What were the main transcendentalist beliefs?

Transcendentalists advocated the idea of a personal knowledge of God, believing that no intermediary was needed for spiritual insight. They embraced idealism, focusing on nature and opposing materialism.

What were Thoreau’s reasons for moving to the woods?

He wanted to commune with nature and live simply, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

What was the relationship between Emerson and Thoreau?

Emerson was an enthusiastic intellectual who came to rebellion gradually. Thoreau was a friend of nature who took a dim view of his fellow men. Through the thick and thin of prickly, passionate friendship, they became like gods to each other.

How did Emerson influence Thoreau?

Emerson acted as a mentor to Thoreau and supported him in many ways. Emerson also used his influence to promote Thoreau’s literary efforts. Some of Thoreau’s first works were published in The Dial, a Transcendentalist magazine. And Emerson gave Thoreau access to the lands that would inspire one of his greatest works.

How did Henry David Thoreau influence change?

Today Henry is considered among the greatest of all American writers and the intellectual inspiration for the conservation movement. Thoreau inspired people to break the rules when you didn’t believe in them, to be an individual and to fight hard for something you love and believe in. That’s his impact on society.

What does the term plastic mean in self-reliance?

Emerson uses the word “plastic” in “Self-Reliance” to mean malleable, permeable, or adaptable. He is referring to the plasticity of people in terms of their capacity to adapt their ideas in accordance with new information or evidence.

Which quotation from self-reliance best summarizes Emerson’s view on belief in oneself quizlet?

Which quotation from “Self-Reliance” best summarizes Emerson’s view on belief in oneself? These are the voices which we hear in solitude… We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents.

What is a transcendentalist belief?

Transcendentalists believe that society and its institutions—particularly organized religion and political parties—corrupt the purity of the individual. They have faith that people are at their best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. It is only from such real individuals that true community can form.