Emerson's Views On Transcendentalism, And Imagination In Society

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Emerson shows transcendentalism through the society, individualism, and imagination in the society we live in today. The first way Emerson shows self-reliance today is through the society. Emerson's perspective is that the world “world whips you with its displeasure” for nonconformity. This implies that if a person does something society does not think is normal then they get tormented for it. Today people get laughed at if they look a different way than society wants them to look or if they do something that is not seen as normal. Martin Luther King Jr tried to give African Americans the same rights as everyone else but society thought they were “less” than everyone else. He was sent to jail and eventually murdered for not complying with society. In schools today if a student comes in with purple hair and a tail on, people laugh at them and make jokes about them because society does not normally see this behavior. He also argues that “the other terror” that scares people from trusting himself is consistency. When a person is constantly consistent then they will not be able to trust theirself, preventing them from trying new things in life. They limit theirself to what they can do. A person who avoids flying on an airplane by always driving to their destination no …show more content…

Emerson's opinion is that an individual “with consistency has simply nothing to do.” If an individual sticks to the same routine and doing things within their comfort zone, they will become bored and have nothing to do. When they use their imagination there will always be something new to try due to their ideas. Today, those who use their imagination can achieve whatever they wish to. They believe there are endless possibilities, while those who are simple minded believe there is only ever one solution and if it is not that, it is not solvable. Mark Zuckerberg used bits of his imagination to create the famous social media site

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