Emerson And Transcendentalism

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Emerson was a transcendentalist, a man who represented an effort to break free from their Puritan faith. As a writer, Emerson’s powerful influence stems from the character of his writing. Emerson's writing seems to always provoke, destabilize, and challenge. Not only does he expect his readers to work, he uses a technique in which he forces the reader to work through his themes and use of language. Overall, Emerson embraced the needs and interests of non-white individuals, both Native Americans and African Americans. He also tended to speak in favor of women’s rights and abolition, encouraging protests against the government only when their actions were against the common good. Emerson is of high importance to the world of American Literature because he is responsible for the re-thinking of American spirituality, making it clear that fortune and peace are attainable only through reliance and trust in one’s self. …show more content…
From this point forward, the transcendentalist movement took a turn towards a broader range of subjects, including philosophy, theology, and politics. Emerson took a movement that began as a fight for reform in the church and transformed it through his writing, which became an intellectual fuel that stoked the fires of American literature for years to come. If the transcendental movement had a founding father, then it was most certainly Ralph Waldo Emerson. In addition to this, Emerson is cited as a source of inspiration for that of Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and Walt

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