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Answer the Unit 4 Notes as you review the lesson.
Nonconformity
Emerson, the father of transcendentalism, and Thoreau, his student, are considered the two most influential transcendentalist writers. Both men shared themes of individualism and nonconformity.
In Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance," he writes "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of self-reliant means having confidence in and exercising one's own powers of judgment. Being a nonconformist, as Emerson thinks all men should be, is being a person who doesn't follow a generally accepted pattern of thought or action just because everyone else does.
Remember that Thoreau was a nonconformist as well. He went into the woods to live and to reflect, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measure or far away." This quote comes at the end of Walden, which fittingly implies for people to follow their own dreams because happiness comes from within, not someone else.
Modern Examples
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