TranscendentalLiterature has gotten a bad rap.  When I start teaching it, the firstthing that I hear is "This is BORING!! Why do we have to study this?" I must admit that I felt the same way when I read the literature as a highschooler.  It was not until I studied Thoreau and Emerson in college andvisited Walden Pond that my interest in Transcendentalism was piqued. I found myself drawn back to the Transcendentalists, not because they wereparticularly captivating writers, but because of their ideals. Transcendentalism defines the American ideals, and it’s hard to imagine wherepopular culture would be without these bold and innovative forerunners. The five elements or characteristics espoused by Transcendentalistliterature are NONCONFORMITY, SELF-RELIANCE, FREEDOM and FREE THOUGHT,CONFIDENCE (in intuition), and the IMPORTANCE OF NATURE according toReadWriteThink.

Just think of all of the artists, performers,musicians, filmmakers and scholars in this great country who aspire to embodythose principles!