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.