Self-Reliance Journey through Transcendentalism - 832 Words

Journey through Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is the system of philosophy that leads to reality. Although the philosophy is an opinionated subject, there are still universal judgments about it. William Bryant, Henry Thoreau, and Ralph Emerson illustrate the ideas of transcendentalism through their works using rhetorical devices. Thoreau uses paradox to illustrate his belief of individualism in his memoir Walden. In Bryant’s Thanatopsis he describes death through his uses of pathos. Emerson shows self-reliance while using logos in his work of Self-Reliance. Henry Thoreau illustrates the belief of individualism in his memoir Walden using paradox. Individualism is the social theory that allows the rights or independent action of the†¦show more content†¦Bryant uses phrases such as â€Å"stern agony,† â€Å"breathless darkness,† â€Å"eternal resting place,† and â€Å"silent halls of death† to strike fear in the reader. These various phrases also apply a crucial tone to the poem. Death is a dark and distressing part of life. â€Å"The all-beholding sun shall see no more / in all his course.† (171). In these lines Bryant states that once man is complete with his course of life, he will no longer see light. This known fact raids a sense of fear of death. This next quotation states that people who die and buried will end in the same burial place, which is the ground. â€Å"Thou shalt lie down / with patriarchs of the infant world-with kings, / the powerful of the earth-the wise, the good, / fair f orms, and hoary seers of ages past, / all in one might sepulcher.† As previously stated, Bryant describes all people as equals. He states that everyone has the same burial place. The ground is the place all dead bodies proceed to after death. The visual form of these words arouses a sense of sadness. Throughout the poem Bryant changes the tone to state although death is a dark part of life people should enjoy life until death calls them. â€Å"So live, that when thy summons come to join / the innumerable caravan.† (172). This line supports the point of living life until death calls. Throughout the poem, Bryant uses pathos to elaborate on the elements of death. Ralph Emerson uses logos in hisShow MoreRelatedAmerican Romanticism : The Highest Expression Of Imagination1721 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Romanticism is a journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thoughts, and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of imagination. In other words, it is a journey away from industrialism or rationalism, which is working hard and earning money. This movement, originally started in Europe and later reached in America. It can be best defined as a thought that values feeling and intuition over reason. 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