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74 Transcendentalism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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• Transcendentalism in American Literature The emergence of new transcendental ideas reshaped the American literature introduced in the works by Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman in such a way that it contributed to the excellence and maturity of the literary world […]
• Transcendentalism: The Role of Emerson and Whitman Emerson argued that American intellectuals should create their unique style of scholarship and literature, while Whitman celebrated the beauty and diversity of America in his poetry.
• Albert Bierstadt’s “Rocky Mountain Landscape”: Transcendentalism Artwork Romanticism is one of the most famous periods of the development of art and the formation of new views about the world.
• Transcendentalism of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman Olfactory imagery is mostly used, which indicates the utilization of smells and fragrances. The author emphasizes that he is alone and has no company, which enables him to blend in with his surroundings.
• History of American Transcendentalism The most prominent topic was the status of intellectualism at Harvard in addition, to the canon of the Unitarian church trained at Harvard School of religion.
• The Literary Movement of Transcendentalism
• The Philosophical and Religious Movement of Transcendentalism
• The Mockery of Transcendentalism in Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher
• The Spirit of Individualism: Transcendentalism
• Transcendentalism in Modern America
• Transcendentalism Through the Political Thought of Emerson Thoreau and Fuller
• The Emphasis on Freedom and Individuality in American Philosophy: Epicureanism, Transcendentalism, Pragmatism, and Protestantism
• Transcendentalism in Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson
• The Relationship Between Romanticism and Transcendentalism
• The Philosophy Embodied by Dead Poets Society: Transcendentalism
• Understanding Thoreau and Transcendentalism
• The Important Role of Transcendentalism in American History
• Transcendentalism: The Antidote to Brainwashed Youth
• The Idea of Transcendentalism and the Search for Improvement in Society by Emerson and Thoreau
• The Impacts of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the Field of Philosophy and Transcendentalism
• Themes of Transcendentalism in Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
• The Influence of Transcendentalism in the Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Roots of Transcendentalism and the United States
• The Concept of Transcendentalism in Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Comparison Between Transcendentalism and Romanticism
• The Belief of Anti-Transcendentalism in A Man Said to the Universe, a Poem by Stephen Crane
• The Points of Transcendentalism and Anti-Transcendentalism
• Transcendentalism and the Poetry of Emily Dickinson
• Understanding of Transcendentalism According to Henry David Thoreau
• The Features of Transcendentalism and Its Representatives
• Romanticism and Transcendentalism in Dead Poets Society
• The Ideas of Transcendentalism in the Works of William Bryant, Henry Thoreau, and Ralph Emerson
• Utopian Thought and Transcendentalism
• Transcendentalism in Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson’s Literature
• The Transcendentalism in the 19th Century and the Plunge After the Civil War
• Transcendentalism: The Leading Power of Ralph Waldo Emerson
• A Sociological Analysis of Transcendentalism, a Philosophical Movement of the Early 18th Century
• How Transcendentalism Is Impossible Without Change
• Enlightenment, Transcendentalism, and Puritan Theology
• An Analysis of the Anti-Transcendentalism in Moby Dick, a Novel by Herman Melville
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Influence of Transcendentalism
• The Principles of Transcendentalism Brought Out in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance
• Walt Whitman and the Emergence of Transcendentalism
• Identities and Transcendentalism in Song of Myself by Walt Whitman
• An Analysis of the Topic of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Concept of Transcendentalism
• The American Renaissance: Transcendentalism, Romanticism, and Dark Romanticism
• Man’s Relationship with Nature: Transcendentalism
• Puritanism and Transcendentalism in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• What Is a Simple Definition of Transcendentalism?
• What Are Transcendentalist Beliefs?
• Who Did Transcendentalism Influence?
• What Is the Main Theme of Transcendentalism?
• How Is Transcendentalism Used Today?
• How Do You Practice Transcendentalism?
• Are the Transcendentalism Religious?
• How Did Transcendentalism View Life?
• Is Transcendentalism Our Modern Culture?
• What Is Transcendentalism and Why Is It Important?
• How Did Transcendentalism End?
• Did hippies adhere to transcendentalism?
• Who Is a Transcendentalist Person?
• Why Did Transcendentalism Become So Popular?
• What Is God’s Transcendentalism?
• Did Transcendentalism Allow For Slavery?
• What Influenced Transcendentalism?
• What Is a Transcendentalist Example?
• Does Oprah Winfrey Follow Transcendentalism?
• Is Buddhism a Transcendentalism?
• How Did Transcendentalism Relate to Nature?
• When Did Transcendentalism Start and End?
• What’s the Difference Between Romanticism and Transcendentalism?
• Is Transcendentalism the Same as Individualism?
• How Is Transcendentalism Related to Feminism?
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Transcendentalism

I. definition.

Transcendentalism was a short-lived philosophical movement that emphasized transcendence , or “going beyond.” The Transcendentalists believed in going beyond the ordinary limits of thought and experience in several senses:

• transcending society by living a life of independence and contemplative self-reliance, often out in nature
• transcending the physical world to make contact with spiritual or metaphysical realities
• transcending traditional religion by blazing one’s own spiritual trail
• even transcending Transcendentalism itself by creating new philosophical ideas based on individual instinct and experience

II. Transcendentalism vs. Empiricism vs. Rationalism

When the Transcendentalists first came on the scene, philosophy was split between two major schools of thought: empiricism and rationalism . Transcendentalism rejected both schools, arguing that they were both too narrow-minded and failed to account for different kinds of transcendence.

III. Quotes About Transcendentalism

“Go alone…refuse the good models, even those most sacred in the imagination of men, and dare to love God without mediator or veil.” ( Ralph Waldo Emerson )

Probably no one is more strongly associated with transcendentalism than the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson wrote fiery essays arguing for independence, self-reliance, and going beyond the boundaries of society. In this short quotation, Emerson expresses two of his central ideas: first, that you should follow your own path rather than imitating others, no matter how noble or admirable they may be; and second, traditional religious organizations are unnecessary in our spiritual path and we should seek an independent, one-to-one relationship with God.

“The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.” (George Carlin)

Stand-up legend George Carlin brought a strong Emersonian flavor to his comedy, a style that continues to be popular with modern stand-up comics. Like Emerson, Carlin hated social rules and was constantly pushing limits – using cursewords in his routines and talking about taboo subjects like race and sexuality at a time when standup comics almost never dared to broach these uncomfortable topics. Emerson would have liked the quote, which celebrates both social awkwardness (talking to yourself) and independent thinking.

IV. The History and Importance of Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism was America’s first major intellectual movement. It arose in the Eastern U.S. in the 1820s, when America had fully established its independence from Britain. At that time, the country was led by the first generation to have been born after the Revolutionary War – a generation that had never known anything other than independence. People in this generation couldn’t understand their parents’ reverence for European culture and philosophy, a reverence that was still strong in spite of the Americans’ desire for political independence. To them, America was its own nation, on its own continent, with its own laws and customs, and it needed to have its own art, culture, and philosophy as well – even its own religion! Transcendentalism was designed to fill all of these roles.

Although Transcendentalism didn’t grow into a flourishing philosophical school as its founders hoped (more on that in section 6), Transcendentalist ideas heavily influenced other movements and continue to have echoes today. The Transcendentalist movement was the main inspiration for William James and other founders of the Pragmatist school, which has been by far America’s most significant contribution to global philosophy.

The Transcendentalists even influenced European philosophy – Nietzsche, a revered if eccentric German philosopher, cited Transcendentalists as one of his main influences. Ironically, this means that the American thinkers were a strong philosophical inspiration to German nationalism and even Nazism, with their themes of strong individual leadership, rejecting traditional religion and morality, and breaking down limits so as to usher in a glorious future. Clearly, Emerson and Nietzsche would have strongly disapproved of Hitler and the Third Reich, but it goes to show how philosophers’ ideas can have unexpected consequences when they enter the realms of society, culture, and politics.

V. Transcendentalism in Popular Culture

There are many Transcendentalist themes in the sci-fi action movie Equilibrium starring Christian Bale. In the movie, John Preston is a Cleric, a law-enforcement officer required to take an emotion-suppressing pill every day so that he can carry out his duties without the interference of feelings. But when he misses his dose, Preston becomes increasingly aware of flaws in the system.

The film is Transcendentalist in a couple of ways: first, the emphasis on emotions rather than logic and duty. Preston’s moral awakening comes when he gets in touch with his emotions, which suggests that true morality is an emotional experience. Second, Preston ends up rejecting authority, social expectations, and the whole system that he’s been raised in. That makes him a very Emersonian sort of hero.

Many video games have “ranger” or “druid” characters (e.g. Dota 2, Warcraft, or Neverwinter Nights), and they often seem a little like transcendentalists. They live out in nature, or on the fringes of society, surviving by their own skills and living by their own rules – transcending the limits of civilization. In some cases, they also have spiritual or magical abilities that allow them to transcend the ordinary, physical world.

VI. Controversies

Is transcendentalism philosophy.

Transcendentalism never really caught on in professional philosophy, possibly because of the structure of its arguments. As we saw in section 2, transcendentalism rejected both rationalism and empiricism, pointing out the limitations in both logic and observation. But logic and observation are our main ways of attaining the truth, and if you push back against both of them, then what is the foundation of your own argument ?

In other words, Transcendentalism was based on an intuition, a feeling – several philosophers got together and had similar feelings about society, religion, and truth, but what they didn’t have was a set of arguments . As a result, they were not able to persuade new followers other than those who already shared their feelings. The Transcendentalists were brilliant writers, crafting expressive essays and compelling poetry, but they did not write philosophical arguments in the traditional sense.

As a result, some people have argued that Transcendentalism was more of a literary or artistic movement than a philosophical one. Whether or not that’s true really comes down to your definition – if you see philosophy as defined by a method of argument, then Transcendentalism isn’t philosophy. If you see philosophy as defined by an interest in musing about life, then Transcendentalism definitely belongs.

a. Logic and duty

b. Religion and community

c. Emotions and independence

d. All of the above

a. Ralph Waldo Emerson

b. Confucius

c. Socrates

a. Logic / Rationality

b. Empirical observation

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Essay Samples on Transcendentalism

A review of trancendentalist work 'civil disobedience' by d.thoreau.

Abmist the years late 1820 Transcendentalism began to spring up and spread like a raging wildfire, sweeping up the world during a time of a heavy emphasis on intellectualism and spirituality; as people were often too comfortable and debatably complacent as innovations and commodities became...

• Civil Disobedience
• Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism And The Work Of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around the 1900s due to rationalism. During the time the most important transcendentalists were Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Lydia Maria Child, Amos Bronson Alcott, Frederic Henry Hedge, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Theodore...

• Literature Review
• Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Examples Of Transcendentalism In "Dead Poets Society"

“Words and Ideas can change the world”. The movie “Dead Poets Society” is about a group of students that attend a very strict, New England prep school, during 1959. Their new teacher; John Keating, uses non-traditional methods of teaching to reach out to this group...

• Dead Poets Society

Mccandless's Heroes And Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

Christopher Johnson McCandless was an intelligent stubborn young man that found no importance in materialistic items. He was adventurous and filled with curiosity, but curiosity killed the cat. McCandless was inspired by various literary people, but he was most influenced by Jack London. Jack London...

• Chris Mccandless
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The Power Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

Within society today, every person is wanting the new phone or the new television system. People always wait in lines for hours and hours to get the new greatest things available in their era. This type of concept is very common in society today but...

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The Transcendentalism Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild

Christopher Johnson McCandless is a 24 year old explorer who idolized the philosophers Tolstoy, Thoreau, and London; so much so that he immersed himself deep into the wild nature of Alaska only to be found dead just four months later. Chris McCandless, the protagonist of...

Analysis Of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Speech "The American Scholar"

A scholar. What is a scholar? A scholar is a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher or someone who has done much study in a particular field of education. The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson was a speech given in...

• Individualism
• The American Scholar

Biography and Famous Works of Henry David Thoreau, A Man Devoted to Nature

Henry D. Thoreau was a well-known American poet, essayist, and philosopher. He was one of the most famous transcendental writers in American history. He was born on July 12, 1817 and was raised all over Massachusetts but lived most of his life in the small...

Social Awareness and Transcendentalism in I, Robot

Isaac Asimov, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and other transcendentalists, is intrigued by the ideas of nature and self-reliance (Lea). Asimov introduces this quote at the beginning of Nightfall, many of his works evolve around complex ideas that concern one’s self.. Asimov was born in Petrovichi,...

Comparison of Emerson's and Thoreau's Concept of Transdescentalism

Transcendentalists believed that nature was essential for people to discover their identity. Two important influencers who created works to support this movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Henry Thoreau. The two authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, expressed a similar appreciation for...

Transcendentalism as a Literary, Social, and Philosophical Movement of the 19th Century

Transcendentalism was a literary, social, and philosophical movement that flourished during the middle 19th century which prioritized individuals over society as man’s greatness is found in the individual, not in the group. Transcendentalists were progressive individuals who went against traditionally held beliefs and thus were...

• Self Reliance

The Two Works on Transcendentalism: Their Analysis and Comparison

Transcendentalism is a simple idea. People, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that 'transcends' or goes beyond what you can see, hear, taste, touch, or feel. It is a belief in nature, self-reliance, and humanity. You should think for yourself without society's...

The Ideas of Transcendentalism in the Works by Famous Authors

Immanuel Kant began the transcendentalist movement in Germany when he started to Combat the scientific revolutions storing of facts. His driving force was his argument, which stated that each individual has the right to reason for themselves and to fit their reasoning into their view...

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Thoreau's Ideas of Transcendentalism Expressed in His Works

Transcendentalism is the movement that emphasizes transcendence from the ordinary limits of thoughts and experiences and acknowledges the new outlook in self-reliance. The movement originated in America in the 19th century after the independence of America from the British gave people a different perspective to...

The Transcendental Arguments of Mary Wollstonecraft

Writing at a time the French Revolution was shaking France and Europe in general; Mary Wollstonecraft borrowed the ideals of this revolution and incorporated it in the struggle for the advancement of the role and position of women in the society. At the time of...

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The Presence of Transcendentalism in the Dead Poets Society 

Transcendentalism has to do with the idea, that in order to understand nature of reality, one must first examine and analyze the reasoning process which governors the nature of experience. At Welton Academy, Mr. Keating educates his students through transcendental ideas. Welton Academy is a...

Philosophy of Transcendentalism in Krakauer's Into The Wild

For over twenty years, many different people have speculated on the reasoning behind Chris McCandless’ actions – particularly his trip to Alaska where he, unfortunately, met his demise. McCandless, the subject of Job Krakauer’s nonfictional book Into the Wild, was a young man at the...

Best topics on Transcendentalism

1. A Review Of Trancendentalist Work ‘Civil Disobedience’ By D.Thoreau

2. Transcendentalism And The Work Of Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. The Examples Of Transcendentalism In “Dead Poets Society”

4. Mccandless’s Heroes And Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

5. The Power Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

6. The Transcendentalism Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild

7. Analysis Of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Speech “The American Scholar”

8. Biography and Famous Works of Henry David Thoreau, A Man Devoted to Nature

9. Social Awareness and Transcendentalism in I, Robot

10. Comparison of Emerson’s and Thoreau’s Concept of Transdescentalism

11. Transcendentalism as a Literary, Social, and Philosophical Movement of the 19th Century

12. The Two Works on Transcendentalism: Their Analysis and Comparison

13. The Ideas of Transcendentalism in the Works by Famous Authors

14. Thoreau’s Ideas of Transcendentalism Expressed in His Works

15. The Transcendental Arguments of Mary Wollstonecraft

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Transcendentalism by David M. Robinson LAST REVIEWED: 22 February 2018 LAST MODIFIED: 22 February 2018 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199827251-0086

Transcendentalism was a religious, literary, and political movement that evolved from New England Unitarianism in the 1820s and 1830s. An important expression of Romanticism in the United States, it is principally associated with the work of essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson; journalist and feminist theorist Margaret Fuller; Unitarian minister and antislavery advocate Theodore Parker; and essayist, naturalist, and political theorist Henry David Thoreau. In their initial phase, the transcendentalists extended the Unitarian theological rebellion against Puritan Calvinism, moving toward a post-Christian spirituality that held each man and woman capable of spiritual development and fulfillment. They developed literary as well as theological forms of expression, making perhaps a stronger impact on American literary and artistic culture than they did on American religion. When Emerson delivered two controversial addresses at Harvard, “The American Scholar” (1837) and the Divinity School Address (1838), he emerged as the central figure of a loose coalition of ministers and aspiring authors who questioned religious doctrines, such as the New Testament miracles and the supernatural nature of Jesus, and embraced German Romantic writers and the British Romantics. Sharpened by the controversy that erupted after Emerson’s Divinity School Address , theological and literary thinking among the transcendentalists developed in three interrelated directions in the late 1830s and 1840s. Parker and Emerson continued to extend their theological explorations, with Parker calling in 1841 for a religion based on “permanent” rather than “transient” principles. Emerson and Thoreau began to absorb the spiritual sensibility of Asian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which were becoming available more widely in translation. Emerson, Fuller, and Thoreau gave the movement a literary character, based on Emerson’s innovative prose, Fuller’s translations and critical studies of Goethe, and Thoreau’s autobiographical narrative Walden (1854). The transcendentalists also responded to the politically turbulent 1840s and 1850s, devoting themselves to issues of social reform. Fuller published her groundbreaking women’s rights treatise Woman in the Nineteenth Century in 1845, and Thoreau published his influential essay “Civil Disobedience” in 1849, describing his night in the Concord jail as a protesting tax resister. With national tensions rising over slavery in the 1840s and 1850s, Parker became Boston’s great antislavery preacher, and both Emerson and Thoreau wrote ringing antislavery addresses. By the early 1860s, following the outbreak of the Civil War, the transcendentalists had helped formulate the principles that would reshape American culture well into the 20th century.

For half a century after its publication, Miller 1950 , an annotated anthology of transcendentalist writings, also served as the movement’s best history. Miller’s extended introductions explained the controversies surrounding the rise of the movement and brought emphasis to many of its lesser known figures. Miller 1950 remains of continuing usefulness, but two recently completed histories of transcendentalism, Gura 2007 and Packer 2007 , are now the authoritative histories. Myerson 1977 traces the meetings of the Transcendental Club, in which members of the loosely organized group exchanged ideas and plans. Capper and Wright 1999 provides historically grounded perspectives on themes and authors in the movement. Taylor 2010 places key transcendentalists in an account of New England conceptions of American intellectualism. Cameron 1973 represents the extensive scholarly works of Kenneth Walter Cameron and has been particularly valuable for making little-known 19th-century materials available.

Cameron, Kenneth Walter. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Reading . New York: Haskell, 1973.

Originally published in 1941 (Raleigh, NC: Thistle Press). Cameron’s pioneering study of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s reading is listed here as a representative selection of his voluminous work on transcendentalism, most of it published under Transcendental Books, his imprint. Cameron was especially capable in recovering and reprinting sources for works of Emerson and Thoreau. For further information see the listing for Cameron at WorldCat .

Capper, Charles, and Conrad E. Wright, eds. Transient and Permanent: The Transcendentalist Movement and Its Contexts . Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society and Northeastern University Press, 1999.

These twenty essays drawn from a 1997 conference at the Massachusetts Historical Society constitute the best available compilation of scholarly essays on transcendentalism. The introductory essay by Charles Capper (pp. 3–45) is an informative survey of the historiography of transcendentalism, and Lawrence Buell’s concluding essay (pp. 605–619) charts the place of transcendentalism in American literary history.

Gura, Phillip F. American Transcendentalism: A History . New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.

A history of transcendentalism as most importantly a social movement, one of a series of attempts to democratize American society more completely. Gura emphasizes the inherent tension between self-fulfillment and social change in transcendentalist thinking.

Hutchison, William R. The Transcendentalist Ministers: Church Reform in the New England Renaissance . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005.

Originally published in 1959. Hutchison focuses on the theological and ecclesiastical background of transcendentalism, noting the ministerial roles of Theodore Parker, George Ripley, and others, and describing their efforts to awaken and reform the New England Unitarian churches.

Miller, Perry. The Transcendentalists: An Anthology . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1950.

Miller’s anthology of transcendentalist writing is now useful principally for the penetrating introductions to the texts, which provide an excellent historical framework for the controversies surrounding the movement.

Myerson, Joel. “A History of the Transcendental Club.” ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance 23.1 (1977): 27–35.

Charts the meetings of the Transcendental Club between 1836 and 1840 to discuss theology, literature, and politics. Myerson provides the names of attendees, meeting places, and subject matter when available, and he sets the meetings in the context of the controversy over the rise of transcendentalism.

Packer, Barbara L. The Transcendentalists . Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2007.

Packer traces transcendentalism from its “Unitarian Beginnings” through its literary and reform phases to its conclusion in “The Antislavery Years.” She is particularly insightful on the transcendentalists’ philosophical critique of the epistemology of John Locke and on the influence of British Romanticism, especially the work of Thomas Carlyle, in shaping the movement.

Taylor, Andrew. Thinking America: New England Intellectuals and the Varieties of American Identity . Lebanon: University of New Hampshire Press, 2010.

Taylor considers Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller as key figures in a New England intellectual tradition that aspired to define the relationship between the individual thinker and American society. Their thought is compared with the later philosophers William James and George Santayana.

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What is Transcendentalism?

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Transcendentalism

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Transcendentalism is a 19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths.

Which authors were attracted to Transcendentalism?

Transcendentalism attracted such diverse and highly individualistic figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson , Henry David Thoreau , Margaret Fuller , Orestes Brownson , Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, and James Freeman Clarke , as well as George Ripley, Bronson Alcott, the younger W.E. Channing , and W.H. Channing.

What inspired Transcendentalism?

The 19th-century Transcendentalism movement was inspired by German transcendentalism, Platonism and Neoplatonism, the Indian and Chinese scriptures, and also by the writings of such mystics as Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob Böhme.

Transcendentalism , 19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths . German transcendentalism (especially as it was refracted by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas Carlyle ), Platonism and Neoplatonism , the Indian and Chinese scriptures, and the writings of such mystics as Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob Böhme were sources to which the New England Transcendentalists turned in their search for a liberating philosophy .

Eclectic and cosmopolitan in its sources and part of the Romantic movement, New England Transcendentalism originated in the area around Concord , Massachusetts , and from 1830 to 1855 represented a battle between the younger and older generations and the emergence of a new national culture based on native materials. It attracted such diverse and highly individualistic figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson , Henry David Thoreau , Margaret Fuller , Orestes Brownson , Elizabeth Palmer Peabody , and James Freeman Clarke , as well as George Ripley , Bronson Alcott , the younger W.E. Channing , and W.H. Channing. In 1840 Emerson and Margaret Fuller founded The Dial (1840–44), the prototypal “little magazine” wherein some of the best writings by minor Transcendentalists appeared. The writings of the Transcendentalists and those of contemporaries such as Walt Whitman , Herman Melville , and Nathaniel Hawthorne , for whom they prepared the ground, represent the first flowering of the American artistic genius and introduced the American Renaissance in literature ( see also American literature: American Renaissance ).

In their religious quest, the Transcendentalists rejected the conventions of 18th-century thought, and what began in a dissatisfaction with Unitarianism developed into a repudiation of the whole established order. They were leaders in experimental schemes for living (Thoreau at Walden Pond , Alcott at Fruitlands, Ripley at Brook Farm ); women’s suffrage ; better conditions for workers; temperance for all; modifications of dress and diet; the rise of free religion ; educational innovation; and other humanitarian causes.

Heavily indebted to the Transcendentalists’ organic philosophy, aesthetics , and democratic aspirations were the pragmatism of William James and John Dewey , the environmental planning of Benton MacKaye and Lewis Mumford , the architecture (and writings) of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright , and the American “modernism” in the arts promoted by Alfred Stieglitz .

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Transcendentalism - Study Guide

Our goal is to help you help students better understand and ENJOY classic literature! Specifically, American literature which embodies Transcendentalism. We offer a suggested framework for teachers and students to better understand the genre and identify exemplary works, identify the authors and understand the historical context of the American authors who embraced the Transcendalist Movement, and identify works of literature that embody its philosophy.

Overview of Transcendentalism , Exemplary Works , Etymology & Historical Context , Quotes , Discussion Questions , Useful Links , and Notes/Teacher Comments

Overview of Transcendentalism

Quite simply, transcendentalism is a social movement and idealistic philosophy in which knowledge about ourselves and the world around us "transcends" what we can see, hear, taste, touch, or feel. Transcendentalists believe that the divine spirit resides within all of us, they embrace intuition rather than rationality, and believe in the "inherent goodness of both people and nature." Equality for all humanity and nature manifested into supporting abolitionism, feminism, communal and sustainable living. Many prominent American authors, particularly in Massachusetts, embraced the movement and formed what they called "The Transcendental Club" in the 1930s, and some organized utopian communes in the 1840s. You might think of them as intellectual "hippies" of the early 19th century. Many of them can also considered Romantics . Exemplary Transcendental authors include Ralph Waldo Emerson , Henry David Thoreau , William Cullen Bryant , George Riply, Margaret Fuller , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , Louisa May Alcott , Walt Whitman (see Song of Myself Study Guide ), and early in his career, Nathaniel Hawthorne , who later turned to Dark Romanticism .

"I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental: to be brothers, to be acquaintances, — master or servant, is then a trifle and a disturbance. I am the lover of uncontained and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature."

Exemplary Works

Self-Reliance , Ralph Waldo Emerson

Walden , Henry David Thoreau

On Civil Disobedience , Henry David Thoreau

The Brothers , Louisa May Alcott

The Artist of the Beautiful , Nathaniel Hawthorne

Old Poets , Walt Whitman

Song of Myself from Leaves of Grass , Walt Whitman

Give All to Love , Ralph Waldo Emerson

Etymology & Historical Context

The etymology of the word "Transcendental" draws from the principles of the German philosopher, Kant, who embraced intuitive and spiritual above empirical and material. "Trans" means to go beyond, to climb, ascertain fundamental principles of human knowledge with imaginative vagueness in thought or diction. Here's another important word to understand: "Romanticism" is from the Latin word "romant" which means "in the Roman manner." It became known as a style of art, literature, and music that drew on emotions, intuition, and imagination, rather than rationality and science. While the Romantic Movement began in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, it migrated to America in the early 19th century. American Romanticism authors were most prolific between 1830-1865. Within the genre of Romanticism , two opposing sub-genres emerged: the optimists who believed in human goodness and spirituality, grew in to the Transcendentalism Movement . The pessimists, who embraced human fallibility and our predisposition towards sin, grew into the Dark Romanticism Movement .

Writers connected to the Transcendental Movement trusted themselves to be their own authority, understood matters well beyond what we can touch, see, hear, taste, and feel. This was an inherently American idea, born in Massachusetts by the group known as The Transcendental Club in the early-to-mid 19th century. Members included: George Ripley, Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne (who later moved and settled in to Dark Romanticism), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Walt Whitman, Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott), and Henry David Thoreau, who really put these ideas into practice. Founders of the Movement created utopian communes in the 1840's, including Brook Farm and Fruitlands .

Explain what the following quotes mean and how they are exemplars of transcendentalism:

"John Sulie, a Virginia blacksmith, is the prince of patients; and though what we call a common man in education and condition, to me is all I could expect or ask from the first gentleman in the land...[I] feel indignant that such a man should be so early lost; for though he might never distinguish himself before the world, his influence and example cannot be without effect, for real goodness is never wasted." -- Hospital Sketches , Louisa May Alcott

"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. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion." -- Walden , Henry David Thoreau

"When the artist rose high enough to achieve the beautiful, the symbol by which he made it perceptible to mortal senses becomes of little value in his eyes, while his spirit possessed itself in the enjoyment of the reality." -- The Artist of the Beautiful , Nathaniel Hawthorne

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -- The Gettysburg Address , Abraham Lincoln

Discussion Questions

6. Explain how Henry David Thoreau 's first line from his essay, On Civil Disobedience exemplifies Transcendentalism: "I heartily accept the motto, -- "That government is best which governs least."

Useful Links

Transcendentalism, an American Philosophy

The Transcendental Club member profiles

Transcendentalism Q & A

Brook Farm and Fruitlands , Transcendentalists' utopian communes

Walt Whitman's Notebooks and Poetry: the Sweep of the Universe

Biography and Works by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Biography and Works by Henry David Thoreau

Biography and Works by Walt Whitman

Song of Myself - Study Guide

Biography and Works by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Biography and Works by Louisa May Alcott

American History in Literature

Notes/Teacher Comments

Visit our Teacher Resources , supporting literacy instruction across all grade levels

American Literature's Study Guides

Teaching Transcendentalism: Everything You Need to Know

Need a refresher on the basics of what transcendentalism is and what its core beliefs are? I’ve got you. Additionally, this post covers tips and titles to make transcendentalism engaging and relevant to secondary students.

If you want to expose your students to some of the most influential authors in American Literature, it’s time to teach transcendentalism . Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to follow a movement-based curriculum to dive into the transcendentalist movement with your students. After all, despite the movement’s centuries-old origins, the impact of transcendentalism remains strong in modern literature and pop culture in general.

Besides, with values like nonconformity and individualism, there couldn’t be a literary movement that speaks more to secondary students. (Am I right?)  If you’re looking for ideas and novels to make teaching transcendentalism engaging and relevant to secondary students, you’ve come to the right place.

What is Transcendentalism?

At its core, transcendentalism is a philosophy rooted in individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature. Many consider transcendentalism a “sub-movement” of Romanticism, and they’re not totally wrong. Transcendentalism was inspired by romanticism as they both emphasized the individual, drew inspiration from nature, and believed humans were inherently good. Together, the two movements helped shape the voice and identity of American literature. 

When did the Transcendentalism Movement Begin?

The transcendentalism movement originated in New England during the 1830s and picked up steam over the decade thanks to leaders like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. The movement started as a response (some might say rebellion) to the Unitarianism beliefs that were predominant in New England at the time. However, it went on to become a defining movement in American literature and society in general.

While Unitarianism emphasized reason, rationality, and intellectualism, transcendentalists desired a more independent and spiritual approach to life. Rather than being guided strictly by logic and reason, transcendentalists saw value in turning toward nature and oneself for answers.

What Did Transcendentalists Believe?

While there are many branches to the transcendentalism tree of beliefs, there are a handful of foundational principles transcendentalists felt strongly about

• Humans are inherently good while society and its institutions are corrupt
• Humans should strive for independence, self-reliance, and simplicity 
• Insight, intuition, and self-reflection are more important than logic and reason
• Spirituality should come from oneself and nature over organized religion
• Nature is full of beautiful divinity and should be deeply appreciated.

Introducing the Transcendentalist Movement in the Classroom

Rather than lecturing your students on transcendentalist beliefs, let them explore the great old internet. Give students some time to search the internet before presenting a summary of their findings. Focus their research by asking them to identify the core beliefs and essential voices (aka authors) of this literary movement. 

The Key Figures and Lasting Impact of Transcendentalism

Transcendentalist ideals paved the way for a shift of literature during the mid-1800s and beyond.

However, the impact of transcendentalism went far beyond literature. For example, transcendentalists played a large role in social reform in the mid-1800s and beyond. Supporters of transcendentalism were active when it came to things like women’s rights and abolition.

Transcendentalist ideals continue to be a mainstay in American society. While it’s easy to think we live in a world ruled by materialism and greed, there are elements of transcendentalism that remain at the core of the American identity, like individualism and independence.

There are a few notable names that we can credit as being key figures of transcendentalism, including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Margaret Fuller, and Amos Bronson Alcott . While not all of these figures are recognized as notable authors, they are great names for students to explore as they gain an understanding of the core ideals and influences of the transcendentalist movement.

The Best Novels to Teach Transcendentalism

Okay, okay, so these aren’t all technically novels. The truth is, many of the most influential transcendentalist texts are actually essays. I’ll share some of my favorite poetry you can use to teach transcendentalism, too!

While some of the longer texts mentioned below are full of powerful language and strong transcendental ideals, they can be quite dense for students. If you’re looking for your students to gain a full understanding of and appreciation for transcendentalism, I recommend choosing a few experts from the longer texts below. That way, students can see how comparing works from different authors helps us better understand a literary movement or define a philosophical ideal.

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Walden , first published in 1854,is well-regarded as a foundational piece of transcendental literature. The book chronicles Thoreau’s two-year, two-month, and two-day stay at a small cabin he built on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. During that time, Thoreau was seeking solitude and simplicity in nature. During his experimental time on Walden Pond, Thoreau embraced self-reliance and simple living. Since Thoreau’s stay on Walden Pond was influenced by Emerson’s ideologies and teachings, specifically those in his essay “Self-Reliance,” the two texts make the perfect pair in the classroom.
• “On Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau

Long before Martin Luther King, Jr. or Gandhi were making history for peacefully taking a stand against government-enforced laws or demands, there was Henry David Thoreau. In fact, both MLK Jr. and Gandhi were inspired by this very essay. Thoreau wrote “On Civil Disobedience” in 1846 as a response to a run-in with the law while staying in his cabin on Walden Pond. After refusing to pay government taxes as a way to take a stand against slavery, Thoreau was forced to spend a night in jail. Why not just pay the tax?As the essay makes clear, it’s an issue of the individual’s moral authority. “The only obligation which I have a right to assume,” he writes, “is to do at any time what I think right.” (Cue the engaging classroom discussion.)

Teaching Tiup: Thoreau’s essay pairs perfectly with Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” written in 1963.

• “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Written in 1841, Emerson uses this essay to share his thoughts on the importance of individuality over social conformity. Throughout the piece, Emerson calls for people to embrace their intuition and independent thinking. As Emerson argues, seeking solitude over community is an essential component of the equation. In other words, one must be willing to reject social norms, expectations, and institutions in order to step into their truest self.

• “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature” is another famous essay written by Emerson and published in 1836. In his essay, Emerson encourages his readers to embrace the harmony that exists between nature and mankind. When one becomes lost and caught up in social conformity, Emerson would argue we can find our way back to our true selves by turning to nature. Taking a nontraditional stance regarding religion, Emerson argues that the natural world is where true divinity lies. Therefore, while the world is full of distractions and stressors, man should seek solitude and welcome “the sublime” of nature.

• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

You might be thinking, “Wait, wasn’t this novel published in 1996?” Yes. Yes it was. However, it’s the perfect way to teach transcendentalism through a more contemporary lens. Therefore, it helps make the themes and ideals of transcendentalism all the more engaging and relevant to students. The story follows the journey of Chris McCandless, a young man who embraces the same ideals of transcendentalism. This true story follows McCandless as he left his possessions, family, and friends behind to set out to seek self-discovery and simple living. The story follows his journey of nonconformity and self-reliance as he embraces the country’s natural landscapes.

Women and Transcendentalism

While the more famous pieces of literature during this movement are written by male authors, there were quite a few females working to spread transcendentalist ideals as well.

• “What Is Beauty?” by Lydia Maria Child is an essay published in 1843 expressing Child’s thoughts around beauty, noting that recognizing beauty is a matter of intuition.
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is a beloved tale following the lives of the four March sisters—each representing transcendentalist ideals in their own way.
• Transcendentalism: Summer on the Lakes by Margaret Fuller is an introspective account of Fuller’s journey around the Great Lakes in 1843.

Transcendentalism and Poetry

In addition to the lengthier texts above, the following poems are great ways to explore the ideals of transcendentalism in literature, specifically in poetry.

Have your students dive into the world of transcendentalist literature with any (or all) of the poems below.

• “The Summer Rain” by Henry David Thoreau
• “Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman
• “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman
• “Ode to Beauty” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant
• “It Is Not Always May” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wrapping Up Transcendentalism

I know many teachers who dread teaching literary movements. It can be challenging to help make teaching literary movements, like transcendentalism, engaging and relevant for secondary students. However, over time, I realized the power doesn’t lie in what we’re teaching as much as it does in how we’re teaching it.

We don’t need to lecture our students about this movement or that. Instead, we can have them dive in with inquiry projects and Author study projects . They can express their understanding of transcendentalist beliefs through blackout poetry   or a one pager project .

While I hope this post served as a springboard for planning how to teach the transcendentalism movement, I’d love to hear your ideas too. If you’ve taught this movement before, what resources, authors, texts, or activities do you recommend for teaching transcendentalism? Share your ideas in the comments below.

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Do Not Allow a Transcendentalism Essay to Frighten You!

Before you find out how to write a good transcendentalism essay, let`s discuss what is transcendentalism. Basically, it is an ethical, religious, and philosophical system that developed in the United States in the mid-19th century. American transcendentalists shared Kant's view of pure knowledge, which seemed to be eternally inherent in consciousness and was the basis for all human experiences. They believed that human consciousness from birth was not a tabula rasa and placed a human personality endowed with a divine soul in the center of the universe. Noteworthy, the representatives of this system believed that spirituality could not be simply achieved through intuition or self-reflection.

Common Transcendentalist Values

Despite the fact that transcendentalists followed many rules and practices, one may recognize three main features that made this philosophy truly unique: idealism, individualism, and the divinity of nature. Unfortunately, there are not so many good transcendentalism essay examples on the web. Therefore, it is pretty challenging to find out what concepts should a transcendentalism essay discuss. 

Look Through the Worthy Transcendentalism Essay Topics

Undoubtedly, in order to write a great transcendentalism essay, you need to select a good topic. This topic should be pretty interesting to you and relevant to the subject you study. To choose a good topic, you need to carry out preliminary research and find out what transcendentalism issues need to be addressed. In addition to selecting a great topic, you need to take care of the paper structure. Thus, even if your transcendentalism essay is a pretty unique task, it should also follow the common structure and include an introduction, main body, and conclusion in your essay. The topics within the scope of transcendentalism are quite difficult to write, however, they greatly develop the student`s writing, research, and analytical skills.

In case you need to write a great transcendentalism essay but you have no idea what topic to choose, we advise you to look through the following list:

• Discuss the essential characteristics of transcendentalism philosophy. What are the main concepts the philosophy relies on?
• Discuss the origin of transcendentalism and emphasize its importance;
• Critically evaluate the work of the transcendentalism founders. Evaluate the main goals of the famous transcendentalists;
• Discuss the influence of transcendentalism on the literary works of the 19th century;
• Evaluate the influence of transcendentalism on art;
• Discuss the relation between transcendentalism and society;
• Analyze idealism as one of the main concepts of transcendentalism;
• Name five key values of the transcendentalism movement and explain them.

We assure you that the list of good topics on transcendentalism is not limited to the ones mentioned above. You just need to pick up the one that seems interesting to you. If you experience some problems with choosing a good topic, make sure to talk to your instructor and they will surely guide you. 

Transcendentalism Essay Example for Free: Major Beliefs of Transcendentalist Leaders

Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement, which was started by intellectuals in the 1830s. The main transcendentalist leaders included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau among other poets, authors, and philosophers. The movement was formed to protest against the prevailing state of culture and society. Particularly, transcendentalism aimed at opposing the Unitarian doctrine, which was taught at Harvard Divinity School, and The intellectualism at Harvard. Transcendentalist leaders had many beliefs that changed with time. However, they had four main beliefs: naturally, man is sinless at birth, God can only be found through nature and in nature, and the truth of the universe and children were God’s most magnificent creatures.

Transcendentalists believed that man is sinless at birth. This is a fundamental belief. They believe that sins are not passed down to or from other generations. Therefore, the sin of eating the forbidden fruit was not passed to the man at birth; man is born with God’s blessing. Children are blameless beings without sins since they have not committed any sin at birth. This establishes the basis for the transcendentalist belief that human beings are naturally sinless. 

Transcendentalist leaders believed that God is found through nature and in nature. God is present in all living creatures and can only be found if human beings are connected with nature. Transcendentalists believe that human beings can attain God’s level through a peaceful nature and calm setting. This belief requires that human beings transcend normal thinking and develop a higher level of thinking.

Transcendentalists agree that children are God’s perfect creatures. This belief is based on the belief that human beings are born sinless. Thus, children are perfect and are without blemish since they have had no opportunity to commit sin. Additionally, transcendentalists are pro-life; given the opportunity, they would prefer right to wrong.  

In conclusion, there are various other minor transcendentalist beliefs. Transcendentalists believe in the oversoul. They believe in life after death concept. In life after death, there is a mixing of souls at the bottom of a fountain to form a single soul, which is reborn at the top. Transcendentalists believe that all souls will rise after death; however, the souls will be rejoined with all the other souls. 

The Friend writes thus.

"Hold fast, I beseech you, to the resolution to wait for light from the Lord. Go not to men for a creed, faint not, but be of good courage. The darkness is only for a season. We must be willing to tarry the Lord's time in the wilderness, if we would enter the Promised Land. The purest saints that I have ever known were long, very long, in darkness and in doubt. Even when they had firm faith, they were long without feeling what they believed in . One told me he was two years in chaotic darkness, without an inch of firm ground to stand upon, watching for the dayspring from on high, and after this long probation it shone upon his path, and he has walked by its light for years. Do not fear or regret your isolation from men, your difference from all around you. It is often necessary to the enlargement of the soul that it should thus dwell alone for a season, and when the mystical union of God and man shall be completely developed, and you feel yourself newly born a child of light, one of the sons of God, you will also feel new ties to your fellow men; you will love them all in God, and each will be to you whatever their state will permit them to be. "It is very interesting to me to see, as I do, all around me here, the essential doctrines of the Quakers revived, modified, stript of all that puritanism and sectarianism had heaped upon them, and made the foundation of an intellectual philosophy, that is illuminating the finest minds and reaches the wants of the least cultivated. The more I reflect upon the Quakers, the more I admire the early ones, and am surprised at their being so far in advance of their age, but they have educated the world till it is now able to go beyond those teachers. "Spiritual growth, which they considered at variance with intellectual culture, is now wedded to it, and man's whole nature is advanced. The intellectual had so lorded it over the moral, that much onesided cultivation was requisite to make things even. I remember when your intellect was all in all, and the growth of the moral sense came after. It has now taken its proper place in your mind, and the intellect appears for a time prostrate, but in due season both will go on harmoniously, and you will be a perfect man. If you suffer more than many before coming into the light, it is because your character is deeper and your happy enlargement will be proportioned to it."

The identity, which the writer of this letter finds between the speculative opinions of serious persons at the present moment, and those entertained by the first Quakers, is indeed so striking as to have drawn a very general attention of late years to the history of that sect. Of course, in proportion to the depth of the experience, will be its independence on time and circumstances, yet one can hardly read George Fox's Journal, or Sewel's History of the Quakers, without many a rising of joyful surprise at the correspondence of facts and expressions to states of thought and feeling, with which we are very familiar. The writer justly remarks the equal adaptation of the philosophy in question "to the finest minds, and to the least cultivated." And so we add in regard to these works, that quite apart from the pleasure of reading modern history in old books, the reader will find another reward in the abundant illustration they furnish to the fact, that wherever the religious enthusiasm makes its appearance, it supplies the place of poetry and philosophy and of learned discipline, and inspires by itself the same vastness of thinking; so that in learning the religious experiences of a strong but untaught mind, you seem to have suggested in turn all the sects of the philosophers.

We seize the occasion to adorn our pages with the dying speech of James Naylor, one of the companions of Fox, who had previously been for eight years a common soldier in the army. Its least service will be to show how far the religious sentiment could exalt the thinking and purify the language of the most uneducated men.

"There is a spirit which I feel," said James Naylor a few hours before his death, "that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things, in hope to enjoy its own in the end. Its hope is to outlive all wrath and contention, and to weary out all exultation and cruelty, or whatever is of a nature contrary to itself. It sees to the end of all temptations. As it bears no evil in itself, so it conceives none in thought to any other. If it be betrayed, it bears it; for its ground and spring is the mercies and forgiveness of God. Its crown is meekness, its life is everlasting love unfeigned, and it takes its kingdom with entreaty, and keeps it by lowliness of mind. In God alone it can rejoice, though none else regard it, or can own its life. It is conceived in sorrow, and brought forth without any to pity it; nor doth it murmur at grief and oppression. It never rejoiceth but through sufferings; for with the world's joy it is murdered. I found it alone being forsaken. I have fellowship therein with them who lived in dens and desolate places of the earth, who through death obtained this resurrection and eternal holy life."

Ralph Waldo Emerson left the ministry to pursue a career in writing and public speaking. Emerson became one of America's best known and best-loved 19th-century figures. More About Emerson

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and American Transcendentalism (1836-1860), despite having an amorphous and transient lifespan, holds strong importance in American history: religious, philosophical, and literary. Not only did this movement approach societal and spiritual life with new and radical perceptions concerning a variety of matters, but the tenets it preached still strike a certain chord within all who study them. Leaders of this compelling movement, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller, who are all prominent names in American literary history, called for a “transcendence” from a mediocre existence. Transcendentalism rooted from and sprouted diverse explanations of religion and philosophy including Unitarianism, Puritanism, and Idealism. However, in spite of the pivotal role politics, religion and philosophy played in the formation of American Transcendentalist thought, those are not the themes explored here. The following paper examines how 19th century American Transcendentalist doctrines continue to blossom from contemporary literature, contrary to the idea that American Transcendentalist texts dissipated when their explicitly transcendental authors passed away, and the movement itself subsided. In doing so, I analyze two modern novels (fiction and nonfiction) in light of a quintessential transcendentalist text. American Transcendentalism is a multifaceted 19th century movement whose byproducts ranged from fuelling creative minds to reshape societal norms, to becoming an indispensable name in any literature, religion, or philosophy class. Transcendentalism and Romanticism were two emphasized literary movements that took place in America during roughly the same years (1830-1860). However, they are dissimilar in various ways. In depicting how the literary transcendentalism of the 1800s yet transpires in modern literature, this paper will take into account three literary works, each of a different genre but thematically parallel, and among which only one is considered a classic transcendentalist work. The contemporary literary texts are by Claire Fuller (2015), and by Jon Krakauer (1996). The commending literary text to which I will compare and contrast these to is Thoreau’s (1854), a book containing a collection of essays written by a prominent Transcendentalist figure after devoting two years of his life animating transcendentalist life values at the Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. There, Thoreau lived as a minimalist hermit in a cabin he himself built, spending his days pondering about the splendor that is nature, limiting his social interactions to focus merely on his cognitive and intuitive powers which surfaced in his times of solitude. To quote Thoreau in chapter six of : (218) Thoreau resorted to two years of such living to provide a living example of a genuine transcendental experience. Despite there being a majority of critics who condemn Thoreau’s stay at Walden pond as not exactly transcendental and scold him for his alleged hypocritical actions which will be discussed in the fifth chapter of this paper, 's status as a powerful transcendental text which has stood the test of time is undeniable. Its distinct chapters include the author's perceptions on society, solitude, companionship, religion, politics, economy, and most emphatically, nature. In , Thoreau tells stories about his life in first person, almost in a stream-of-consciousness manner of narration. Therefore, its genre is commonly postulated as an autobiography or a memoir. My choice in selecting and as the illustrative pieces of modernized transcendentalism rests on a plethora of factors. The fact that they both belong to diverse genres, for instance, constitutes one important component. shares the autobiographical aspect of , but the former is a fictional autobiography. shares the nonfiction aspect of but its author employs the elements of both new journalism and biography genres in the narration of the life story of his protagonist. Selecting contemporary books from diverse genres depicts how the literary facade of transcendentalism evolved to not only being represented in nonfiction and autobiographical writings that narrate the author’s experiments with a transcendentalist living, but also in a variety of literary manifestations, including those of Fuller and Krakauer. I singled out the latter two modern works because I recalled how reading them gave me a sense of déjà vu. Their plots encompassed events that felt strangely familiar. As my eyes were maneuvering over their words, my mind could not stop associating their semantic and syntactic structure to that of and in the bigger picture, the transcendentalist doctrines. The three literary works that will be tackled in the following pages root from diverse backgrounds, and have been choreographed to fulfill multiple purposes. Thoreau wrote 1846 as documentation of the lifestyle he adopted while spending two years living a minimalist life, tête-à-tête with nature. A century and a half later, Krakauer wrote to document his investigation on the tragic demise of a young man who was deeply influenced by the transcendentalist thought. is Fuller’s very first novel, and whoever gets tangled up in its pages can detect the immortal influence of the transcendentalist movement on Fuller’s writing. The analytical chapters of this paper, chapters three through five, are structured in a manner that firstly introduces the reader to the modern texts which might be unfamiliar to them. After chapter three briefly discusses a few themes common to both and for the purpose of finding common ground between the two, chapter four gradually brings in the governing classic transcendentalist text, . Through discussing the diverse styles of writing employed in all three works, chapter four compares the semantic and syntactic elements which surface in the various manifestations of transcendentalism in literature, mainly contemporary literature. Unlike the rigid rules which accompanied the Victorian age in literature, for instance, transcendentalism, being a movement which treasures freedom and individuality, did not embody a certain writing etiquette. Chapter four aids in highlighting this aspect of 19th century literary movement. Naturally following this section, chapter five concludes the paper by discussing the mutual themes between all three works under discussion, however in an approach that differs from the thematic discussion in chapter three. Chapter five not only mentions the underlying meaning of the three books, but also lists how they all stress on thematic concepts which coincide with and constitute 19th century transcendentalist doctrines. This paper will examine two examples of modern literature that embrace the tenets of American transcendentalism in light of a paramount transcendentalist text to refute the common belief that transcendentalism was an effete, short-lived literary movement whose teachings enjoyed an ephemeral life. American author and political theorist Patrick J Deneen notes in his essay “Transcendentalism, Ancient and Modern: Brownson versus Emerson,” that“transcendentalism seeks at once to emphasize our individual and collective divinity, and to perceive the divine that transcends all particularity. The divine is everywhere, in everyone.” (9) In the pursuit of the perception of the “divine” Deenen mentions, 19th century transcendentalists call upon the therapeutic powers of solitude, nature and non-conformity as catalysts in their quest to self-discovery. Despite venturing in diverse journeys in quest of a common purpose, Henry David Thoreau, Christopher McCandless, and James Hillcoat share quintessential transcendentalist doctrines. Thoreau, being one of the founding fathers of 19th century American transcendentalism, paved the way for the modernized likes of him, such as Christopher and James, in religiously idolizing and attempting to adopt the transcendentalist manner of living. The correspondence of Christopher’s mindset and condition to that of Thoreau is more critically discerned and analyzed than that of the tacitly transcendentalist character of James Hillcoat, possibly because James’ character was developed in a fiction novel written only four years ago which, unlike the nonfiction , has not been made into an award-winning movie. Nevertheless, even within the minimal number of critiques received, the influence of Thoreau’s and his transcendentalist beliefs is implicitly observed in the character of James Hillcoat and the overall plot of the story. Similarly, among the copious amount of academic papers, reviews, critiques, dissertations and blogs which have analytically examined , links have been made between Christopher McCandless and Thoreau himself. Many have even called Christopher a modern transcendentalist, especially since he carried a paperback of transcendentalist books with him during his quest, and had highlighted passages which spoke to his soul. As many experts and critics have discerned, the presence of the transcendental atmosphere and influence is apparent in both and despite in varying degrees. Christopher McCandless’ one-way adventure into his own demise is still debated by scholars and investigative journalists. Some condemn his death as being plotted, while others claim it was accidental. The tragic non-fiction tale of the young audacious soul continues to spark the intrigue of all readers who come to know his story. Numerous articles, reviews, and research papers aim to analyze the reasoning, or the lack thereof, behind Christopher McCandless’ venture. Many, however, undoubtedly associate Christopher’s life choices with his love for transcendentalist philosophies. The described as “compelling, tragic, and hard to put down,” and the said it was “engrossing,” and that “with a telling eye for detail, Krakauer has captured the sad saga of a stubborn, idealistic young man.” The list of people entranced by Christopher’ story and Krakauer’s reviving of it is endless, and the amounts of adjectives thrown at Christopher range from “ignorant narcissist” to “natural hero.” Scholar and scientist Peter Goggin discusses the similarity of the Christopher McCandless mindset with that of Thoreau in his book . He states that Christopher’s aspiration of living a sustainable life could not be followed through because “he approached his adventure without sufficient respect for the land. (175)” Goggin mentions how Christopher did not have time for ruminations or contemplations about nature and existence because his time in the wilderness was exhausted with worries about food. Similarly, academic author and research scholar Joseph M Kramp, in a research project entitled “Negative Tendency in the Nature Religions of American Youth,” notes how Christopher McCandless was inspired by transcendentalists in his love for less government and his difficulty with dealing with any kind of authority. In his 1996 article “Adventures of Alexander Supertramp,” writer Thomas McNamee records his thoughts on how the story behind the plot becomes painfully moving as Jon Krakauer picks through the adventures and despairs of the protagonist. According to this writer, the reader of never reaches an understanding of Christopher’s spiritual thirst. However, he/she feel familiarized with its very impalpability. McNamee believes there is only one weakness in Krakauer’s attempt to understand Christopher: an inadequate consideration of mental illness. Hilary Krutt, in her online article titled “A Polarizing, Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild,” maintains that Christopher had shrewd knowledge about the wild. She familiarizes with the principles of solitude, modesty, and truth which were the flesh and bones of Christopher’s unforgettable voyage. ’s Peter Beaumont, in a 2014 article, proclaims that the closest equivalent to is Henry David Thoreau’s which is an unsurprising observation since Christopher himself idolized Thoreau, and carried a copy of and with him on his journey. One of the many people who reprimand both the protagonist and the author of is Craig Medred, who writes for . In his 2016 article “The Beatification of Chris McCandless: From Thieving Poacher into Saint,” Medred harshly accuses Christopher of being a romanticized, selfish poacher and Krakauer of being a man whose sole interest in life is selling his books. Medred also poses a sarcastic rhetorical question: “Isn't it about time for a painful and objective public consideration of the real Christopher, given that he has now been dead long enough that no one really needs to play nice about his behaviors preceding his death?” is Claire Fuller’s debut novel, and the publicity and positive feedback it received is commendable. describes the book as impossible to put down. calls it a “standout debut,” and describes it as "compulsive, charming, sinister...could well become a classic." The number of accolades directed at this novel are too numerous to fit in a literature review. However, unlike and , Fuller’s debut, having been published four years ago, is yet only critiqued by numerous renowned newspapers and online journals and not researchers and scholars. In fact, this paper may be the first in offering an academic, in-depth analysis of Our Endless Numbered Days and everything it envelops. ’s Jonathan Gibbs, in his 2015 article “ by Claire Fuller review – a Post-Apocalyptic Debut with a Twist” claims that the book is a bedfellow of Thoreau’s , considering they both advocate a self-sustainable escape to nature. Another online book critic is ’ Sarah Gilmartin who, in a 2015 article, reviews the debut. She describes the book, with its dense imagery and post-apocalyptic setting, as helping the reader reconnect with nature. She also praises Fuller for being a talented writer whose style is lyrical and cadenced, and whose eye for eccentric details completes the oddity of her story. Gilmartin compliments the book for being “admirably restrained in its depiction of horror, letting the reader fill in the blanks.” Similarly, the ’s Amy Gentry, in her 2015 book review of , says Fuller “bends language as easily as willow twigs, and weaves a hypnotic intensity of detail into her narrative that gives every lie the feel of truth.” According to Gentry: Among the limited amount of scholastic criticism received, associations made with and are observed. and This section briefly discusses some of the common themes in the two novels, interpreting the way each theme is handled in each book. The enticing nature of the American wild enraptures both the protagonist and the author of this non-fiction book. For Christopher, the great Alaskan wilderness seems the perfect place to begin his journey of self-discovery away from the philosophies of modern life which he strongly opposed, and from the presence of his father whose principles and mindset are everything he despises. However, his journey into nature does not exactly aid in his self-exploration, for instead of spending his time digging through the corners of his mind, he exhausts his brain cells constantly thinking of and attempting to find food. His journal which is later found in Bus 142 by his body contains mostly lists of names of herbs and animals, as well as systematic observations of his environment. As Christopher steps away from his old life, he adopts the name “Alexander Supertramp” as though he is to become a whole new, off-grid human being, completely off the radar of society and the government. In fact, in a letter Christopher writes to Ron Franz, a man who picks him up when hitchhiking and grows fond of him, Christopher says: The author of also devotes two chapters to autobiographical anecdotes of his own venturesome youth, namely his near-death experience climbing the Devil’s Thumb Mountain at the age of twenty-three, a year younger than Christopher was when he set foot in the Alaskan bush. Krakauer adds his own story to explain the reason for investigating Christopher McCandless’ death- he finds pieces of his wilderness-seeking, high-risk self in Christopher. James has been prepping for the end of the world his entire married life. His group of survivalist North London Retreaters have all theorized that the ultimate finality of life-as-they-know-it is imminent, and preparation for it is pivotal. However, James’ kidnapping of his daughter into the German wilderness is not an Armageddon survival tactic, but rather, a means of escape from an unfaithful marriage that is bound to break. Surviving in the wild is all James knows and obsesses about. He transforms the backyard of their London house into a camping site where he and Peggy hunt rodents and rabbits and grill them as a preparation for life in the wild. As a stay-at-home husband whose wife is rarely around, James’ detectable sense of inferiority as the man of the house who does not contribute even minimally to the family’s income is projected in the mania he has for preparing for the end of the world. It is only through that very mania that James feels masculine and tough as he plans how he would rescue his family when the finale approached, since Ute has already taken up all the space as the father figure of the house. After all, in 1985 (the year the plot first takes place), unemployed husbands, unable to provide for and secure their families, were still considered failures. Therefore, in James’ mind, the mere idea of being able to protect his wife and daughter fuels his fixation on the survivalist life, which, ironically, his wife refuses to be part of. The Die Hutte cabin is the go-to destination for the North London survivalists whenever the need to escape the Armageddon surfaces. Thus, when Ute confronts James with news of her affair with his survivalist friend Oliver, James’ perception of himself as the protector of the Hillcoat family gets shattered, since his wife has betrayed him for his close friend. When James becomes aware of the infidelity, life as he knows it is wrecked. He packs his and Peggy’s bags, and heads off to the great unknown, where he believes he will find all the answers. Upon deciding to go on a solitary journey to explore his identity, Christopher gathers the ideas and realities he wants to leave behind including materialism, societal obligations, and abusive parents who hide a significant truth from him. Christopher’s quest to escape from his old life is driven primarily by his inability to forgive his father for having kept a huge secret from him and his sister Carine. When Christopher discovers that he and Carine were born when his father had another family, he packs his bags and disappears to Alaska instead of confronting the issue at stake, as if to punish his parents for their lies. His temporary escape, however, turns out to be a permanent one. The attempt of torturing his parents by completely disappearing from their sights ended in his permanent disappearance from the world. James cannot adapt to the news of Ute’s affair with Oliver Hannington. He cannot do the usual, “common” drill of kicking her out of the house, since it is her property. As somebody who devotes his lifetime to the study of escape and survival, he avoids his marital problems instead of facing them. James’ inability to forgive his wife for her infidelity leads him to punish her by depriving her of her family: young Peggy and himself. As James himself states in a letter to Ute after leaving London: “I think it’s better for everyone if I go now. I’m taking Peggy with me- you can keep the other one. That’s fair, don’t you think?” (Fuller, 249) One of the most prominent themes of this non-fiction is that of self-sustainability. After all, Christopher’s escape into the wilderness is to live a life fully void of societal and familial duties and expectations where the only thing he relies on is his ability to use the natural resources around him. However, Christopher’s ambition of sustaining himself drains him of the energy to perform the most basic of tasks because of his constant search for edible food. The pages of his journal mostly contain entries enlisting names of herbs, plants, and animals he finds and/or ingests. He writes of nothing but food, especially since he tries to live completely off the land before even bothering to master the crucial skills of doing so. According to Krakauer, Christopher is sufficiently prepared to last for about three months, but Christopher overestimates his own strength. When he first enters the bush, the only man-made products that would aid in his sustainability are ten pounds of rice, a book about wild plants, and a used gun. He predicts he will develop a symbiotic relationship with Mother Nature and will not need any other material. He even donates all his trust fund money to an NGO, and burns whatever money he still has before he begins his journey into the wild to free himself of the burden of possessions. Being a survivalist, James Hillcoat is consumed by his obsession with self-sustainability. He spends years acquiring the necessary skills to survive in the wilderness alone, with no machinery or industrial equipment. Before the escape to Die Hutte, James lures Peggy into skipping school and staying home to kill raccoons and rabbits with him as practice for a survivalist life. He teaches her how to start a fire, how to distinguish edible plants from the inedible ones, and how to live a life dependent only on survivalist knowledge. However, when the two bring those skills to life in Die Hutte and not just their backyard, James’ distraction with building a soundless piano for Peggy instead of growing and storing wood for the winter proves his inadequacy in practicing self-sustainability, since he prioritizes building the piano over gathering needed food for himself and his daughter, almost leading to their starvation.. If James is truly a survivalist who has mastered the knowledge of self-sustainability, he would have prioritized the “staying alive in the wild outdoors” aspect of survivalism. When James and Peggy recently reach Die Hutte, their nourishment comes from a vegetable garden and animals they hunt. As described in Chapter 16: “My father created a vegetable garden in front of the cabin, carrying a bucketful of the rich forest soil and digging it into the earth. As soon as the ground was warm enough, we planted the seeds and the seed potatoes, in neat rows. (163)” James thinks he had a self-sustainable life in the palm of his hands until the hardships of living isolated in nature kick in. Christopher is raised in an upper-class environment. However, he rejects his family’s ability to provide him a life of comfort and luxury. He idolizes the Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy mindset that dismissed materialism. Christopher’s socially conscious nature enables him to blame materialism for economic discrimination and poverty. Christopher does not favor material belongings, he feels possessions practically impede a life-on-the-move and distract him from his journey to spiritual enlightenment. Christopher denounces the evil nature of money and possessions by abandoning all he owns before heading off into the Alaskan bush. He initiates the quest for a raw, transcendent experience with donating the remainder of his college fund, $24k, to a charity, abandoning his Datsun in the Mojave Desert, and burning the 123$ he had carried with him. These gestures explicitly declare his refusal to be enslaved by a capitalistic society. As Krakauer describes in chapter four: “In a gesture that would have done both Thoreau and Tolstoy proud, Christopher arranged all his paper currency in a pile on the sand.” Among the various graffiti inscriptions on the bus, there was one painted by Christopher that said: “TWO YEARS HE WALKS THE EARTH. NO PHONE, NO POOL, NO PETS, NO CIGARETTES. ULTIMATE FREEDOM. AN EXTREMIST. AN AESTHETIC VOYAGER WHOSE HOME IS THE ROAD…” (Krakauer, 179) This statement clearly indicates Christopher’s satisfaction of surviving for two years without the modern materialistic desires. James, unlike the survivalist Christopher, does not fully give up his material possessions before entering the wilderness. In fact, he and Peggy bring cans of food, toothpaste, and other necessary kits to the cabin. However, as James embraces life in Die Hutte, he begins letting go of all the traditional concepts of society. He adopts a free-spirited outlook on materials, attempting to make a homemade version of everything he and Peggy wish to have, such as a piano, a comb, even Christmas gifts. According to Peggy, James is fond of saying “If you own too many possessions sooner or later they start owning you.” (Fuller, 177). Another one of James’ idiosyncrasies is his aspiration to not even possess a concept of time. He believes that “dates only make us aware of how numbered our days are, how much closer to death we are for each one we cross off.” Therefore, he decides “to live by the sun and the seasons.” (Fuller, 103) Thoreau’s , also known as , is a collection of autobiographical essays he wrote during his biennium stay in a cabin by the Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. He began writing of his adventure as a response to the townsmen who were curious about his manner of living, and then developed the essays to fit under diverse thematic categories (eighteen chapters). The narrator being Thoreau himself, all stories are told from the first person perspective, which gives the reader the impression of being inside Thoreau’s head. However, is not a typical autobiography. Despite it being an autobiographical journal, encompasses not only stories about Thoreau and his everyday life, but also his ruminations on philosophical, societal and political issues, mainly through social satire and philosophical citations from ancient cultures. Thoreau also discusses poetry, and makes eccentric observations about the natural world around him. From the very first page, Thoreau explains, “In most books, the I or first person is omitted; in this it will be retained.” He reassures his readers of the credibility of his self-reflective theories by saying: “I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well. (8)” Thoreau stocks his memoir with dense figurative language, mostly metaphor and personification, using the natural world surrounding him as muse. His use of inquisitive sentences awakens the curiosity of the reader, and documents the mysteries that perplexed him during his solitary stay. Thoreau’s language is raw, smooth, and powerful. His observations and reflections reveal how a transcendental mindset awakens the natural human curiosity and intensifies the connection between man and nature. Thoreau’s writing style, though poetic, swerves into detailed, naturalistic descriptions whenever necessary, such as when he enlists the genus and species of the wild life he encounters at the Walden Pond. Thoreau combines a poetic writing style with precise, scientific descriptions to give his readers a clear understanding of his experience with life in nature. In contrast to the nonfiction of , is a work of bildungsroman (coming-of-age) fiction. Written in the past tense using first-person narration, the story is told in retrospective narrative by the protagonist herself. The plot is divided into two time sequences: one when Peggy has freshly returned to civilization after living nine years off the grid, and another when Peggy is recreating the events she remembers from her life in Die Hutte, when her nickname was Punzel (as in Rapunzel). The twenty-eight chapters of the novel embrace both time sequences separately, and not one chapter includes the fusion of both. The opening chapter, and others that follow, reveal 17-year-old Peggy’s life after her recent return to London in the November of 1985, when she discovers she has a younger stepbrother, Oscar, who was born a few months after her and James’ disappearance. Another set of chapters include vivid descriptions of her memories living isolated in the wild, completely dependent on the guidance of a father who is gradually descending into insanity. The two set of chapters are presented in a detached manner, and Fuller goes back and forth with their application in the novel. The chapters in which Peggy narrates the challenges she faced after returning to society are introduced with the subheading “London, November 1985” in order to resuscitate the reader’s alertness with the progress of the plot, and not intensify any state of confusion the mindbender events of the story might have already caused. In recounting the tales of life in the wild, Fuller administers a language full of graphic descriptions of the natural environment and an accurate portrayal of the hardships of surviving in the wild, a quality she and Thoreau have in common. However, Fuller’s masterful usage of the adequate words and imagery create an elevating atmosphere which, at the same time, feels claustrophobic. Her language can give the reader a breath of fresh air and then steal it back within one sentence. To exemplify: “The forest smelled earthy; moist, like the cemetery.” (Fuller, 101) In the chapters revolving around life in Die Hutte, Fuller succeeds in providing a sufficient amount of imagery and figurative language which grant her credibility and also yield a detailed mental image of Peggy’s observations within the readers’ minds. To quote the author: “I pushed my way through the plants until I came to a massive trunk which must have come down years before, its decaying wood spongy and dark. I stepped on to it, and the rotten bark gave way, tipping me off so that I stumbled, only just catching myself before I fell. A shiver ran through the trees as though they were laughing, and I had to fight the urge to turn and bolt.” (Fuller, 101) Fuller’s style of writing allows the reader to feel what the narrator felt when she was a naive eight-year-old who blindly believed her father who he told her the world has ended, and a few years later excused him for raping her because he has lost his mind and is mistaking her for his wife. While describing life lived in the false belief that she and her father were the only two people left in the world, Fuller excelled in her proper presentation of what a self-reliant life lived in solitude, transcendent of the normal societal values, entails. Even when the narration voice switched to the 17-year-old Peggy who had returned to London, the profound effects of her life in the wild were evident in the narrator’s every word. The closing paragraph of the novel reveals how, even after two months of coming back home, the minute memories of the forest life were fiercely imprinted on Peggy’s memory, even after she was told the person she lost her virginity to in the forest was not Reuben, but her very own father. However, extreme isolation had warped Peggy’s mind, and even after figuring out that Reuben was merely a figment of her imagination, she still chose to dream of him: and unlike are both works of nonfiction that include factual events. , however, conjoins both autobiography and biography within its pages through implementing the writing techniques of New Journalism (or Literary Journalism). Krakauer, after all, is a prominent award-winning journalist of the American outdoors, and his utilization of both the elements of New Journalism and those of narrative literature proved his brilliant versatility as a writer. Upon the initial publication in 1996, was on the bestseller list for two years, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and it hitherto stands as one of the focal works of late twentieth century American nonfiction. It is pivotal to note that is an investigative extension of a highly popular article Krakauer originally published in the magazine in 1993 about Christopher after the journalist found out about his death. The article merely investigated Christopher’s life and death. The novel, however, meditates on the complications of father-son bonds, American male adolescence, and the role of nature and wilderness as a cultivator of the great American yearning of self-reliance. As a novel that adopts the literary technique of New Journalism, which combines the factual elements of journalism and the aesthetic elements of narrative literature in one work, contains meticulous research and information fashioned into a compelling and impactful story. Krakauer has meticulously structured the complex interior of the novel through drawing from various American literary traditions both standard and sophisticated, exemplifying a milestone piece of twentieth century American mixed-genre non-fiction. Krakauer orchestrates the plot in a nonlinear narrative, and supplies the readers with rigorous depictions of the American outdoors, camping, and hitchhiking. He furnishes the biography with immensely emotional material collected from his interviews with the people close to Christopher, examining how his tragic death impacted their lives. This strategy renders the novel an adventure story which reveals the possibly traumatic effects of a risk-taking behavior. In Krakauer peruses the same books Christopher was known to have read and idolized, including the nonfiction of Thoreau’s , and the fiction of Leo Tolstoy. This intellectual approach lends the novel a specific scholarly tone, which most mainstream outdoor writings lack. Just as Thoreau inserted allegories and the wisdom of the ancients to give a sense of universality to his personal quest in , Krakauer decorated his text with citations of naturalist authors of Thoreau's ilk, such as Wallace Stegner, and John Muir. In conserving with the investigative biography genre, Krakauer recounts Christopher’s early life and details statements from his family and the caring strangers befriended him during his trip. What also makes an autobiography as well is Krakauer’s depiction of an extreme, almost fatal outdoor adventure he himself experienced in his early twenties in chapters 14 and 15. Krakauer’s style of writing is largely objective. In the Author’s Note section, he foreshadows his attempt to be as detached from the plot as possible: ) , , and all share a thematic atmosphere which distinctly manifest themselves in the form of the transcendentalist tenets. It is important to note that the 19th century transcendentalists never developed an explicit set of doctrines. However, all transcendentalist writers of that time emphasized parallel themes which became classified as their tenets. Self-reliance, one of the cherished transcendentalist tenets, may be described as a state of actuality where external influences such as social pressure, society, and media have no effect on one’s thoughts, emotions, and actions. Transcendentalists treasure the ideal of self-reliance is to a heavy extent. In fact, Ralph Waldo Emerson has written an extended essay entitled “Self-Reliance” in which he argues that only through a self-sufficient life can one gain true knowledge and independence. Emerson was Thoreau’s mentor and the nineteenth century American writer and philosopher who led the transcendentalist movement. For transcendentalist visionaries, self-reliance is a set of principles which should not only be abstractly believed in, but also practiced. According to them, a person must always prefer individuality over social conformity, having confidence in their own faculties. By distancing himself from society and living in quasi-solitude, Thoreau makes a commitment to “follow the bent of his genius” (Thoreau, 90) by living off the land independently in a cabin he has built. Whenever he does take a job, he works as a day employer in order to not be committed to an employer and feel free to pursue his own matters. For his critics, however, Thoreau would still be working to pay for his cost of living, even though it was a allegedly a minimal cost, he would not be completely relying on himself and living off the land and only off the land. Throughout Walden, not once does Thoreau mention that the land he inhabited for two years belonged to Emerson. Neither does he mention how the wild life he claimed to embrace during his stay at Walden was not-so-wild, which is a point highly admired by Thoreau’s critics. Over those two years, Thoreau’s mother, Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau, indirectly nursed the self-reliant philosopher who was completely independent by taking care of his laundry arrangements. To quote American author Donovan Hohn in his 2015 article “Everybody Hates Henry,” “Thoreau played at rugged self-sufficiency while squatting on borrowed land, in a house built with a borrowed axe.” The land on which Thoreau lived was not exactly a rugged frontier in the middle of nowhere. “In reality,” proclaims writer Kathryn Schulz in 2015, “Walden Pond in 1845 was scarcely more off the grid, relative to contemporaneous society, than Prospect Park is today. The commuter train to Boston ran along its southwest side; in summer the place swarmed with picnickers and swimmers, while in winter it was frequented by ice cutters and skaters.” Schulz adds that the distance between Thoreau’s cabin and his family house was only 20 minutes, and people confuse him with Robinson Crusoe. The transcendentalist author whose philosophies were received with as much acclaim as disdain wrote that people spend their precious time, money and energy on clothing, running after inconsistent fashion trends religiously. Self-reliance, he writes, places importance on one’s own self-worth and individuality, and not on being a replica of others, both physically and conceptually. Nutrition-wise, Thoreau’s food intake during his two year stay was from the bulk of food he planted: beans, peas, corn, turnips, and potatoes. He learned from the farming experience that “it cost incredibly little trouble to obtain one’s necessary food” and that “a man may use as simple a diet as the animals and yet retain health and strength.” Reflecting on his first year of cultivating, Thoreau wrote: “All things considered, that is, considering the importance of a man’s soul and of today, I believe that I was doing better than any farmer in Concord.” (Thoreau, 89) Thoreau harvested approximately two and a half acres of beans which he later sold to tend to his occasional various expenses. McCandless is somewhat a modern Thoreau. Despite living in two different eras, a few of their common values and views draw both of them towards an identical notion of ‘truth’. In Krakauer’s descriptions of Christopher’s college life reveal the latter’s devotion to transcendentalist tenets such as the dismissal of technology and material possessions, the yearning for solitude and independence and the desire to connect with nature. "During that final year in Atlanta, Chris had lived off campus in a monkish room furnished with little more than a thin mattress on the floor, milk crates, and a table. He kept it as orderly and spotless as a military barracks. And he didn't have a phone, so Walt and Billie (Chris's parents) had no way of calling him." (Krakauer, 22). Christopher comes from a wealthy family, and he could’ve exploited that reality to his own benefit if he was not a transcendentalist at heart. He could have decorated his dorm with the most luxurious of furniture and amenities, he could have accepted the brand-new car his parents wished to gift him on his graduation day, and he could have spent his college fund travelling the world instead of donating it to OXFAM, but he, self-assertedly, does not. However, Christopher’s life after graduation encompasses a few contradictory events- as Thoreau’s does in . Christopher, after embarking on his quest for the archetypal independent and solitary life, in fact needs the aid of numerous strangers he encounters on the way. The number of interviews recorded in the book testify how many people help Christopher all the while he claims he wants to leave the world behind and be fully self-reliant, just like in the case of Thoreau’s mother doing his laundry. However, nowhere is the delusory nature of Christopher’s self-reliance more evident than when he retires to the Stampede Trail in what becomes the last trip of his life. Unlike Thoreau who actually built his own shelter (with borrowed tools nonetheless), Christopher spends his days in a pre-existing abandoned bus whose structure was kept in good condition. Nutrition-wise, however, he does self-sufficiently gather his own food from the wilderness (despite using a technological tool to hunt down the animals). Nevertheless, Christopher’s yearning to lead a self-reliant life is not backed up by intellectual expertise on how to actually achieve it. The only way he can understand what foods from the wilderness are nutritious and consumable is through a guidebook to edible plants he has carried with him. Christopher does not even carry a map or a compass when he begins his adventure in order to be fully self-reliant. The choices he unwaveringly adopts may be considered rational if Christopher has the perfect knowledge and experience to delve into that sort of perilous behavior. However, Christopher is ill-prepared to employ the self-sufficient life he so religiously aspires. As Krakauer puts it: Among the journal entries found beside Christopher’s body, there is one that says: “EXTREMELY WEAK. FAULT OF POT. SEED. MUCH TROUBLE JUST TO STAND UP. STARVING. GREAT JEOPARDY.” He is starved, and his scanty diet has shrunk his body down to a “feral scrawn of gristle and bone.” (Krakauer, 191) Christopher dies after inadvertently poisoning himself by eating , the botanical name for Wild Potato, whose seeds contain a toxic alkaloid. Unlike Christopher, James Hillcoat of has a prior knowledge about agricultural farming and understands its significance in being self-sufficient. He does not just head on to live in a cabin in the wild without having attained the essential knowledge on how to grow his own food. Back in London, he convinces Peggy into skipping school so he can teach her about survivalism. As Peggy describes in Chapter 3: James, despite his easily distracted nature, exerts actual effort into teaching Peggy about farming and guiding her into what she can and cannot eat straight from the earth while they are still in London. In Chapter 3, Peggy exclaims: “My back and shoulders burned, blistered, peeled and went brown whilst I learned what was safe to eat from the trees and plants of north London. (Fuller, 23)” She adds that her father taught her how to trap and cook squirrels and rabbits, which mushrooms were poisonous and where to collect the edible ones, and how to make ramson soup. They pull up the stalks of nettles and dry them in the sun. Based on Peggy's’ descriptions, her father, like Thoreau, is quite aware of the importance of understanding natural food resources on the path of living self-reliantly. Both transcendentalist characters James and Christopher are overly sure of their skills in self-reliance. I exclude Thoreau from this statement because he, in his two year stay at Walden, was not as away from food resources as James and Christopher are. When one of the survivalist friends asks James what he would do if he runs out of supplies in the wilderness, pointing out that he does not even have an air rifle, James responds: “Give me a decent knife and an axe and we’ll be fine. (Fuller, 13)” A similar overconfidence is observed in Christopher when Jim Gallien, the union electrician who drives him to Fairbanks and was the last person to see him alive, offers that he would buy Christopher some decent gear after noticing the exceedingly minimal gear the young hitchhiker is carrying. However, Christopher refused by saying: “No, thanks anyway, I’ll be fine with what I’ve got. (Krakauer, 6)” Both Christopher and James think too highly of their self-reliant abilities, and this attitude is what leads them to their demise. James’ distraction with building the piano causes him to not gather and store food for the winter, a selfish act which nearly kills both him and his daughter because of starvation. James is so keen on relying purely on himself in all aspects of living that he has even planned to die by inflicting death upon himself through eating poisonous mushrooms. The plot development of contains a rejection of a plethora of social norms. James disbelieves in the importance of conventional schooling by making Peggy skip school so he can homeschool her on survivalism. As Peggy narrates in Chapter 3: “The next morning my father came into my bedroom before I got up and said I didn’t have to go to school. ‘School, schmool. What’s the point of sitting in a classroom when the sun’s shining and there are plenty of things to teach you at home?’ he said. (Fuller, 20)” James also transcends the social norm of the father and husband of the family taking care of the finances of the household, which is an attitude his wife Ute condemns: “At least I am a professional. What do you do, James? Lie across the garden all day with your dangerous American friend.” (Fuller, 8) James also rejects the traditional steps to be taken after a married couple faces an issue of infidelity. Instead of confronting the problem and taking the necessary steps to either fix his marriage or end it, James kidnaps his young daughter into the German wilderness and deceives her into believing the entire world is dead, including her very own mother. This same attitude is observed in Christopher who, instead of confronting the issues he had with his father, escapes into the wild. As he confesses in a letter to his sister Carine: The transcendentalist principle of rejection of social norms is also observed in both modern novels in the dismissal of man-made concepts such as dates and governmental authority. As James proclaims in Chapter 11: “We’re not going to live by somebody else’s rules of hours and minutes any more. Dates only make us aware of how numbered our days are, how much closer to death we are for each one we cross off. From now on, we’re going to live by the sun and the seasons. Our days will be endless. (Fuller, 103)” This attitude of “to hell with all man-made concepts,” however, backfires. The same man who utters those very words questions his choices in Chapter 15 during the season his irresponsible character nearly killed him and Peggy: “How can I work out how much food we need if we don’t know what the date is?” (Fuller, 148) James wonders as he throws down the pen and puts his head in his hands. The refusal of governmental authority is another transcendentalist tenet observed in Thoreau and Christopher. Thoreau, during his stay at Walden Lake, has a personal experience with civil disobedience. In his extended essay , he explains how and why he has not paid a poll tax for six years (in protest of slavery and the Mexican war) and how this choice is the cause of his overnight imprisonment once. Thoreau, in the introductory paragraph of the extended essay, states that he heartily accepts the motto “That government is best which governs least.” Similarly, Christopher avoids keeping all his governmental papers intact and up-to-date. During his solitary adventures, prior to isolating himself in the Alaskan bush, he gets stuck in a heavy rainstorm and his Datsun does not function. With the battery drained, any possibility of the engine running is diminished. If Christopher is to get the car back on a paved road, his only option is to notify the nearby authorities. He knows, however, that if he goes to the rangers, they will bombard him with investigatory questions: “Why had he ignored posted regulations and driven down the wash in the first place? Was he aware that the vehicle’s registration had expired two years before and had not been renewed? Did he know that his driver’s license had also expired, and the vehicle was uninsured as well?” (Krakauer, 28) The honest responses to these questions are likely to shock the rangers. Christopher could have struggled to explain how he “answered to statutes of a higher order — that as a latter-day adherent of Henry David Thoreau, he took as gospel the essay ‘On the Duty of Civil Disobedience’ and thus considered it his moral responsibility to flout the laws of the state.” (Krakauer, 28) It is impossible, however, to get the deputies of the federal government to sympathize with his extremist opinions, and there will be serious consequences. Therefore, in order to avoid such hassles, he simply abandons the Datsun and resumes his voyage on foot. Another example of Christopher’s dismissal of governmental authority is when he responds to Jim Gallien’s question of whether or not he owns a hunting license with: “Hell, no. How I feed myself is none of the government’s business. Fuck their stupid rules.” (Krakauer, 6) One of the major dogmas of transcendentalism is that of isolation from society, which Thoreau does not associate with loneliness, for he continually states that nature offers a better society than humans do. He has an entire chapter dedicated to solitude in which he explains his own definition of solitude as self-communion and introspection. As he asserts in his chapter: “I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. (Thoreau, 212)” Thoreau believes solitude is minimally related to the physical proximity to other people, since man can be lonely in a room of people if he does not feel a sense of companionship with them. For Thoreau, solitude signifies a mystical state of mind rather than an actual physical circumstance. Through solitude, Thoreau finds himself spiritually confronting the full range of nature’s bounty without any mediators. Throughout the reader observes how Thoreau empties his life of unnecessary worries to be able to comprehend the reality of the universe through solitary ruminations. Thoreau expresses in : “I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture, or a bean leaf, or sorrel, or a horse-fly, or a bumble-bee. (215)” Christopher who allows Thoreau’s transcendentalist philosophies to guide his life gets too mesmerized by them without realizing the dangers that accompany living in isolation in the wilderness. Despite Christopher’s cutting off all contact with his family and friends back home when he enters the Alaskan bush, his late journal entries reveal a young man who has come to terms with the relationships he has with others, and who is ready to step back into society. Sadly, too late does Christopher realize that “happiness is only real when shared,” as he writes on one of the pages of , a few days preceding his death. When Krakauer interviews people who ran into Christopher while he was on his odyssey, many describe him as social and admirable. Ronald Franz had even asked Christopher if he could adopt him. Gaylord Stuckey, one of the many generous folks who offered to give Christopher a ride to his destination, told Krakauer that Christopher was candid with him about his intent of spending his summer completely alone in the wilderness, living off the land. Christopher admitted to Stuckey that this adventure of his was a childhood dream, and that he “didn’t want to see a single soul, nor airplanes, nor any sign of civilization near him.” Christopher wanted to prove to himself that he could survive on his own without anybody else’s help. (Krakauer, 159)” Christopher is so keen on achieving this dream that he even changes his name to Alexander Supertramp in order to be a fully isolated person completely off the government and society’s radar. When he first arrives at the site of the bus, he scrawls an overjoyed declaration of independence on a sheet of wrinkled plywood: ALEXANDER SUPERTRAMP MAY 1992 (Krakauer, 112) Similarly, James resorts to complete isolation and not a quasi-one like Thoreau. He drags his eight-year-old daughter with him, without realizing the magnitude of the life he is introducing her to, and which almost kills her. What differentiates the isolated life of James and Christopher is the fact that James had Peggy with him, but Christopher is full-on alone. Just as Christopher wants to be unidentifiable to the world, Peggy narrates how her father does the same while they are trekking to reach Die Hutte. She says: “My father had avoided conversations with people who spoke English, hurrying me away from the girl with long hair who said she was from Cornwall and let me have a bite of her lolly.” (Fuller, 52) James is obsessively attempting to reach his desired life of solitude without leaving any traces behind. The gravity of his obsession is so intense that it drives him into lying to his little girl about the death of her mother and the rest of the human population. As Peggy puts it, “I slipped into it without thought, so that the life we lived – in an isolated cabin on a crust of land, with the rest of world simply wiped away like a damp cloth passed across a chalked board – became my unquestioned normality.”(Fuller, 163) The extreme isolation in which James and Peggy live for eight years evidently warps both their minds. James begins mistaking Peggy for his wife, raping her and eventually impregnating her. Peggy begins imagining an inexistent Reuben whose existence she does not erase from her mind when the police inform her that there were no traces of his fingerprints anywhere in Die Hutte. Similar to Thoreau, Christopher goes into the wild in solitude to be able to discover himself and the world around him. James, however, goes into the wild as an escape from his marital issue, with little concern to the aspect of considering it a “journey to enlightenment” which tends to accompany this type of sojourns. Thoreau survives his stay at Walden because he does not completely cut himself off from society. Similarly, Peggy survives Die Hutte because she finds her way back to society. Peggy’s father and James, however, end their own lives because of their obstinate determination in entirely adopting a perilous lifestyle of complete isolation. Thoreau, a paragon of Transcendentalism, resorted to living two years in Walden for the utter purpose of bringing transcendentalist doctrines to life and showing the world the beauty of guiding a self-reliant life. Amongst the many tenets of transcendentalism, living in the wild as a non-conformant citizen is the tenet that modern readers of tend to grasp as the moral of the book. Christopher McCandless is evidently one of those readers. He idolized Thoreau’s solitudinarian life in the woods and when overwhelmed with life issues, decided to escape to the wild without training himself on how to actually survive there. For Christopher, his obsession with transcending the mediocrity of the common American lifestyle, considering the teachings of Thoreau and his contemporaries as a manual to a proper existence, ended in Christopher’s tragic demise. However, the fault does not lie in the Transcendentalist doctrines themselves, but in Christopher’s inaccurate understanding of them. Similarly, the plot of Fuller’s fictional novel is weaved with a powerful transcendentalist influence. Despite the novel’s fictional aspect, her choice of employing a primary character (James) whose mindset is parallel (in some aspects) to that of the 19th century transcendentalists, reveals how the character and its creator have both been affected by the transcendental doctrines. The difference between James and Christopher is that James had the necessary survival knowledge but the lack of mental stability, and Christopher had a relatively stable mental health but improper survivalist knowledge. Both of these focal points which are imperative to living in the wilderness were defective in both their cases, and consequently led to their deaths. In contrast, Thoreau, who essentially pioneered the idea of living in a cabin in the woods as a requirement to transcendentalist life, was not killed by it: partly because of the experimental nature of the incentive behind his quest, and partly because of his not wandering off into complete isolation. The life circumstances of the 20th and 21st century hinder a full commitment to transcendentalist life values because of the increasing dependence on technological tools, the growing societal pressures which are resulting in mental health issues, and the destruction of nature for superficial purposes. However, this reality does not mar the beauty of transcendentalist doctrines which, if were accepted by the 19th century generations instead of , could have reversed the tragic realities that have dawned upon the 21st century world including consumerism, environmental disasters, industrialization, and urbanization. Despite the moral justness of their separate quests into the wild, people and characters like Christopher McCandless, Henry David Thoreau, and James Hillcoat, depict how modern life in all its elements can excruciate the creative, free-spirited human who intuitively understands that the answer to his/her existential crisis is found within nature. This innate knowledge is found in the very human nucleus, but has been silenced by modern distractions. By viewing literary works from diverse eras that describe the lengths people go to in order to allow that innate knowledge guide their lives, we observe the timeless, spell-binding nature of the idea of living freely in the wild, without having to enslave oneself for the benefit of implementing societal norms. Coincidentally, the latter idea has been manifested as one of the tenets of 19th century transcendentalism. When literary movements of preceding centuries are discussed, they tend to be regarded as obsolete time periods in which certain doctrines and etiquettes were propagandized. The American Transcendentalism of the 19th century is also approached in that manner by the vast majority. However, the meticulously-selected contemporary works under consideration in this paper serve to invalidate that viewpoint by illustrating how the legacy of the allegedly-transient 19th century transcendentalism still subsists. The latter philosophical and literary movement that flourished during the early to middle years of the 1800s, despite its evanescent lifespan, still continues to affect the generations of today with its multifaceted teachings. Therefore, it is nowhere near obsoletion. Deneen, Patrick J. “Transcendentalism, Ancient and Modern: Brownson versus Emerson.” , vol. 37, no. 1, 2008, pp. 8–16. Print. Goggin, Peter N. . Routledge, 2014. Print. Kramp, Joseph M. “Call of the Wild: The Negative Tendency in the Nature Religions of American Youth.” , vol. 54, no. 1, 2013, pp. 61–75. Print. Mcnamee, Thomas. “Adventures of Alexander Supertramp.” , The New York Times, 3 Mar. 1996. Web. Krutt, Hilary. “A Polarizing, Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild.” , 22 Aug. 2017. Web. Beaumont, Peter. “In Alaska's Wilds, the Mystic Hiker's Bus Draws Pilgrims to Danger and Death.” , Guardian News and Media, 18 Jan. 2014. Web. Medred, Craig. “The Beatification of Chris McCandless: From Thieving Poacher into Saint.” , Anchorage Daily News, 28 Sept. 2016. Web. Gibbs, Jonathan. “Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller Review – a Post-Apocalyptic Debut with a Twist.” , Guardian News and Media, 28 Feb. 2015. Web. Gilmartin, Sarah. “New Fiction: Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller.” , The Irish Times, 25 July 2015. Web. Gentry, Amy. “Review: 'Our Endless Numbered Days' by Claire Fuller.” , 12 Mar.2015. Web. Hohn, Donovan. “Everybody Hates Henry.” , 21 Oct. 2015. Web. Schulz, Kathryn. “Henry David Thoreau, Hypocrite.” , The New Yorker, 26 June 2017. Web. Krakauer, Jon. . Villard, 1996. Fuller, Claire. . Tin House Books, 2015. Thoreau, Henry David. . Ticknor and Fields: Boston, 1854. , vol. 37, no. 1, 2008, pp. 8–16. Print. Goggin, Peter N. . Routledge, 2014. Print. Kramp, Joseph M. “Call of the Wild: The Negative Tendency in the Nature Religions of American Youth.” , vol. 54, no. 1, 2013, pp. 61–75. Print. Mcnamee, Thomas. “Adventures of Alexander Supertramp.” , The New York Times, 3 Mar. 1996. Web. Krutt, Hilary. “A Polarizing, Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild.” , 22 Aug. 2017. Web. Beaumont, Peter. “In Alaska's Wilds, the Mystic Hiker's Bus Draws Pilgrims to Danger and Death.” , Guardian News and Media, 18 Jan. 2014. Web. Medred, Craig. “The Beatification of Chris McCandless: From Thieving Poacher into Saint.” , Anchorage Daily News, 28 Sept. 2016. Web. Gibbs, Jonathan. “Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller Review – a Post-Apocalyptic Debut with a Twist.” , Guardian News and Media, 28 Feb. 2015. Web. Gilmartin, Sarah. “New Fiction: Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller.” , The Irish Times, 25 July 2015. Web. Gentry, Amy. “Review: 'Our Endless Numbered Days' by Claire Fuller.” , 12 Mar.2015. Web. Hohn, Donovan. “Everybody Hates Henry.” , 21 Oct. 2015. Web. Schulz, Kathryn. “Henry David Thoreau, Hypocrite.” , The New Yorker, 26 June 2017. Web. Krakauer, Jon. . Villard, 1996. Fuller, Claire. . Tin House Books, 2015. Thoreau, Henry David. . Ticknor and Fields: Boston, 1854.    Kantarjian, P. (2021). "The Legacy of American Transcendentalism in Contemporary Literature: From Thoreau to Krakauer." , (09). Retrieved from Kantarjian, Perla. "The Legacy of American Transcendentalism in Contemporary Literature: From Thoreau to Krakauer." 13.09 (2021). < > Kantarjian, Perla. 2021. The Legacy of American Transcendentalism in Contemporary Literature: From Thoreau to Krakauer. 13 (09), KANTARJIAN, P. 2021. The Legacy of American Transcendentalism in Contemporary Literature: From Thoreau to Krakauer. [Online], 13. Available: graduated in 2019 with a Bachelors degree in English Studies from in Achrafieh, Lebanon. Journal Blog » » » - Stories to... » The newsletter highlights recent selections from the journal and useful tips from our blog. to get updates from in your daily feed. 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