Anti-Transcendentalism

Anti-Transcendentalism Reasons and Causes Opposed the optimism and naïve idealism of the transcendentalists Dwelt on guilt and remorse over past sins Discontented with current circumstances in America (poverty/unjust and cruel treatment of factory workers, poor educational system, lack of women’s rights, slavery…) so they focused on moral dilemmas and society’s ills

Key Ideas/Philosophy Puritanically dark view of human nature and fate. People are basically evil and apathetic to matters that don’t affect them. Nature is indifferent to mankind It is vast and incomprehensible, a reflection of the struggle between good and evil It is the creation and possession of God and it cannot be understood by human beings

Key Ideas/Philosophy cont… Belief in the potential destructiveness of the human spirit. Belief in individual truths, but no universal truths, and the truths of existence are deceitful and disturbing. Evil is an active force in the universe. Focus on the man’s uncertainty and limitations in the universe.

Transcendentalists vs. Anti-Transcendentalists Transcendentalists (Emerson, Thoreau) had an optimistic view of nature and human nature God found in nature, so nature = good Nature = truth Anti-Transcendentalists had pessimistic view of nature and human nature Nature = indifferent to mankind Human nature = hypocritical, apathetic

A House Divided Anti-transcendentalists Realists Experience Spirituality based on Puritanism/Calvinism Nature is indifferent; Man is evil Man’s dark side Transcendentalists Idealists/Individualist Intuition Everything is a reflection of the divine soul Nature is good; even Man is good Man and Nature in partnership

Writing Style Man vs. Nature conflicts bring out the evil in humanity Raw and morbid diction Focus on the protagonist’s inner struggles Typical protagonists are haunted outsiders who are alienated from society Prevalent use of symbolism

The Anti-Transcendentalists Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter People are hypocrites Shows pathos for those in society who suffer from being truthful (e.g., Hester Prynne) Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Billy Budd, Redburn

Edgar Allan Poe

Life Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts Suffered much loss and death early in life Father- abandoned family Mother- died soon after father left (tuberculosis) Wife/1st cousin- died early (tuberculosis) Disowned by foster father Failed career in military Struggled to publish works Finally succumbed to death (probably alcoholism) Died October 3, 1849 (age 40)

Works Follows the Gothic/Dark Romanticism style Recurring themes: Questions of death Effects of decomposition Premature burial Reanimation of the dead

Works Wrote in reaction/rebellion against Transcendentalism Sparked the rise of the detective novel Gained more popularity in Europe than America Heavily criticized by big-name writers as being too vulgar and empty William Butler Yeats Ralph Waldo Emerson

Famous Works Poems Tales “Annabel Lee” “The Raven” “A Dream Within a Dream” “Eldorado” “Lenore” Tales The Black Cat The Cask of Amontillado The Tell Tale Heart The Masque of the Red Death The Fall of the House of Usher The Gold Bug Murders in the Rue Morgue