Transcendentalism

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Beginning in the 1820s, a new intellectual movement known as transcendentalism began to grow in the Northeast. In this context, to transcend means to go beyond the ordinary sensory world to grasp personal insights and gain an appreciation of a deeper reality, and transcendentalists believed that all people could attain an understanding of the world that goes past rational, sensory experience. Transcendentalists were critical of mainstream American culture. They reacted against the age they lived in where people were encouraged to act the same as others and argued for greater individualism against conformity. European romanticism, a movement in literature and art that stressed emotion over cold, calculating reason, also influenced transcendentalists in the United States, especially the transcendentalists’ celebration of the uniqueness of individual feelings.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson emerged as the leading figure of this movement. Born in Boston in 1803, Emerson came from a religious family. His father served as a minister, and after graduating from Harvard Divinity School in the 1820s, Emerson followed in his father’s footsteps. However, after his wife died in 1831, he left the clergy. On a trip to Europe in 1832, he met leading figures of romanticism who rejected the cold, strict rationalism of popular 18th century Enlightenment thought, emphasizing emotion instead.

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When Emerson returned home the following year, he began giving lectures on his romanticism-influenced ideas. In 1836, he published “Nature,” an essay arguing that humans can find their true spirituality in nature, not in the everyday bustling working world of cities and industrial factories. In 1841, Emerson published his essay ”Self-Reliance,” which urged readers to think for themselves and reject the mass conformity he believed had taken root in American life. Emerson expressed concern that a powerful majority could overpower the will of individuals.

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Emerson’s ideas struck a chord with a class of literate adults who also were dissatisfied with mainstream American life and searching for greater spiritual meaning. Many writers were drawn to transcendentalism, and they started to express its ideas through new stories, poems, essays, and articles. The ideas of transcendentalism were able to permeate American thought and culture through magazines, journals, and newspapers that were widely read.

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Among those attracted to Emerson’s ideas was his friend, Henry David Thoreau, whom he encouraged to write about his own ideas. Thoreau placed a special emphasis on the role of nature as a gateway to the transcendentalist goal of greater individualism. In 1848, Thoreau gave a lecture in which he argued that individuals must stand up to governmental injustice, a topic he chose because of his disgust over the Mexican-American War and slavery. In 1849, he published his lecture, “Civil Disobedience,” and urged readers to refuse to support a government that was immoral.

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Margaret Fuller also came to prominence as a leading transcendentalist and advocate for women’s equality. Fuller was a friend of Emerson and Thoreau, and other intellectuals of her day. Because she was a woman, she could not attend Harvard, as it was a male-only institution for undergraduate students until 1973. However, she was later granted the use of the library there because of her towering intellect. In 1840, she beacame the editor of?The Dial, a transcendentalist journal, and she later found employment as a book reviewer for the New York Tribune newspaper. Tragically, in 1850, she died at the age of forty in a shipwreck off Fire Island, New York.

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Some critics took issue with transcendentalism’s emphasis on individualism by pointing out the destructive consequences of compulsive human behavior. Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, emphasized the problems with individual obsession by telling the tale of Captain Ahab’s single-minded quest to kill a white whale, Moby Dick, which had destroyed Ahab’s original ship and caused him to lose one of his legs.?Edgar Allan Poe, a popular author, critic, and poet, decried “the so-called poetry of the so-called transcendentalists. ” These American writers who questioned transcendentalism illustrate the underlying tension between individualism and conformity in American life.

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Source: Corbett, S.P., Janssen, V., Lund, J.M., Pfannestiel, T., Waskiewicz, S., & Vickery, P. (2014).?

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Reading Paragraph 1?

Beginning in the 1820s, a new intellectual movement known as transcendentalism began to grow in the Northeast. In this context, to transcend means to go beyond the ordinary sensory world to grasp personal insights and gain an appreciation of a deeper reality, and transcendentalists believed that all people could attain an understanding of the world that goes past rational, sensory experience. Transcendentalists were critical of mainstream American culture. They reacted against the age they lived in where people were encouraged to act the same as others and argued for greater individualism against conformity. European romanticism, a movement in literature and art that stressed emotion over cold, calculating reason, also influenced transcendentalists in the United States, especially the transcendentalists’ celebration of the uniqueness of individual feelings.

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1. According to paragraph 1, what did transcendentalists do?

a. They overreacted towards those who acted the same as everyone else

b. They protested the government for greater nonconformity

c. They celebrated individualism and nonconformity

d. They wrote articles in favor of a more rational culture

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Reading Paragraph 2

Ralph Waldo Emerson emerged as the leading figure of this movement. Born in Boston in 1803, Emerson came from a religious family. His father served as a minister, and after graduating from Harvard Divinity School in the 1820s, Emerson followed in his father’s footsteps. However, after his wife died in 1831, he left the clergy. On a trip to Europe in 1832, he met leading figures of romanticism who rejected the cold, strict rationalism of popular 18th century Enlightenment thought, emphasizing emotion instead.

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2. Which of the following is NOT true about Ralph Waldo Emerson?

a. He was one of the leaders of the transcendentalism movement

b. Like his father, he served as a minister

c. He went to Europe after his wife had passed away

d. He met critics of romanticism while visiting Europe

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Reading Paragraph 3

When Emerson returned home the following year, he began giving lectures on his romanticism-influenced ideas. In 1836, he published “Nature,” an essay arguing that humans can find their true spirituality in nature, not in the everyday bustling working world of cities and industrial factories. In 1841, Emerson published his essay, “Self-Reliance,” which urged readers to think for themselves and reject the mass conformity he believed had?taken root?in American life. Emerson expressed concern that a powerful majority could overpower the will of individuals.

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3. Why does the author say “his romanticism-influenced ideas”?

a. To show that his ideas were romantic in nature

b. To explain why he published his essays “Nature” and “Self-Reliance”

c. To show that his beliefs were inspired by the romanticists he met

d. To prove that his ideas came from other sources

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4. The phrase?taken root in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

a. Become abandoned

b. Been established

c. Been examined

d. Been discovered

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Reading Paragraph 5

Among those attracted to Emerson’s ideas was his friend, Henry David Thoreau, whom he encouraged to write about his own ideas. Thoreau placed a special emphasis on the role of nature as a gateway to the transcendentalist goal of greater individualism. In 1848, Thoreau gave a lecture in which he argued that individuals must stand up to governmental injustice, a topic he chose because of his disgust over the Mexican-American War and slavery. In 1849, he published his lecture, “Civil Disobedience,” and urged readers to refuse to support a government that was immoral.

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5. Which of the following is true, according to paragraph five?

a. Henry David Thoreau believed that nature could help people achieve more individualism

b. Henry David Thoreau was Emerson’s closest friend and had similar ideas

c. Emerson suggested that Henry David Thoreau should start giving lectures

d. Thoreau organized groups that protested the injustices of governments

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Reading Paragraph 6

Margaret Fuller also came to prominence as a leading transcendentalist and advocate for women’s equality. Fuller was a friend of Emerson and Thoreau, and other intellectuals of her day. Because she was a woman, she could not attend Harvard, as it was a male-only institution for undergraduate students until 1973. However, she was later granted the use of the library there because of her towering intellect. In 1840, she became the editor of The Dial, a transcendentalist journal, and she later found employment as a book reviewer for the New York Tribune newspaper. Tragically, in 1850, she died at the age of forty in a shipwreck off Fire Island, New York.

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6. All of the following are true EXCEPT

a. Margaret Fuller did research in the library at Harvard

b. Harvard University remained an all-male school until the 20th-century

c. Margaret Fuller was a transcendentalist and supported the equality of women

d. Margaret Fuller met Emerson and Thoreau while studying at Harvard?

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Reading Paragraph 6

Margaret Fuller also came to prominence as a leading transcendentalist and advocate for women’s equality. Fuller was a friend of Emerson and Thoreau, and other intellectuals of her day. Because she was a woman, she could not attend Harvard, as it was a male-only institution for undergraduate students until 1973. However, she was later granted the use of the library there because of her towering intellect. In 1840, she became the editor of The Dial, a transcendentalist journal, and she later found employment as a book reviewer for the New York Tribune newspaper. Tragically, in 1850, she died at the age of forty in a shipwreck off Fire Island, New York.

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7. What can be inferred about Margaret Fuller from the information in paragraph six? a. She was the most famous transcendentalist of her time

b. She attended Harvard University even though women were not allowed at that time c. She held positions that most women did not in her time

d. She only reviewed books that were of interest to her while at the New York Tribune

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Reading Paragraph 7

Some critics took issue with transcendentalism’s emphasis on individualism by pointing out the destructive consequences of compulsive human behavior.?Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, emphasized the problems with individual obsession by telling the tale of Captain Ahab’s single-minded quest to kill a white whale, Moby Dick, which had destroyed Ahab’s original ship and caused him to lose one of his legs.?Edgar Allan Poe, a popular author, critic, and poet, decried “the so-called poetry of the so-called transcendentalists”. These American writers who questioned transcendentalism illustrate the underlying tension between individualism and conformity in American life.

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8. Which of the following best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 7? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

a. Herman Melville wrote a novel called Moby Dick and the main character is Captain Ahab

b. The story of Captain Ahab’s quest to kill a white whale is titled Moby Dick

c. After learning about transcendentalism, Herman Melville decided to write a book criticizing it

d. Herman Melville’s book, Moby Dick, was inspired by the issues surrounding the obsession with individualism

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9. Look at the four squares (A, B, C, D) that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.

However, as with all major movements, transcendentalists faced criticism for their beliefs. Where would the sentence best fit?

A Some critics took issue with transcendentalism’s emphasis on individualism by pointing out the destructive consequences of compulsive human behavior. B Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, emphasized the problems with individual obsession by telling the tale of Captain Ahab’s single-minded quest to kill a white whale, Moby Dick, which had destroyed Ahab’s original ship and caused him to lose one of his legs. C Edgar Allan Poe, a popular author, critic, and poet, decried “the so-called poetry of the so-called transcendentalists”. D These American writers who questioned transcendentalism illustrate the underlying tension between individualism and conformity in American life.

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10. DIRECTIONS: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Transcendentalism was an intellectual movement in which prominent thinkers sought greater levels of individualism and spirituality.?

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a. Ralph Waldo Emerson encouraged members of society to be more individualistic

b. Herman Melville’s book, Moby Dick, subtly criticizes the transcendentalist beliefs

c. Emerson was friends with other transcendentalists like Henry David Thoreau and Margaret Fuller

d. Margaret Fuller could not attend Harvard because she was a woman

e. Some transcendentalist subscribers warned of the problems with mass conformity

f. American transcendentalist ideas were influenced by European romanticism

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