transcendentalism

Transcendentalism
NATURE

I think that “Nature” is trying to say that if you’re intone with the earth than it’s basically like be close enough to hear and communicate with god. To me Emerson was just trying to get people to pay closer attention to the earth without taking granted or overlooking the sings of god. Just like in the book when it said “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore”. I think that meant like if the Stars didn’t come but every thousand years or so that when it actually did men would be astonished and amazed to see such a thing so make sure you cherish the times that you have with nature. He also said “the illuminates in the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child”. What that meant to me was that when you’re intoning with nature you must look at it from a child’s perspective.
This was a good example if transcendentalism because it shows that you have to use your mind sometimes in different ways to seek the greatness of life. Just like how the transcendentalist thought of the human mind as being the most powerful tool you have.

SELF-RELIANCE

With Self-Reliance I think the point here was to rely on your self for greatness. Right off the back I noticed when he said “envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion;. I got from this just be yourself that’s all you need. I also got that God only works through a man who is divine and can think for himself. Just trust your self and be happy and gay with what you do nobody knows what you can do but you.
This is also a great example because once again it has something to do with the betterment of a human as an individual with individual thoughts. They believed that the individual mind was connected to the oversoul.

RESISTANCE TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT

The Transcendentalists didn't believe in having a government. They believed that if a person was actually in touch and could become intone with their surroundings, they could uplift physical and man-made things to connect with God. Therefore if you were a person who could listen to and understand nature then you were more like or closer to god and you wouldn’t need a government because you would already have total order yourself hence Self-Reliance. Just like from the Henry David Thoreau’s text “There will never really be a free and enlighten State, until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly”. From this text I realized that he was saying that the government should realize that we our at our greatest power as individuals who can think and coup with our own powerful human minds.

In the wilderness video dick was in a one man wilderness all alone just with nature. He was intoning with nature for 35years. And that’s what made this video such a great example of transcendentalism because he could do good in nature while relying on his own brain and thoughts to get him through long lonely harsh cold winters.

Romanticisim

RIP VAN WINKLE

In the story of Rip Van Winkle I think it was romantic the way that everyone and his neighbor hood like him the women like him, he told stories to the kids, and not even one dog would bark at him. “The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached. He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, taught them to fly kites
And shoot marbles, and told them long stories of ghosts, witches, and Indians.”
It was also romantic the why he left his wife for some alone time and then he ended up falling asleep for twenty years. “His eyes swam in his head, his head gradually declined, and he fell into a deep sleep. On waking, he found himself on the green knoll whence he had first seen the old man of the glen. He rubbed his eyes—it was a bright sunny morning. The birds were hopping and twittering among the bushes, and the
Eagle was wheeling aloft, and breasting the pure mountain breeze.
“Surely,” thought Rip, “I have not slept here all night.” This story has many unbelievable type things going on that makes the story Romantic.


THANATOPSIS

I think that this poem is basically stating that dying shouldn’t be looked at as a horrible thing. Like at one point he said that if you can enjoy a spot where no one is physically around than you can be intoned with the people who once where there. He also said that when you die you’re becoming one with nature and you will be accompanied by everyone who died even the kings, heroes, queens, and wise men. The main romantic part of the story to me is when nature is talking to the reader about becoming one with the elements.



ROPEWALK

I think that the Arthur of this story was trying to really elaborate on imagination with this poem. Its seems as if he’s saying that using your imagination can be good by getting you away from the real world sometimes and into your own happiness. That’s what makes this poem romantic knowing that you can have something else to lean on when life gets you down. The guy in the poem was in a rope factory and to get his mind of his work he day dreamed about lots of different things that could be done with the rope his imagination was a big part and that’s what the romantics were based on.

I think that this picture is romantic because it has a evil setting to me. With the reddish looking background it kind of makes me think of blood and death. The trees have no leaves and I see no sign of life and this picture the water looks like its drying out also.

Rationalist

Rationalists

The Rationalist was very different from the Puritans. The Puritans thought of god as a tyrant who made everything and meant for it to stay the way it was, while the Puritans thought that God did make everything also but he wanted to leave it up to people to find out how its was operated. The Rationalist stated that all people were owed certain rights while the Puritans wanted certain people to have them. Just like now and days we have a recession the Puritans would probably say that it was God punishing all the sinners, but the Rationalist would say that it has been many mistakes throughout time that has led to it.
Benjamin Franklin made for a good Rationalist because he always tried to challenge nature with science. The way he looked at life was like he god gave humans brains and it was up to them to use them correctly. He had a thin line between religion and self in betterment. Benjamin also said that “men should be taught as if you taught them not, and things unknown proposed as things forgot”. Basically the tie between Benjamin and the Rationalists is that they didn’t put things on god when they didn’t know the answer to something they used their brains and wit to figure it out.
1. Treat others how you want to be treated.
2. When you fall down get back up and try it again.
3. Dare to be different.
4. Turn the other cheek.
5. Be willing to give a helping hand when needed.
6. Put love before hate.
7. Don’t participate in tearing down others with rumors and he say she say.
8. Encourage the depressed and the underachievers.
9. Worry not about what you can’t but what you can do.
10. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
11. Don’t use foul words to come across a point.
12. Keep your head up.
13. Try to resolve your problems with dialogue instead of with your physical attributes.
I think I could reach moral perfection by following this list because these are all essential things that I need to work on. I have a temper problem at times and I tend to resort to violence instead of trying to let things go or even talk things out. I also worry to much about what I can’t do and I lose sight of any of the good things I can do so I basically give up. Sometimes I see people that may need help but I sometimes don’t know how to approach them about doing so or I just don’t want to get and others people business. If I work on these things and get them right I still wouldn’t be perfect but I would definitely be a better person for it.