Lit. Antonio Hitchcock
Transcendentalism October 24,’06
After reading "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I feel that he is connecting man with nature in a way not like we see it today but as we would a newcomer from another plant. In his essay he states "The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood." What this means to me is, the lover of nature is connected to his surrounds physically, and spiritually. A lover of nature pays attention to everything his or her senses applies to every day. From everything we take notice to like the sun, the stars, the moon; form everything we don’t, like bugs that live under the ground we stand on, to small animals that live in the water we drink, and to the very way all animals live and communicate.
Transcendentalism believed that if a person was truly in touch with their surroundings, they could transcend these physical and man-made things to connect with God. This supports my idea that Ralph Waldo was indeed transcendentalism and his essay "Nature" proves me theory. In "Nature" Ralph states "Most persons do not see the sun. At least they do not have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child." And one I favor "The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence."
In "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson I notice how the essay began it gave a good example of Transcendentalism. "There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till." What this says to me is that a baby doesn’t stay a baby forever for its mother nourishing; the baby grows up and must take care of itself to live on. What else stuck out to me was " God will not have his work made manifest by cowards" which means the same thing in a way, that not even God himself would help those who won’t put an effort towards helping themselves.
More good examples of Transcendentalism are found in Ralph Waldo essay "Self-Reliance". Since Transcendentalists believed that God spoke through people's minds and their hard work. People would want something to do with their lives or some purpose. As in the essay any transcendentalists would say "The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried." Which means what exactly what it says, you don’t know what you can do nor the people around you till you do something.
As I read " Resistance to Civil Government" by Henry David Thoreau I notice that Henry David was the guy who wanted everything to come easy. His essay show that he too share some thinking of Transcendentalism ways. "I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through, before they could get to be free as I was." Meaning that he was freer than the people outside of jail because his actions were to change what he though was good for the people. He feels that he was not separated with the townsmen or outside.
Despite what Henry believes he too share ways of a Transcendentalist. Since God spoke through individuals, Transcendentalists did not believe that institutions like the government or organized religion were effective. Thoreau was arrested because he refused, on principle, to pay a tax to the state. He refused primarily because he was opposed to the government’s support of slavery. "I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name-if ten honest men only –aye, if one honest man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefore, it would be the abolition of slavery in America."
If I was in the first scenario or scenario one being as David, I would just move out with Susan near her school and fine me a job from there. A Transcendentalist would say we can spilt up from each other and unite when Susan finish school. Since Transcendentalists believed that God spoke through people's minds and their hard work, David would have stayed with his father grocery store in home town while Susan move out to go to school. They wouldn't let each other get in their way of work since this was their way of communicating with God.
Transcendentalism October 24,’06
After reading "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I feel that he is connecting man with nature in a way not like we see it today but as we would a newcomer from another plant. In his essay he states "The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood." What this means to me is, the lover of nature is connected to his surrounds physically, and spiritually. A lover of nature pays attention to everything his or her senses applies to every day. From everything we take notice to like the sun, the stars, the moon; form everything we don’t, like bugs that live under the ground we stand on, to small animals that live in the water we drink, and to the very way all animals live and communicate.
Transcendentalism believed that if a person was truly in touch with their surroundings, they could transcend these physical and man-made things to connect with God. This supports my idea that Ralph Waldo was indeed transcendentalism and his essay "Nature" proves me theory. In "Nature" Ralph states "Most persons do not see the sun. At least they do not have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child." And one I favor "The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence."
In "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson I notice how the essay began it gave a good example of Transcendentalism. "There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till." What this says to me is that a baby doesn’t stay a baby forever for its mother nourishing; the baby grows up and must take care of itself to live on. What else stuck out to me was " God will not have his work made manifest by cowards" which means the same thing in a way, that not even God himself would help those who won’t put an effort towards helping themselves.
More good examples of Transcendentalism are found in Ralph Waldo essay "Self-Reliance". Since Transcendentalists believed that God spoke through people's minds and their hard work. People would want something to do with their lives or some purpose. As in the essay any transcendentalists would say "The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried." Which means what exactly what it says, you don’t know what you can do nor the people around you till you do something.
As I read " Resistance to Civil Government" by Henry David Thoreau I notice that Henry David was the guy who wanted everything to come easy. His essay show that he too share some thinking of Transcendentalism ways. "I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through, before they could get to be free as I was." Meaning that he was freer than the people outside of jail because his actions were to change what he though was good for the people. He feels that he was not separated with the townsmen or outside.
Despite what Henry believes he too share ways of a Transcendentalist. Since God spoke through individuals, Transcendentalists did not believe that institutions like the government or organized religion were effective. Thoreau was arrested because he refused, on principle, to pay a tax to the state. He refused primarily because he was opposed to the government’s support of slavery. "I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name-if ten honest men only –aye, if one honest man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefore, it would be the abolition of slavery in America."
If I was in the first scenario or scenario one being as David, I would just move out with Susan near her school and fine me a job from there. A Transcendentalist would say we can spilt up from each other and unite when Susan finish school. Since Transcendentalists believed that God spoke through people's minds and their hard work, David would have stayed with his father grocery store in home town while Susan move out to go to school. They wouldn't let each other get in their way of work since this was their way of communicating with God.
posted by ATO at 12:29 PM
3 Comments:
I hope you like it
you still have another section to go.
I finish the last section
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