Transcendentalist Reading, Essay Example

The American Transcendentalists were aware of the European Romantics and their ideas. Do you think the concept of the sublime and its importance as an aesthetic value plays out in the writings of Thoreau and Emerson?

Thoreau and Emerson are both well-celebrated authors of the American society. Best during their own times, their contribution to the field of literature has created a mark on their being and on their real worth in the said industry from then up to these modern times. The transcendentalist movement obviously left a specific mark on the works of both Thoreau and Emerson especially in the manner by which they describe the connection between humanity and the superiority of a God or a higher power over all. Showing how they utilize their senses to define their understanding of human nature indicates how they are able to relay their ideas fully to their readers through the use of all the senses and making such elements work towards their desire of imposing meaning to their written art.

Do America’s democratic ideals, which had been newly put into practice at the time, inform these writings? How?

Democracy as it is, recognizes the capacity of humans to decide for themselves as they are guided by a superior power. Somehow, the ideals of the American democracy follows the same pattern which is why the church and the state cannot be completely separated from each other in line with the recognition of power that one has over the other especially when it comes to making social decisions that will affect the entire human population. Mixing philosophy with character, transcendentalism has strongly influenced the application of democratic beliefs based on strong dependence on an existing superior power.