Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. 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 particle of God."

In this essay, Ralph Waldo Emerson describes his view of an ideal education. What are its defining characteristics?

Emerson states in his 15th principle in "The Poet" that "there is no fact in nature that does not carry the whole sense of nature." To elaborate this claim Emerson states, "the distinctions which we

While taking an English Composition course, my class discussed several ideas behind the American Dream and what influenced its fruition. One day, my professor hands us a stapled copy of Self Reliance, a piece written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and I shout out “he’s a Transcendentalist!” because that’s all I knew of him (something I remembered from high school). As the year went on we were told to write a research paper with a variety of topics. Since I was very interested in knowing a little more about him, I took on the task to learn more about Ralph Waldo Emerson. As I went through article after article, book after book, I became very enlightened, yet very confused. I learned how his whole life was a tragedy- from one family member to the next, they all kept passing away. His story moved me and taught me that anyone can become great after going through darkness if he has a sense of perseverance. Emerson kept on working, no matter the crisis at hand, and pushed his way to becoming one of the most talked about writers of all time. Yet, I was stunned to find that many people don’t enjoy his work and criticize his beliefs that he preached, as he was a minister for quite some time of his life. Some say that his writings should stop being read in classrooms because they are not understandable. My goal in this paper is to recognize whether Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered to be the first great American thinker or not.

Ralph Waldo Emerson can go by many titles: scholar, philosopher, wordsmith. All hold true in one of his greatest pieces, Self-Reliance. In which, he uses his words to spread an idea of individuality in thought and how essential it truly is. Scattered throughout the massage are examples of metaphors, comparing his vast and complex ideologies to comprehendible and mundane objects, he uses allusions as well, bringing to light not only Biblical themes, but also men of old more times than often seen as great and influential and referring time and time again to the Bible. In doing these things, Emerson conveys his ideas, swaying and bending the words to his will. A first arguably more evident example of this would be found in his metaphors.

“Dance to the beat of your own drummer:'; A piece of advice that I have been told my whole life, and have tried my hardest to follow. The words were taken from Thoreau’s quote, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.';

Emerson was known as America’s Intellectual Declaration of Independence. He encouraged Americans to look inward and find power and inspiration within. He used the spiritual resource of nature to promote the nation politically and morally. He influenced many of his peers by his transcendental ideas about nature’s unity, distinctive soul, and deep belief in God. He also was known as a prophet of faith and unconditional optimism during a struggling historical

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote “The Poet” in order to explore the role of a poet in modern day society. Educated at Harvard University, Emerson was a transcendentalist, meaning that he believed a higher truth beyond the physical reality experienced in everyday life. This carries on in his writing, as he frequently speaks of the connecting physical and metaphysical world. He describes the modern poet as a voice box for the people, who connect the physical and metaphysical aspects of life into prose for the common man. The modern poet is providing a service to the layman by translating symbols and spreading the transcendentalism movement. These actions in many ways mirror the role of the media currently, as they seek the truth for the people. The media today is a collective means of informing citizens of the state of the world in real time. This service has become especially vital as the general public have gotten more involved in politics and social issues with the spread of technology. The media is the last line of defense for holding public figures accountable and has recently become far more effective due to the ease of distribution of news with technology. The media now has the power to swing an election or turn an entire country against one person. In doing this, they overlay their bias on any information passed on, much the same as Emerson does throughout this essay. In Emerson’s essay “The Poet”, he describes the role of a poet in society as someone who can explain nature

Furthermore, he evokes the notion of the embodiment of nature and how few are able to see it; claiming the ones capable of perceiving such enlightenment are the ones who retain a benevolent innocent spirit—such as child—and who has retained the concept in times of adulthood—the poet. The mind of a child responds emotionally rather than sensorial. As a final remark in Emerson’s first chapter of nature, he states: in order for man to see nature plainly and receive the benefits one must push aside the old ways of thinking and egotism to become, as Emerson states, a transparent eyeball. ‘I am nothing, I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am a part or particle of God. The name of the nearest friend sounds then foreign and accidental” (______). This form of vision represents the primary benefit of Nature, a form of ultimate transcendency where there is a spiritual real of reason beyond material understanding. Humanistic delight in the landscapes, which is made up of many forms, provides an example of this integrated vision in which the universal entity transmits itself into one’s consciousness and makes one sense oneness with God. Nature, is thereby a metaphor of the mind in Emerson’s eyes.

Ralph Waldo Emerson							I am writing this essay on the beliefs and thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the subjects of individuality, society, government, technology, and spirituality.

The poem talks about a man- an anonymous “he”- a perfectionist whose poetry was understandable and who, himself, understood “human folly” and the human psyche like “the back of his hand”. He was

The idea that a poet expresses how he sees truth in life is completely a correct idea, and related to the previous point. In page 374 Emerson states that a poet should express truth with his art. It means then that a poet expresses life of people as well, since it is part of life. “The common wealth” can mean other lives of other people and Mother Nature itself.

The theme of individualism is present in several of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works. It was also his philosophical views on how to live life. He believed that human beings had remarkable capabilities, more than they can possibly identify. With these capabilities a person should govern themselves, not be governed by a society. Emerson also believed that nature played a large role in how man should act and to follow nature’s actions of growing without obstruction (“Nature”). This is why he lead the Transcendentalism movement in the nineteenth century, along with Theodore Parker, Frederic Henry Hedge, Amos Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller and Henry David Thoreau (Lewis). This philosophy was not only significant then, it was imperative throughout times in history.

I agree with Emerson’s statement that what we are taught in schools and colleges is not education but is just a means of education. The numerous lessons, chapters and countless videos that we are taught in school and colleges are not an education but instead the means by which we get an education. Education is not the notecards we are told to memorize or the theorems we learn through songs. I think, in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s claim, he is stating that education is the individual thinking and ideas that we have branching off of what we are told in class is education. This individual thinking helps people branch out new ideas that contribute to groups of new thinking and more new ideas. Emerson is correct in his statement because it is not until we start thinking about each lesson that we were just taught that we apply these new ideas to real life situations and educate ourselves from those situations. Emerson is implying that it is the more deep thinking that is our education, not just the surface memorization some people use to just pass a mid-term assessment. When I was younger I considered lessons in vocabulary and sentence structure as pointless to know simply made myself remember it for only the short time I needed to know it. Soon I started to think more about the importance of knowing these tools when it came to reading more advanced books and even talking with people who used a more diverse vocabulary in everyday speech. Once I was taught this in school it was able

The “Sage of Concord” also known as Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston on May 25, 1803. This young child was born to a well known New England family. Emerson’s father was a well known Boston minister by the name of William Emerson. As a young boy Emerson was faced with hardships which helped him become one of the best leading voices of intellectual culture in the United States.