LITR 5535 American Romanticism UHCL 2005 sample student research project

LITR 5535: American Romanticism

Sample Student Research Project 2006

Devon Kitch

Birth of the Idealistic Individual in this World Called Reality

In a world where realism seems to be the only acceptable mode of thought, is there any room for the romantic idealist whose desires fall outside of society’s norms? In order to answer that question we must first ask what it means to be “real”, to live in the “real world” or “reality”, since, as we already know, one man’s reality may be the opposite of another man’s dream. Do we praise the man who faces reality and condemn the man who follows his dreams, however unachievable they may seem to be? At one time the thought of man on the moon was preposterous, yet the dream was made into reality and those who mocked it were left flailing in the small-minded realm of “reality”. In comparison, why is the American Romantic often written off as being “idealistic”, as if it were a negative characteristic to possess? Where it can be applied to the Romantics, idealism is interchangeable with optimism, magnifying the smallest detail with eyes that direct their focus on the positive aspects of life.

Several of the authors we studied were filled with this ability to ceaselessly proclaim their idealism, hopes, and desires. They believed in the capacity for people to change their ways, to think about the residual effects of their lifestyles. Through James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Ernest Callenbach, and the current existence of utopian communities we will see the shaping of the concept of “the individual” during the American Renaissance and its influence into the present day. I will discuss these authors as idealists despite the fact that I consider them to embrace a reality that is far higher than that of the mainstream. For the sake of the course I will continue to call them idealists, but I will also attempt to prove that their ideals can also be called “reality”.

James Fenimore Cooper

I will only briefly discuss Cooper because I believe the other authors serve as better overall examples; however, I think it is important to show how James Fenimore Cooper’s idealism shines through in the brief excerpt we covered from The Pioneers. In this piece, the men from town run through the forest shooting into the flocks of pigeons for sport, a “wasteful and unsportsmanlike execution ”(464) in which “none pretended to collect the game”(465). Leather-stocking tries to convince some of the townsmen that they should end the hunt, “it’s much better to kill only such as you want, than to be firing into God’s creaters in such a wicked manner…an’t the woods his work as well as the pigeons? Use but don’t waste” (467). It’s this romantic notion of being less wasteful, to use only what is needed, and to respect the land and its inhabitants that drives Leather-stocking to voice his opinions. And though the majority ignores his words, Judge Temple takes them to heart as he heads home for the evening. Laden with increasing guilt, he realizes that “after the excitement of the moment has passed, that he has purchased pleasure at the price of misery to others” (468).

Leather-stocking can be viewed as an idealistic character to those who have adopted most of society’s attitudes and beliefs, namely, the cruel wastefulness he refers to and stands against. For such a man, living off the land out of necessity is the only way of life; he cannot relate to the townspeople just as they are incapable of relating to him. Leather-stocking is the individual among the masses, the outsider (who was actually there first) who strives not necessarily to change the others, but to deter them from their current, and future, wastefulness. It is unfortunate that the voice of the majority often overcomes that of the individual; in this instance, leading the townsmen to view Leather-stocking’s way of life as “idealistic” and unrealistic while viewing their own behavior as realistic. Despite his role as an idealist, Leather-stocking’s words touched the heart of Judge Temple who, in turn, subtly guided the rest of the men toward better behavior. Leather-stocking’s example of nostalgic individualism, of shying away from the behavior of the masses, exhibits the ideals that Emerson reinforces. Leather-stocking yearns for the fruitfulness of the land before the clearings were made and the overall peace was disrupted. He truly sees nature and reads its changes and seasons as if it were an open book written by Emerson himself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am sure that you would agree that Emerson’s point of view is extremely refreshing after the darkness of the earlier Romantic writers. I remember reading Emerson in high school and being completely enamored with every word and phrase. I wanted to be THAT individual, the “lover of uncontained and immortal beauty”(488); I wanted to be the one who appreciated every leaf and dewdrop, every shimmer of the rising sun’s reflection upon the oceans rippling waves.

It would be hard to pinpoint a certain sentence that ignited my passion to become Emerson’s type of individual. Rather, it is the effect of his work as a whole that opened my eyes to appreciate the good in life rather than dwell on the negative. Emerson knew natures amazing force, breathing life into earth’s inhabitants “in the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows” (488). However, Emerson was not so foolish as to state that the soothing effects of nature work equally as well on everyone. It takes a special person, one who chooses to become Emerson’s infamous Transparent Eye-ball, looking down upon one’s self and admiring Nature’s beauty from an elevated and magnified point of view. John Lysaker’s essay on the Emersonian individual finds that “we readily find the thought that individuals are accomplishments. A human being must be born at least twice: once from a womb, and then again through his or her own hands” (Lysaker 156). Those who never experience the second birth will never acquire the vision that Emerson discusses. In order to fully experience life, to become the Emersonian individual, you must first discover yourself and reinvent yourself through your actions.

If you have ever hiked through the woods, trails, or mountains alone, or nearly alone, perhaps you have felt the peace that Emerson conveys in Nature. Emerson best sums it up when he says “and the air had so much life and sweetness, that it was a pain to come within doors” (490). I have had this same pleasure of the outdoors. While visiting Sedona, Arizona I felt an amazing sense of well-being as I hiked the trails, or as I took pictures of the sun rising over the hills, illuminating the hot air balloons as they descended. In fact, anything that involved being outside was so pleasing that it truly seemed a pain to come within doors.

Ironically, Emerson goes on to say “The shows of day, the dewy morning…if too eagerly hunted, become shows merely, and mock us with their unreality…go forth to find it and tis’ gone”, which gives the reason for my disappointment when my film was developed (491). I sought out nature’s beauty and attempted to catch every beautiful moment on film; the hot air balloons, the sunrise, the varying shades of orangey-red earth. Unfortunately, the true beauty can only live in my mind’s eye, as nature’s grandeur was too marvelous to be contained within a 35mm. Emerson already knew that, “the mark on paper is only a pale reflection of the object which it signifies”, but I had to realize it for myself (Griffith 126). Imagine how much beauty truly lies in a scene that a photographer seemingly captured so well. If nature can not be contained, then even that beautiful photo lacks the quality of the actual vision which stood before the camera.

Such a profound appreciation for nature inevitably fuels desire in the individual to preserve nature, something Emerson alludes to when he says “Nature stretcheth out her arms to embrace man, only let his thoughts be of equal greatness”(492) and “Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive”(493). Leather-stocking embraces nature just as nature embraces him; neither man nor nature takes more than necessary to sustain life. If all good is eternally reproductive, then Leather-stocking’s comments to the townsmen helped create a morality where it seemed to be lacking. This idea brings to mind the scripture and “golden rule” to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. At the core of the individual lies this phrase, creating an awareness of the world and our interactions within it. If respect for nature leads to eternal reproduction; then, ignoring nature would lead to its opposite.

I am not totally “green”, but I recycle whatever I can and rarely buy disposable products. While driving, I’ll swerve to miss frogs and pull over to help turtles cross the road. It makes me feel good to do what I can, baby steps though they may be, but I must say that I also love my air conditioner in a hot Texas summer despite the unfortunate amount of pollution that comes with it. I don’t believe Emerson wants or expects us all to go out and pull a Thoreau. Not all of us can live in a Walden but, as I will discuss later, the options are there for those who want to make a similar sort of change. Rather, Emerson wants us to appreciate everything around us because, as I already said, the way we choose to view the world is what ultimately shapes our identity. If we choose optimism and idealism, then the world will forever be painted in light with but few shadows to mar its beauty. However, if we choose to see the world with a pessimistic eye, then we will only paint nature in shades of gray a darkness that envelopes the soul.

Walt Whitman

John Trowbridge, an earlier friend of Walt Whitman, speaks his praise of the poet when he says, “The tremendous original power of this new bard, and the freshness, as of nature itself, which breathed through the best of his songs or sayings, continued to hold their spell over me, and inspired me with intense curiosity as to the man himself”(Lipkin 1). While Whitman inspired Trowbridge, Trowbridge soon learned that his idol was likewise inspired by the works of Emerson, “He freely admitted that he could never have written his poems if he had not first ‘come to himself’ and that Emerson helped him to ‘find himself’” (4). Whitman continues by saying “I was simmering, simmering, simmering; Emerson brought me to a boil” (4). It would be a wonderful thing to convince any one man that you are a genius; but, to convince other authors (who seem to be especially critical), or to know that you inspired others to write, exemplifies a greater talent. Whitman and Emerson both possess this talent, for they created this concept of the individual that continues to thrive.

Whitman created a whole new style, a unique way of expressing any and every feeling that crept into his mind without any consideration for how the rest of the world would react. His honest, straightforward approach sings with each line of Song of Myself as he takes the Emersonian individual and adds the Whitman touch.

“You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look

through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the specters in books,

You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,

You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self” (Lipkin 22).

Emerson fills Whitman with love of nature and Whitman combines that with his strong sense of self, enabling the reader to feel empowered by his words. He urges us to think for ourselves, to read the world through our own eyes rather than through his or anyone else’s, “These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they are not/ original with me,/ If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing” (27). While on the one hand Whitman stubbornly rejects the opinions of others, he wants his finished product to reach into your soul and encourage new ideas. He wants his readers to feel the way that Emerson made him feel; to bring others to a “boil”, so to speak. If his words are not really our own, are not really the thoughts of all men as a whole, then his meaning is lost. Whitman’s ability to link his thoughts to people of tadoay, yesterday , and tomorrow, is what gives him timeless appeal.

Whitman’s idealism is unique, unwavering in its stance, and completely aware of Reality. He lives in the “real world”, but his reality is shaped by idealistic tendencies “I accept Reality and dare not question it/ Gentlemen, to you the first honors always!/ Your facts are useful, and yet are not my dwelling,/ I but enter by them to an area of my dwelling.” (29). This particular quote reminds me of myself when people ask why in God’s name I’m working on a Master’s in Literature; at which time I always respond, ‘I just don’t like to think with the other side of my brain. I can do it if I have to, but I don’t like to’. I prefer not to live a life of harsh realism, though I do not deny that that world and its avenues exist. Likewise, Whitman mocks the singular focus on Reality, hard facts, and science while accepting that they all exist for some purpose that just isn’t useful to his own. To be an Emersonian/Whitman-like individual, you must be able to think beyond hard facts, to create something out of nothing, to see what hard facts can not show you. Science can take Whitman’s leaves of grass and dissect them one by one, pulling apart each strand, giving each a name and sucking the life from within them. However, science can not possess Whitman’s words, cannot dissect them with laws and formulas to find an ultimate meaning or purpose.

In “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” Whitman writes:

“It avails not, time nor place---distance avails not,

I am with you, you men and women of a generation, or ever so many

generations hence,

Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt,

Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one of a

crowd” (45).

For me, this excerpt really shows Whitman’s spirituality, his ability to view the world as past, present, and future simultaneously. He is not so vain as to think he is the only man who feels this way, nor does he wish to be the only man. Whitman wants everyone to look deeply into their surroundings, to appreciate the sights,“the Twelfth-month-sea-gulls…with motionless wings, oscillating their bodies” and to know that we are also not alone in our vision (45). We pack our lives full to the brim and rarely take two seconds to notice what passes by our windows at sixty miles per hour. We now sit in our cars as we ride the ferry, losing a chance to see the world through Whitman’s, or even our own eyes.

In order to become an Emersonian/ Whitman individual we must actively create our lives, noticing the colors of the sunset, fall leaves, or the ever-changing chameleon. Whitman beautifully phrases the concept of life in “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” “Play’d the part that still looks back on the actor or actress,/ The same old role, the role that is what we make it, as great as we like,/ Or as small as we like, or both great and small” (47); after all, life is the accumulation of many small parts or roles that can become whatever we make of them.

As Walt Whitman had to “come to himself” before he could become “Walt Whitman the bard,” so must the Emersonian/Whitman individual come into himself. Perhaps it’s a stretch, but this version of the individual can be somewhat compared to the little boy from The Polar Express who, at the end of the story can still hear the ringing of Santa’s sleigh bell. Others can not hear the sound because they have lost faith in Santa as a product of growing up. It’s this sort of magic that an romantic individual must hold onto. I don’t mean that we should all believe in Santa, rather, that we should allow ourselves to at least acknowledge the infinite number of possibilities life has to offer. There is magic in every day, be it the migration of hummingbirds in the spring or geese in the fall. In reference to the Polar Express, we must not forget what it was like to be a child lest we forget how to approach our own children and pass the magic of life on to them.

John Trowbridge relates another story regarding Whitman, although this story involves James Russell Lowell’s opinion of his earlier work “nothing but commonplace tricked out with eccentricity” (14). Lowell then pointed to a grocery sign with the letters written in zigzag and said “That is Walt Whitman---with very commonplace goods inside” (14). Whitman’s idealism was perceived by Lowell as random eccentricity, being odd for the sake of being odd, rather than actually being new and fresh. I have a quote that I cut from one of those “quote a day” calendars stuck to the front of my fridge that reads “Perhaps no person can be a poet or even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind”. “Unsoundness” would normally denote something negative, sort of like “idealist”, but in this context it becomes a sort of complement. And here, I come back to the problem of idealism versus realism. One man’s perceived eccentricity or idealism can be more “real” than another man’s “reality”. Whitman was new and fresh with anything but commonplace goods inside, yet people still failed to see it. Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia

Callenbach’s Ecotopia takes the romantic individual and creates a world where that individual can thrive. In the country of Ecotopia, formerly known as Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, the ideals that shaped the world of the romantics are put into action. Ecotopia and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since the secession until William Weston, an admired journalist, is allowed to enter the city for six weeks. This story shows two kinds of people which can pretty much be divided into the Ecotopian (Emersonian/Whitman Romantic Individual) and American (blind conformists). Weston’s train ride into Ecotopia proves this fact as he states “I saw little of interest, but my companions still seemed fascinated. They pointed out changes in the fields and forests we passed; in a wooded stretch someone spotted a doe with two fawns, and later a jackrabbit caused great amusement” (Callenbach 9). Being a jaded American unaccustomed to appreciating nature’s beauty, Weston is unable to join in their delight of the scenery. He also somewhat sarcastically remarks on their “sentimentality about nature” when he enters the train and sees countless numbers of small plants scattered about. Weston later begins to fall for a woman named Marissa, whom he constantly compares to his on and off again lover named Francine in America. A change in his opinion towards the small details occurs when he discusses the differences between the two women’s appearances. Francine has bleached hair and wears heavy lip and eye makeup, a polar opposite to Marissa, who does nothing to alter her appearance. The man who could take no pleasure in the doe or jackrabbit now notices the most minute details of Marissa’s beauty, “intensity in her eyes, the way she moves her mouth, the liveliness of her body” (116). He then goes on to say that where Francine seemingly “possessed the signs or signals that are supposed to mean sexuality and vitality, Marissa just has sexuality and vitality so she doesn’t need the signals (116). This is the point where Weston begins to make his transformation. While he was critical at first, he begins to fall for Marissa, but he also falls for Ecotopia as a whole. He is slowly becoming the Romantic Individual and leaving behind the jaded skepticism that is attributed to the rest of America. Marissa’s beauty is now preferable to Francine’s though it took a trained eye and heart to reach that conclusion. By the end of the story the transformation is complete; as he looks at himself in the mirror “the ugly American me was almost sickening---I really thought I might have to throw up” he realizes that Ecotopia has become his home (178). When he makes the decision to stay, he writes in his journal, “This new me is a stranger, an Ecotopian, and his advent fills me with terror, excitement, and strength…all the possibilities seem natural and inviting” (180). This seems a continuation of the American Renaissance, the creation of a world where the Emersonian/Whitman Individual can live freely. Weston finally experienced his second birth, he was brought to a “boil” by a new world that placed more emphasis on friendships, nature, personal time, leisure and freedom. The thought of returning to America with its friendless, fast-paced society was more than he could handle after experiencing the Ecotopian way of life where support systems are valued almost as much as recycling.

Utopia

American Romanticism did not end with the American Renaissance, as we can see not only in literature, but also in the existence of Utopian communities. As we discussed in class, Brook Farm was a Utopian community frequented by Emerson, Hawthorne, and Fuller. It was here that “the transcendentalists sought harmony, the merging of values, ideas, and spiritual matters with physical events, the union of mind and body, spirit and flesh” (http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/ideas/brhistory.html). They wanted to create an environment where intellect was matched with hard work in a self-sustaining environment. The desire for Utopia did not fail with Brook Farm. Today there are many communities of like-minded individuals who desire something more than mainstream life can give them. Call them idealistic and eccentric, but what I see are people filled with transcendentalist ideas.

I took some quotes from the Houston Chronicle that may help explain why Utopias, or intentional communities, continue to pop up:

* “One element that almost all intentional communities do have in common- at least in

theory- is the sense of belonging that many people feel is seeping out of

mainstream culture.”

* “There seems to be a sense- and sociologists are trying to make sense of it-of the

weakening of strong ties between people.”

*Communes. Most died; others changed and survived. And now they’re finding new

appeal.”

If you ask me, these quotes are reminiscent of the transcendentalists own desires when they formed Brook Farm.

In an excerpt from the New York Times, we can see the immense amount of hope others have felt toward communes, “Then, all these years later, Mr. Houriet’s eyes filled with tears and his voice choked up. ‘There was a brief, shining moment when we knew it could work,’ he said, scanning the panel of his fellow communards. ‘We knew it could work, but we blew it”. Though much time had passed, the man still harbored intense feelings for his attempt at Utopia. Unfortunately most intentional communities fail; but the most important thing is that people have not stopped trying to make them work.

THE FARM: The Farm was creating in the 1960’s and actually still exists today. It is one of the most successful intentional communities due to its close-knit community and dedication to its goals. While it is very difficult to permanently join the group today, they do offer apprenticeship programs for people who desire to learn about The Farm lifestyle and gain knowledge about organic farming and many other things. Their long standing goals are “to promote systemic social changes towards sustainable human habitats and to encourage loving personal growth, free artistic expression, caring relationships, deep environmental awareness, and celebration of cultural and individual differences. We hope to inspire people to work for something bigger than themselves” (http://www.thefarm.org/etc/appfaq.html). If that phrase does not sum up the characteristics of the Emersonian/ Whitman individual, then I don’t know what does. They strive to truly discover themselves and appreciate the beauty that surrounds them. By creating homes and growing food from the earth, they enjoy a sense of accomplishment that most of us will never have.

For those of you who are laughing at the idea of modern day communes, Rachel Meunier, a woman who grew up on The Farm, denies many of the traditional stereotypes. They are no longer made up of individuals named Sky Dawn and Misty Lake who say “far out” every other sentence, although that is probably only due to the fact that the phrase was lost with the entrance of the eighties. While there were some instances of experimental marriages, a monogamous family unit is now the major focus. She also states “there was no alcohol, cigarettes, or hard drugs on the Farm. Drug use was confined to marijuana smoking and other “natural” psychadelia on occasion” (http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/cmnl.html). Today, the use of illegal substances is actually banned, seemingly due to the increased visibility the community experiences from their special programs.

Conclusions

Every group of people has its share of individuals with their own array of eccentricities. An eccentricity is merely a characteristic that is perceived as different from the mainstream. Thus, what I may view as completely normal behavior, attributes, or attire, may appear to others as bordering on the insane. Whitman was an eccentric because his words were filled with the romanticism of the era. He and Emerson journeyed from repression to transcendence as they left behind self-repression for a greater self-awareness. To truly see the world through the Emersonian/ Whitman eyes, must have been a marvelous thing indeed. A sense of empowerment comes from knowing one’s self and living each day to its fullest capability.

I have mainly discussed the emergence and continuing presence of what I call the Emersonian/ Whitman individual. As an ending note, we should consider the item from our objectives that asks whether America is a culture of Sensory/Materialistic Gratification or of Moral/ Spiritual/ Idealistic Mission. I place this at the end because I feel that you must read everything else I have to say before you can truly answer that question. If we focus on “reality” and work the numbers of people who live in suburbs, versus the people who live in communes then the answer is quite clearly the first of the two. However, if we think of all the people who are filled with hope and desire, living each day appreciating their surroundings, then perhaps the answer could lean more towards the second. Authors such as Cooper, Whitman, Emerson, and Callenbach show the continuing trend toward idealism. In this light, I vote that America is currently Sensory/ Material, but that the Moral/ Spiritual/Idealistic are making a comeback. One small example is the number of people in our class; apparently romanticism appealed to more of us than usual. Another example could be the growing number of organic products that grace the shelves of the local grocery stores. It seems that people are taking notice of the world, attempting to do better in the preservation of nature, and are hopefully trying to appreciate the vast leaves of grass as Whitman once did.

Works Cited

Baym, Nina, ed. Norton Anthology if American Literature (Shorter 6^th edition). New York: Norton and Co., 2003.

Callenbach, Ernest. Ecotopia. New York: Bantam Books, 1975.

Griffith, Clark. “ ‘Emersonianism’ and ‘Poeism’ Some Versions of the Romantic

Sensibility.” Retrieved from Ebsco November 4, 2006.

Lipkin, Lisa, ed. Selected Poems by Walt Whitman. New Jersey: Castle Books, 2000.

Lysaker, John. “Relentless Unfolding: Emerson’s Individual.” The Journal of

Speculative Philosophy 17 (2003): 155-163.

The Farm website: http://www.thefarm.org/etc/appfaq.html

American Transcendentalism Web: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/ideas/brhistory.html