Transcendentalism
Transcendentalists are people who believe in individualism, simplicity, and self-reliance. They also believe that the government should stay out of society. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson are two very extreme transcendentalists. Many of their quotes thoroughly express their philosophies and beliefs. Like the romantics, transcendentalists were very much into nature, individuality and intuition. Transcendentalist believed that intuition was the highest power of all. Thoreau was a person who was very against the government. He didn't agree with it being exceedingly involved with society and people. One of his quotes that expresses this is "The government id best which governs least." I take this to mean that the government is best when it stays out of everything. I don't really agree with this because I think that if we had no government to tell us what was right and what was wrong then the whole world would be chaotic and nothing would be in order. I think that the government should have a reasonable amount of say in what goes on in the world. For example, if we didn't have the government to tell us that stealing was illegal, then people would just go around taking things that wanted.
One was "Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradicts everything you said today. He feels that society has become more of a machine than a group of people. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion even if it is different from everyone else. He had many quotes in which he expressed these beliefs and thoughts. " I think Thoreau is saying what is the point of a government if people can bend the rules to get what they want. He is going to live his life for him and what he needs to make it work. I agree with this because I feel that you should always do what you believe or feel is right. On the other hand, I feel that a government is still necessary because people might be able to bend the rules but since there is a government they can only bend them so far. On the other hand, I feel that even though they meant well, some transcendentalists, such as Thoreau or Emerson, took their philosophies and ideas to the extreme making them unreasonable and impossible. One quote that suggests this is "I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. I have very mixed feelings about this quote. No matter what someone may think, everyone helps the society work and grow. I disagree with it because I think that no matter what, there is always something little that you can do to help make the world a better place, be it throwing your trash in a garbage can rather than on the ground or simply recycling cans. I think that no one should have to buy certain things to be like everyone else just to fit in. I disagree with this quote because I think that everyone has a helping hand in the way a society functions.
Common topics in this essay:
Waldo Emerson,
Thoreau Emerson,
,
quote means,
agree quote,
bend thoreau,
government tell,
people quote,
agree feel,
agree change,
live life,
hard words,
allowed change,
|
Acceptance Essays
