Transcendentalism Through Popular Culture Project

Transcendentalism through Popular Culture Project One of the five principles of transcendentalism is nonconformity. Nonconformity is defined as failure or refusal to conform to established customs, attitudes, or ideas. It is to think higher than what society allows and to be above and beyond the accepted social standards. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a popular transcendentalist, demonstrates this principle in one of his compositions, Self-Reliance, â€Å"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist,† (Emerson, Self-Reliance, 392). Emerson is saying that you should not be like others but to build your own personality and to be your own person because you could be of great influence. Chris Guillebeau’s The Art of Nonconformity is an example of nonconformity because the central theme is nonconformity. The whole book is based on the principle that success can come from defying the standards and to set your own rules to live life the way you want. To be successful, you do not need t o agree with society. In The Art of Nonconformity, Guillebeau calls people who conform to society â€Å"sleepwalkers.† Guillebeau states, â€Å"If you’re stuck in the cage, it’s time to smash the glass around you and crawl your way out. You don’t need anyone’s permission to climb the ladder, and you don’t need to apologize for escaping. If the sleepwalking life is the â€Å"real world† of the unremarkably average, the clear alternative is the living world of adventure.† The cage symbolizes the standards of society and toShow MoreRelatedTranscendentalism : The American Scholar1658 Words   |  7 PagesThose Americans who have heard of American Transcendentalism associate it with the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and his friend Henry David Thoreau. 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