Post by daniellez07 on May 19, 2008 8:45:03 GMT -5
"Art and luxury have early learned that they must work as enhancement and sequel to this original beauty."
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Nature
The works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau have established transcendentalism as the ideology that in order to discover one’s true, inner self, a original relationship with the universe must be forged. In order to achieve this connection, Emerson suggests that one must “return to reason and faith” and activate the “oversoul” which lies dormant within each of us until we chose to learn through individual experiences with nature. Thoreau and Emerson also stress that one must become a “Man Thinking” and stray from the consensual ideas of society through development of their own innovative thoughts through experience and failure in their natural surroundings. Equally important to becoming a “Man Thinking” and establishing a unique bond, is the idea of simplicity. In Thoreau’s work Where I Lived and What I Lived For he states, “Our life is frittered away by detail” (173). In order to eliminate the detail provided by society that convolutes the reality of life, one must immerse himself in the nature which he has essentially developed from, and learn about himself through its offerings. Through Emerson and Thoreau’s works, it is clear that to become a learned and complete individual, one must develop through individual experiences with nature, and use the findings to simplify, formulate original thoughts, and truly understand oneself.
The transcendental theory explained through the works of Emerson and Thoreau can be displayed through Hudson River School Artist, Frederic Edwin Church’s painting, Charter Oak. The painting consisting of two large trees with a person standing beneath them amidst an open field with other small trees shows the simplicity that nature offers. The person standing beneath the two large trees serves as an individual seeking to connect with himself through the surrounding nature. Standing alone in the field, solely accompanied by trees and grass, the individual is able to stand isolated from the conformity of society. In the presence of only nature, the individual can learn through this atmosphere unmarked by the falsity of society. Through his experience with his surroundings, he can produce his own original thoughts and thus work towards activating his “oversoul”. The bright sky expresses the fresh opportunities that nature has to offer to those who chose to embrace it and learn from it. The overall beauty of the painting is provided by its lack of detail and distortion which portrays Emerson and Thoreau’s belief that nature, in its simplest form, “constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions” (Where I Lived and What I Lived For 177).
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Nature
The works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau have established transcendentalism as the ideology that in order to discover one’s true, inner self, a original relationship with the universe must be forged. In order to achieve this connection, Emerson suggests that one must “return to reason and faith” and activate the “oversoul” which lies dormant within each of us until we chose to learn through individual experiences with nature. Thoreau and Emerson also stress that one must become a “Man Thinking” and stray from the consensual ideas of society through development of their own innovative thoughts through experience and failure in their natural surroundings. Equally important to becoming a “Man Thinking” and establishing a unique bond, is the idea of simplicity. In Thoreau’s work Where I Lived and What I Lived For he states, “Our life is frittered away by detail” (173). In order to eliminate the detail provided by society that convolutes the reality of life, one must immerse himself in the nature which he has essentially developed from, and learn about himself through its offerings. Through Emerson and Thoreau’s works, it is clear that to become a learned and complete individual, one must develop through individual experiences with nature, and use the findings to simplify, formulate original thoughts, and truly understand oneself.
The transcendental theory explained through the works of Emerson and Thoreau can be displayed through Hudson River School Artist, Frederic Edwin Church’s painting, Charter Oak. The painting consisting of two large trees with a person standing beneath them amidst an open field with other small trees shows the simplicity that nature offers. The person standing beneath the two large trees serves as an individual seeking to connect with himself through the surrounding nature. Standing alone in the field, solely accompanied by trees and grass, the individual is able to stand isolated from the conformity of society. In the presence of only nature, the individual can learn through this atmosphere unmarked by the falsity of society. Through his experience with his surroundings, he can produce his own original thoughts and thus work towards activating his “oversoul”. The bright sky expresses the fresh opportunities that nature has to offer to those who chose to embrace it and learn from it. The overall beauty of the painting is provided by its lack of detail and distortion which portrays Emerson and Thoreau’s belief that nature, in its simplest form, “constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions” (Where I Lived and What I Lived For 177).