The American Renaissance, a flowering of literature and art that had been gaining momentum since the 1820's, which caused an American Romanticism, called Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism was an "intellectual movement that stressed intuition, individuality, and self-reliance, that directly or indirectly affected most of the writers of the New England Renaissance." (Prentice Hall, page 273). From "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the essay seemed so tame and innocent, you ponder what makes this piece of writing so valuable. "…showed first 75 words of 946 total…

…showed last 75 words of 946 total…and wild thinking", when Emerson looks towards nature for answers. There is an assumption that God, church, and religion are not important when following your heart. "Self-Reliance" advocates individuality and informing the reader that society keeps us from suppressing our desires, so we should live life as we wish. The central theme of "Self-Reliance" is to be successful, you have to be unique and misunderstood by others to shape life as your dream. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**