Transcendentalism Essay - 617 Words

Transcendentalism is a movement that started in New England in the early to mid nineteenth century. It was created as a protest against the general culture at the time, straying away from the mindless doctrines of the churches. I think that Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, and Dickinson did a good job of explaining what Transcendentalism is really about, which is that death is coming for everyone. Our Town stands out to me because it doesn’t use any props, and its strong symbolism that makes a point without being boring and difficult to understand. There is some question to what you can define the meaning as, however. Thornton Wilders Our Town reflects the ideas and ideals central to Transcendentalism. The musings of Emerson and Thoreau can†¦show more content†¦Gibbs finally accepts that her husband isn’t going to go on some fancy vacation out of town and stops worrying about it. While Our Town is obviously influenced by the idea of Transcendentalism, I do not think it does justice to the idea. Transcendentalism’s main theme is the beauty and glory of nature. What we as a society think is important means nothing to nature, and we as people are nothing compared to nature. Transcendentalism in my opinion is almost like Pantheism. God basically is the entity that is nature, and we already know God unknowingly instead of having some big spiritual ques t to find God. Our Town has little to nothing about nature or the ideas surrounding it. This is why I do not think Our Town really expresses Transcendentalism; you cannot have the idea without themes of nature. Regardless of what ideas Our Town is trying to explain, it is still a very successful and enjoyable play that is a great example of American literature. As much as I enjoyed watching it, I can’t comfortably call it a good example of Transcendentalism. 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