"There us a moment in the history of every nation when, proceeding out of this brute youth, the perceptive powers reach their ripeness and have not yet become microscopic; so that man, at this instant, extends across the entire scale." (Emerson 180) During the time in which Emerson stated this opinion, a new philosophy or idea was introduced in American literature. The idea, Transcendentalism, focuses mainly on individualism, goodness in nature and humanity, and what is …
showed first 75 words of 1238 total

showed last 75 words of 1238 total
…did not only use the idea of Transcendentalism in their writing, but lived their life by the beliefs. On the contrary, authors such as Hawthorne and Melville use characters, plots, and themes in their novels to portray the ideas of anti-transcendentalism. Transcendentalism ideas are unrealistic and to idealistic for today's standards. Evil is unfortunately a big part of today's world. Between these two philosophies, the ideas of anti-transcendentalism more pertain to today's society than Transcendentalism.