisted that everybody find, as Emerson put it, “an original relation to the universe”. Transcendentalism first appeared among the freethinking Congregationalists that left orthodox Calvinism. They understood the significance and value of human striving, rather than the Puritan image of human corruption. They stressed the unity of God; which is where the term Unitarian came from. Unitarians thought that Jesus was inferior to God but he was still superior to humans. Emerson and Thoreau pursued this idea within their writing while in seclusion among nature.
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Patricia Camarata
1/4/2015 11:56:45 am
I forgot my quotes here they are:
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Abby W
1/4/2015 11:57:51 am
Transcendentalism is a philosophical and social movement that developed in the early 1800's. Transcendentalism is the idea that all people have knowledge of themselves, the world around them, and even things beyond sight, such as their senses. Many Americans used transcendentalism as a way to understand life and the relationships one builds with themselves and their surroundings. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau played a huge role in leading this philosophy.
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Esmeralda Celaj
1/5/2015 08:26:44 am
I agree with you 100 percent, you had some really great ideas. Nice Job!
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Jade Harrison
1/4/2015 12:05:48 pm
Transcendentalism is a system developed by Immanuel Kant, based on the idea that, in order to understand the nature of reality, one must first examine and analyze the reasoning process that governs the nature of experience. Waldo was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston. Right before his 8th birthday his father died of stomach cancer. He learned to be thick skinned, and very independent with no Fatherly figure. He later became a church minister but after his wife's death he began to disagree with the church's methods and resigned in 1832 because of his problems with the Communion service and misgivings about public prayer. In 1836, Emerson began going to transcendental clubs and Emerson published his first essay, "Nature" and on August 31, 1837, he created "The American Scholar". Henry Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in concord. Nature was his true love in life, being never married, with no children. Emerson became friends and Emerson became a big influence on Thoreau. Emerson writing Self-Reliance and Thoreau writing Walden they both have a relation with Self-Reliance. Some examples from self-reliance are "Its not the Destination, its the journey" & "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string." Emerson is promoting the thought of going out and taking chances. In Walden, Thoreau is basically saying to live life simple, and on your own. "I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.” would be an example as well as "simplicity I say let your affairs be as two or three."
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Esmeralda Celaj
1/5/2015 08:30:55 am
I disagree with you because you talked more about their life than talking about how their life experience influenced their writings.
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Kyle wychuyse
1/4/2015 12:18:14 pm
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kim shults
1/4/2015 10:18:13 pm
transcendentalism is the system based on the idea that in order to understand the nature of reality you must first examine and analyze the reasoning process that governs the nature of experience. the characteristics are self-reliance, living close to nature, doing things one's self, personal relationship with god, and the need for a spiritual existence. Thoreau and Emerson were transcendentalism writers.
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Hunter T
1/13/2015 11:42:18 am
I agree with Kim because I think that have a mind set of a transcendentalist, you need to have a close relationship with God or whatever person they believe in. They are more spiritual and think that somebody is looking out for them at all times. In order for them to really trust that, they need to have the trust and respect.
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Carter petty
1/5/2015 12:59:39 am
Transcendentalism is a systematical idea to understand the nature of reality and analyze the reasoning behind the laws of nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born May 25, 1803 in Boston Massachusetts. There are many factors that may have influenced Emersons writings. At the age of eight Emerson lost his father leaving him with his siblings and mother, these are types of hardships they may have influenced Emerson to write "self-reliance" his senior year of college. Thoreau was born July 12, 1817, concord Massachusetts. Thoreau also attended Harvard university. Thoreau was famous for writing "walden" he may have been inspired to write this from personal experiences in his life. Similarities in both stories walden and self-reliance are both stories believe in independence and there own self reliance depending on themselves to live there lives.
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Jacob Sapienza
1/12/2015 07:22:18 am
i agree carter
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Lexi Skowronek
1/5/2015 03:08:10 am
Transcendalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism, as defined by Merriam Dictionary. It's an idea that spiritual things and thoughts are more real than human thoughts and experiences. Two leaders of this idea was Emerson and Thoreau. Emerson was born on May 25,1803. His father died when he was 8 years old. He graduated Harvard in 1821 and was licensed as a minister. He was assigned to the Unitarian Church in 1829 and married Ellen Tucker that same year. She soon died in 1831, making him rethink about the church and he chose to resign. Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. He had Emerson as a mentor in helping him writing poems. He went to Harvard and never married, although he did love nature. His work "Walden" and Emerson's work "Self-Reliance" have two different concepts. "Walden" is saying to live simply naturally. "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 wants to live with nature, such as when he says "A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It is continually receiving new life and motion from above. It is intermediate between land and sky." "Self-Reliance" is more about being able to support yourself and not having to rely on others. An example of when he portrays this is "Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide" or even "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string."
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Esmeralda Celaj
1/5/2015 08:23:27 am
On google glossary it says that transcendentalism is " a idealistic philosophic and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures". This definition explains really good about transcendentalism.
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Kanai Dozier
1/5/2015 10:47:24 am
Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement when people knew things about themselves and the world surrounding them that goes beyond what they could see, taste, hear, touch or feel. The characteristics of transcendentalism include: living closer to nature, performing manual labor, feeding off of other intellectual companions, self reliance, democracy, individualism, regeneration of the spirit, a break from tradition and custom etc. Emerson's biggest influence for his writing and the way he wrote was probably from his enlightening discussions with fellow philosopher Murat. Emerson considered Murat an important figure in his intellectual education. His beliefs present in his writing could've also come from being present at a slave auction, which gave him the thoughts of not wanting to be apart of a country or nation in which he didn't agree with their doings. On another hand, Thoreau's influence for his writing most likely came from the night he spent in jail for refusing to pay poll taxes in things he did not agree on, much like Emerson. Thoreau was often misunderstood growing up which led to him not caring much about first impressions, which means he was probably isolated most of the time due to his genius mind. Thoreau could've also been inspired by seeing slave trades and the performance of weak government that he was not exactly okay with. "Walden" and "Self Reliance" are similar because they both encourage the idea of self reliance being a spiritual and/or economic thing. Thoreau said "Man interested in pinching pennies is the same man who exults lyrically over a partridge or a winter sky". Both stories had the idea of being a giver, rather than a taker in life because it obviously benefited Thoreau in his accounting success, which was shown to be, obviously, more successful. Also, both stories stated the fact that independence is more valuable than neediness because being independent and providing for yourself means less worrying about others getting in the way of your life and success and more you doing what you want to benefit yourself. Neediness is less valuable, especially coming from a terrible government, so it's just better to rely on yourself and know what you can do to support yourself. Emerson and Thoreau connecting, not only as friends, but kind of accidentally in their writing shows just how much great minds think alike.
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Hunter T
1/13/2015 11:47:40 am
I disagree with Kanai because I think that Thoreos way of thinking and how he sees what life should be life was even just a small idea before he went to jail. But, I agree that jail is what surfaced this controversy.
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Jacob Sapienza
1/12/2015 06:44:39 am
transcendentalism is the philosophy emphasizing divine: a system of philosophy that emphasizes intuition as a means of knowing a spiritual reality and believes that divinity pervades nature and humanity.
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Tristin Vezzetti
1/12/2015 07:16:36 am
According to Merriam Webster; Transcendentalism is a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. The two leaders of this movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
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Jalen McGimpsey
1/12/2015 10:07:46 am
this is a very good topic to talk about. Trascendentalism it is the thought or language of a character. Those two artist or writters were very inspiring they went throguh a seris of events in there life. That had a huge influence on there writting skills in there stories or books.Trabcendentalsim is a way that a book writter expresses them selves in there story how they talk and how they write and also how they reach the thought of the story by adventure or by just thought. Walden was one of the many writters that had self realiance to help find there thoughts with there wrtting and there language.
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Jazmine Weiss
1/12/2015 01:45:51 pm
In the 1820's- 1830's, transcendentalism was a philosophical concept bu not conforming to society. This concept is a different way thinking. In Thoreau, he didn't always think in this way. Thoreau wanted to see how functioning in nature would impact him. Transcendentalism became the belief of how reality and it's relevance should be depicted. All of the losses Emerson faced, I believe, shaped his writings and his mind.Both of the writers pushed us to have our own ideas not based on society.
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Xiaofan(Fay) Hu
1/12/2015 10:13:54 pm
Transcendentalism is a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and '30s in the Eastern region of the United States .It is a system of philosophy, holding that the key to knowledge of the nature of reality lies in the critical examination of the processes of reason on which depends the nature of experience .
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Hunter T
1/13/2015 11:38:13 am
Transcendentalism is the philosophy that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material. By living a different way in life can give you an edge almost. People who did not believed in this were more mainstream, they followed the crowd, or did things for themselves. Self-reliant. I think the difference between self-reliance and transcendentalism is simply that one is more spiritual and hopeful, as to where the other is just that if you don't donthings for yourself it will never get done. I think that Emerson and Walden; even though they has slighty different beliefs, they both wanted to have people pick what they want, and at least be somewhat independent.
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