Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." This famous quote reflects the tension felt between the individual and society for some of the later Romantic writers and is apparent in their work. Transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, firmly believed that the individual should separate from society's norms and institutions. Margaret Fuller, who was also a transcendentalist, had radical beliefs about the roles of women and desired for there to be drastic c...

• Word Count: 1963
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate