Throughout history different segments of society have struggled for such liberties as personal freedom and eternal happiness. For centuries man has attempted to "find" himself, posing the questions "Who am I?" and "Who do I want to be?" People tend to express themselves physically, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally in order to promote their image, their sense of identity and individualism. During the late 1820's and 1830's, Transcendentalism emerged as the defining American philosophy. A movement which intertwined the study of truth, religion, and literature, stressing the value of intellectual reason as the path to divine wisdom. Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature and Henry David Thoreau's Walden both express insights into the divinity of the human person transcending material possessions and conformist ways of thinking. Emerson's transcendental philosophy allowed him to experience harmony and understanding by broadening his horizons and seeing what others could not see, or even imagine. His literary masterpiece Nature explores the direct relationship between God and nature. Emerson suggests that the presence of a divine spirit in both nature and the human soul creates a direct understanding of God as well as the perception of fundamental truths. He describes his experience: "Standing on the bare ground-my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space-all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God" (www.jjnet.com/emerson/nature1.htm). He emphasizes that nature is a creation from God's hands and exists to fortify human souls with the purity of immortal beauty. Landscapes, horizons, even thunderstorms, have the potential to alter the human spirit and provide a sense of harmonious reassurance. Robert E. Spiller supports this idea by stating that Emerson feels God is revealed in "...Beauty...
