Contents Introduction Main part

The main aim of this course paper is to give information about David Thoreau as a writer of Transcendental period and traditions of transcendentalism in the novel Walden.
The main aim of our research puts forward the following tasks to fulfill:

1. 
   Transcendentalism in literature
   
2. 
   David Thoreau as a writer of Transcendental period
   
3. 
   Traditions of transcendentalism in the novel Walden
   

Structurally the present course work consists of an Introduction, Three chapters, Conclusion and Bibliography.
1.Transcendentalism in literature
Many people associate a secluded cabin in the woods with Transcendentalism, a literary and philosophical movement that began in the 1830s. Although having a relatively brief heyday, Transcendentalism continues to live on in the minds of writers of today, making it one of the most influential periods in American literature.
Transcendentalism is an approach to philosophy, art, literature, spirituality, and a way of living. A group of writers and other intellectuals started what became known as the "Transcendental Club" in 1836. Lasting until 1840, these club meetings focused on new ways of thinking and orienting one's self in the world. First and foremost, Transcendentalism emphasizes intuition and personal knowledge and resists conformity to social norms. Transcendentalist writers and thinkers believe individuals are inherently good. Everyone has the power to “transcend” the chaos of society and use their own intellect for finding a sense of greater meaning and purpose.
Transcendentalists believe in the power of the human spirit. Through the Transcendentalist view, the individual is capable of experiencing a direct relationship with the divine. In their mind, organized, historical churches are not necessary. One can experience divinity through contemplation of nature. With a return to simplicity and a focus on everyday situations, they can enhance their spiritual lives [3,86].
Another major theme in Transcendentalism is self-reliance. Just as the individual can experience the divine without needing a church, the individual must also avoid conformity and instead rely on their own instincts and intuition.
In September 1836, a group of prominent ministers, reformists, and writers gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to plan a symposium around the state of present-day American thought. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who would become the leading man of the Transcendentalist movement, was in attendance at this first meeting. The club became a regular occurrence (soon called “The Transcendentalist Club”), with more members attending each meeting.
At first created to protest the dull intellectual climate of Harvard and Cambridge, the meetings formed as a result of the members’ common dissatisfaction with religion, literature, and politics at the time. These meetings became a forum to discuss radical social and political ideas. Special topics included women’s suffrage, anti-slavery and abolitionism, American Indian rights, and utopian society.
The last meeting of the Transcendentalist Club was in 1840. Shortly thereafter, The Dial, a magazine centering on Transcendentalist ideas, was founded. It would run essays and reviews in religion, philosophy, and literature until 1844.
Although the most famous works in Transcendentalist literature are non-fiction, Transcendentalist literature spanned all genres, from poetry to short fiction, and novels. Here are some key characteristics you will find in Transcendentalist literature:
Much of the Transcendentalist literature focuses on a person, character, or speaker who turns inward. Free from the demands of society, the individual pursues an exploration—often an outward one—but simultaneously of their own inner psyches. Immersing oneself in nature, living in solitude, and devoting life to contemplation are classic Transcendentalist methods for discovering the inner landscape of the individual [5,93].
Transcendentalist writers believed in the inherent goodness and purity of the individual soul. Through their rejection of organized religion and dominant social norms, they touted the human spirit as innately divine. Because of this, many Transcendentalist texts meditate on the nature of God, spirituality, and divinity.
There can’t be a Transcendentalist text without a sense of independence and self-reliance. Because the Transcendentalist movement began from dissatisfaction with the current social structures, it urged individuals to govern themselves instead of becoming dependent upon others. You'll find Transcendentalist texts have a character or speaker who decides to go their own way—to march to the beat of their own drum.
There were many Transcendental authors, though Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller provide classic examples of the foundation of this movement.
"Self-Reliance", an essay published in 1841 by Ralph Waldo Emerson, has become one of the most famous Transcendentalist texts. In it, Emerson claims each individual has true authority over themselves. He argues that individuals should trust themselves above all else, even if it means not conforming to societal norms. Goodness, he says, comes from within an individual, not from what is outwardly seen in society. Emerson believes that each person should govern themselves according to their own intuitions and not by what political or religious leaders dictate. He closes his essay by arguing that self-reliance is the path the peace.
A theological, intellectual, and literary movement known as transcendentalism emerged in the eastern United States during the first half of the nineteenth century. In opposition to empiricists and rationalists, the transcendentalists had doubts about knowledge derived from either perception or rationality. They asserted that knowledge should come from personal revelation and intuition rather than through human skepticism.
Early nineteenth-century New England is where transcendentalism first emerged. It developed out of a disagreement between “Old Light” opponents, who prized reason and rationality in their religious approach, and “New Light” theologians, who thought that religion should emphasize an emotional experience [4,85].
These “Old Lights” were characterized by their conviction that there was no trinity of father, son, and holy spirit as in orthodox Christian theology and that Jesus Christ was a mortal. They initially became known as “liberal Christians” and subsequently as Unitarians.
The beliefs that would become Transcendentalism separated from Unitarianism over its alleged rationalism and adopted German Romanticism in an effort to pursue a deeper spiritual experience. A number of thinkers started to swirl around this group. The movement’s thinkers accepted concepts put forward by the philosophers Immanuel Kant and Hegel, the poet Coleridge, the Vedas, and religious innovator Emanuel Swedenborg.
Transcendentalists promoted the concept of having a firsthand understanding of God and held that having spiritual insight might occur without the aid of a middleman. They supported idealism, emphasizing the natural world and rejecting materialism. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, and Amos Bronson Alcott were significant figures in the transcendentalist movement.
Emerson’s views on the value of the individual fell under the category of what he referred to as “self-reliance.” Everywhere Emerson turned, he observed that people lived their lives based on tradition that were constrained by social norms and religious conventions. In Emerson’s opinion, people were busy becoming what they are not. The past, religion, and societal structures were all shackles that Emerson wished to be freed from. So that each person might discover their true selves. He says, “History is an impertinence and an injury; Our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us…” He insisted that we must rely only on our own instincts as we live from the inside out. That is why, Emerson thought “nothing is last sacred but the integrity of your own mind”.
Emerson was a “pantheist”. A pantheist is the person who supports the idea that God created everything, from the minutest sand grain to the stars. He also believes that we all possess the divine spark. So when we listen to ourselves or follow ourselves then we are not being selfish but we are following our divine will. The person, according to Emerson, “is a God in ruins.” Emerson believed that the earth’s mountains, grains, and stars show how closely nature, God, and humanity are related. They are one. They also help Emerson see the value of every person as a component of God.
Emerson emphasizes the importance of the ordinary. In his works like “The American Scholar” and “The Poet”, Emerson argued that even an ordinary American was a suitable subject for writing. According to him, the transcendentalist God is present everywhere, and it is the poet’s responsibility to make this visible. “There is no object…”, he stated, “… so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful… Even a corpse has its own beauty.”
Thoreau also saw technology as a pointless diversion. He recognized the useful advantages of new discoveries, but he also cautioned that these discoveries couldn’t address the underlying problems with achieving personal pleasure. Instead, according to Thoreau, we should look to the natural world, which is rich with spiritual meaning. He believed that waterfalls, forests, and animals have intrinsic value in addition to their aesthetic appeal and ecological significance. The greatest way to comprehend ourselves is by seeing ourselves as a part of nature. We must consider ourselves as nature seeing into nature rather than seeing ourselves as an outside force or the ruler of nature.
According to Thoreau, citizens have a moral duty to oppose governments that defend laws that are blatantly unjust or hypocritical. Thoreau then embraced what he referred to as civil disobedience. protesting unjust laws in a nonviolent way. Thoreau shows us how to confront a shockingly enormous, intricately intertwined, and ethically challenging modern society. He encourages us to be genuine by dealing with the world, not merely by ignoring material life and its distractions but by taking part in the world and pulling out our support for the government when we see it is acting wrongly. His writings have stood the test of time and serve as a constant reminder of how crucial it is to live free from the distractions of money, technology, and other people’s perspectives [7,98].