Transcendentalism Essay

Transcendentalism was a way of thought brought upon by Henry David Thoreau; it introduced the idea that one may acquire a stronger realization of who they are by living a life of seclusion in nature. It is a way of life separated from the chaos of urban life. His life is well documented in the book "Walden". However I see this beneficial way of life inapplicable in our generation. The people of our generation live a life drastically different from previous generations; we are drawn into a complex and demanding way of life that forces all of us to exert our thoughts away from the true realization of who we are and how we are drawn to nature. The focus of this world of today is efficient management of time. This has caused us to be more dependant on materialistic values. The development of new technology accelerates this effect at an exponential rate; it is the reason why we have been increasingly enveloped in an urban lifestyle. It grasps our attention in everything we do whether it is work, education, or communication. It holds together the infrastructure of every country in the world, and unites everybody as one. It has undoubtedly shaped the way we live today. Because of constant usage of technology in our generation many people have become so accustomed with technology that it has become an unalienable part of them; for this reason, I believe the people of our generation are unable to live a life of seclusion as Henry David Thoreau did in his book "Walden". However I do believe that it would be very beneficial to live in simplicity because everything in our world today has taken on a level of complexity that imprisons us from an unstressful lifestyle. Because of the way we live now, we are much less familiarized with ourselves and the pleasure of nature than we are with materialistic objects. Cynthia G. La Ferle supports the inapplicability of a transcendentalist lifestyle in our generation in her passage " Thoreau Still beckons if I Can Take My Laptop".

The beginning of this passage begins with the involvement of technology in La Ferle's life. She explains that she has many choices to which she can spend her time such as television and using her computer. The stress that the complexity of life has put on her causes her to want to "trade places with Henry David Thoreau" after she remembers the account of "Walden" . I Believe This section of the passage summarizes the basic standpoint of many Americans because it explains how we strongly value the ability to choose how we spend our time, but in doing this we also sacrifice simplicity in life. This passage also explains that it might have been easier for Thoreau to live a life as he did because of the lower standard of luxury in the 1800s. La Ferle states that it might have been harder for Thoreau to choose a life secluded from the existence of technology available to us today. La Ferle also claims that she went to the "real