poem

Because of transcendentalism, our world received a new perspective. Those who have became “free thinkers” and have intellectually questioned the “normal” or the “worlds opinion” have gave us opened gates to new mental worlds. Although that path to those rigorous gates may be challenging and may result in defeat, its those courageous individuals who have kept striving to get those doors that have changed the world. Although the path may be dangerous, the discovery and entrance of the new world outweigh the potential danger.

In the Dead Poets Society, Neil became that passionate thinker, who avoided his father path to the “normal” world. He became an actor and lied to his father because if he couldn't avoid the “trails” that his father lead, he couldn't possibly lead himself. The consequences were simply too dangerous. He started building his path, and once he got at the gate, he was defeated, not being able to open it. He just couldn't muster enough power to override the consequences so he took his own life. This is a perfect example to how the pathway to success is quite challenging and dangerous.

In Catcher in the Rye, Holden also is defeated by the paths. He understood that he thought differently and didn't fit in. By expressing his thought and ambitions, he was judged and heartbroken. These consequences deteriorated him so he had to go back to the life in which he didn't want; the “normal” average school student. In his defeat, he was emotionally distressed. He simply couldn’t handle the fact that he had to leave his innocent sister’s company along with everyone judging him.

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s passage From Self Reliance, he explains exactly about how a person must ignore the “sour faces.”(like Holden couldn’t) He says how its easy to conform or “to live after the worlds opinion.” Emerson knew that it wasn’t easy to disagree or question the normal, but it was worth it. Thus concluding the difficult path and the easy path.

In Henry David Thoreaus, Civil disobedience, he stresses the fact that the government doesn't make sense and just because a person follows such great power does make it right. the only time when Thoreaus judges a situation “is to do at any time I (Thoreaus) think right.” His morals are only influenced by his own experiences. Going against the government could result in serious consequences at the time, but he explains that following the “path” or conforming is worse because a person would end up being forced to be in dangerous situations. Ultimately conforming is dangerous, so is the pathway out of it. But once you find your own world and open the gate, overcoming the challenge becomes worth it. Transcendentalism isn’t dangerous, but the pathway there is.