Civil Disobedience

In "Civil Disobedience" Thoreau basically says that humans should follow their conscience if the law is subjecting them to endanger their rights.  Thoreau's ideas have transferred over to todays society. The Innocent Project is a fairly recent movement. People are convicted of breaking the law, and are sentenced to years in jail for doing things it turns out they never did. With the advancement in technology, people are finding ways to better connect DNA to crimes across the world. There have been many recent discoveries of convictions, decades ago that are finally being proved wrong. These convictions have caused man upsets in families and communities around the US mainly. The government and justice system has failed victims of wrong convictions. This shows how innocent people lives are put at risk and ruined. Many workers in the Innocent Project are people who were wrongly convicted but were not informed they were wrongly convicted until after their sentence. This example shows how people will follow their conscience even though it goes against the government. This organization works for fairness and a better justice system in the US.

Thoreau

Thoreau was one of Emerson's students when it came to transcendentalism. Thoreau followed Emerson's footprints in spreading and acknowledging transcendentalism in America by writing about it in two of his most famous passages, "Civil Disobedience" and "Walden". One thing that Thoreau practiced was connecting man with nature. Thoreau himself lived an extremely simple life in the woods. He lived away from civilization to enhance the idea of being connected with nature. Thoreau  practiced the main ideas of transcendentalism through his writing. Thoreau connected his writing to Emerson's writing while staying in his cabin in the woods. Thorpe wrote similar to Emerson by explaining and preaching the main elements of transcendentalism and because of that he is also known as a main figure during this movement. Thoreau lived a simple life because he realized how important things were to him. Thoreau showed the elements of transcendentalism while at the same time writing about them.

Emerson

Individualism-Individualism means to be yourself and not hide your true identity because someone else thinks and says you are wrong. This also means to be independent and not a follower. In the passage "Self Reliance" Emerson states that "The power which resides in him in nature, and non but he knows what that is and which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried". This quote shows that people need to show their individuality and no one knows how "power" they have until they show other people.

Self-Reliance-When most people think of self reliance today, they think or someone being able to use their resources to take care of themselves. When transcendentalism was becoming more popular, self reliance was thought of almost like intuition. People who showed self reliance meant that they would make decisions based on what they think they should doing instead of other people telling them what to do. As you can see, this is similar to intuition and ties in with individualism also. In the passage "Self-Reliance" Emerson gives examples of how people don't believe in themselves. Emerson states "In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with certain alienated majesty" This quote explains that people don't trust themselves when they do great things.

Optimism-Optimism has always been a controversial topic. People express optimism in different ways whether its 'good' or 'bad'. Different opinions define whether someone is right or wrong about a topic. In the passage "Nature" Emerson shows how he is always optimistic. The quote "I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me" explains how reading and writing takes him to another world where he does not feel alone, although he is alone in the real world.

Intuition-Intuition is when people act upon what they first think to. People who listen to their heart instead of what everyone else says/thinks is intuition. The quote "Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string" in "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson states that people should trust themselves and go by their intuition. By following your instincts, you stand out and also show the other traits of transcendentalism.

What is Transcendentalism?

Transcendentalism is the idea that people will go as far as their mind will take them and most transcendentalists will do things that are out of the norm. Transcendentalism is defined by specific traits such as individualism, optimism, intuition, and self reliance. Emerson says that arts and literature can "ravish us into a region whereinto these passionate clouds of sorrow can not rise" on the same document as nature, but not part of the passage, "Nature". This quote shows how Emerson was optimistic after his son died. Emerson is making a claim that immersing yourself into art and literature can help people be optimistic in the worst of times. "To believe in your own thoughts, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men-that is genius" in "Self-Reliance" by Emerson clearly shows the importance of self-reliance and intuition. This quote is saying that believing in yourself in what is right, and listening to your gut feeling is the best thing a person can do. This was a philosophical movement in 1836 and had key figures who spread the idea of transcendentalism.

           Emerson                                                                                       Thoreau

Spongebob

In the show, "Spongebob Squarepants" Spongebob is a great example of a transcendentalist. In season one, episode nine, Spongebob wants to live with the jellyfish. He explains to Mr. Krabs that he wants to live freely but his dream is not accepted by his friends. In the show, Spongebob decides that he is going to prove Mr. Krabs wrong by living with the jellyfish for one night. Spongebob tries to live with the jellyfish but it doesn't work out as well as he thought. Spongebob realizes that his friends were right and that he should stay in society. Although Spongebob moves back to his normal life, the fact that he tried to live a different life and wanted to connect with nature shows how Spongebob was a transcendentalist in modern day culture. In the episode, Spongebob shows individualism, self reliance, and intuition which is why he is a great example of a transcendentalist. 

https://vimeo.com/86849992 (2:22-318)

Self Reliance: In "Self-Reliance" Emerson states that "A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within." Spongebob sees that he should be living with the jellyfish and chooses to follow his dream instead of conforming to what Mr. Krabs thinks is the correct way to live.

Individualism: One of the major traits of individualism is the element of independence. In the episode Spongebob says "I was thinking about giving up this cold and industrial life in favor of a more natural and free life among the jellyfish" to Mr. Krabs. This quote shows Spongebob's independence from the traditional environment he has been living in. After that Mr. Krabs tells Spongebob he won't be able to last one night with the jellyfish but Spongebob takes on Mr. Krab's challenge to prove him wrong to be individual and independent.

Intuition: Earlier in the episode Spongebob dreams about jellyfish. Spongebob listens to his heart instead of the people around him and that is when he makes his decision to live in the wild. Spongebob stands out in his community for doing something everyone else thinks is weird. "Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string" in "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson states that people should trust themselves and go by their intuition. This quote relates to Spongebob because he trusted his intuition even though his friends disagreed.