In the essay the American Scholar, Emerson portrays the scholar as a person who learns from three main things. These things by which a scholar is educated are by nature, by books (the past) and by action. .
Emerson uses nature as a comparison to the human mind where he states, "There is never a beginning, there is never an end to the inexplicable continuity of this web of God, but always circular power returning into itself."(296) The human mind is an object that is boundless and can be full of so much beauty and intellect such as nature can be. Emerson continues to explain how classification begins among the young minds. "To the young mind, every thing is individual, stands by itself. Emerson presents this idea as a negative effect on the scholar because they seem to continue to break things down trying to find simple answers to complex questions. Man is then convinced "that he and it (nature) proceed from one root; one is leaf and one is flower."(296) This thinking of man is the opposite from the truth of the relationship between nature and himself. "He shall see that nature is the opposite of the soul . Its laws are the laws of his own mind."(296) According to Emerson, the next influence on the scholar is the mind of the past, where he uses books to convey his ideas. "Books are the best things, well used; abused, among the worst."(297) Books were originally intended for good. "The scholar of the first age, received into him the world around; brooded thereon; gave it the new arrangement of his own mind, and uttered it again."(297) According to Emerson, books can have a negative effect on the way the scholar should think. "Instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm."(297) Emerson feels that the scholar should learn things for themselves and not easily accept the views and opinions presented by a writer in their books. He further on continues to state how books "They look backward and not forward.
Emerson portrays the American scholar as a person who learns from three sources. These sources by which a scholar is educated are nature, books and action. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American scholar is one whose character is split into many facets. ... The action of the scholar is important to Emerson. Emerson wants the scholar to learn but question everything. ...
Greeley is a respected scholar and upon reading his book it becomes obvious he is also a skilled writer. ... For scholars of American history, religion and sociology the work provides insight into a largely overlooked issue in this country. As to his thesis Greeley's abundance of anecdotal evidence both of well documented events in American history, and of more contemporary events go a long way to persuading the reader that their certainly is a serious issue at hand here, if not perhaps far enough to prove it. ...
In the excerpt we read from Ralph Waldo Emerson's The American Scholar, it seemed as though Emerson's main goal was to create an extremely complex and overly-wordy written piece to confuse the reader. ... Emerson begins the passage by stating, "The next great influence into the spirit of the scholar is the mind of the Past.... Emerson clearly believes in the importance of creativity, and he displays this belief in his book The American Scholar. ...
The prompt was a simple paragraph explaining what was expected in a fully developed two-page essay on the early Puritans and their plight that eventually led them to America. ... It took a difficult course, a disciplined mind, and my over achieving ambitions to become conscious of a scholar that lived within. ...
Many scholars have tried to give a definition of what religion truly is but many detailed definitions have been proven to be false in different societies. ... One such scholar was Karl Marx who although know for the creation of communism also gave an explanation of religion. ... Each scholar tried to use their concepts of what religion is in order to try and prove their theories on social matters. ... Many scholars of his time had showed concern that society was becoming immoral as a result of the loss of religion. ... Although this holds some truth to it, How would he expl...
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote "The American Scholar" about his concerns and ideas about the education of his day. His concerns were justifiable, because there were many problems with the education systems in the mid 19th century. Although many improvements have been made and remedies considered over t...
African American Literature is a composite of many different life stories and experiences African Americans have had to endure throughout a lifetime. ... Brown, Jean Toomer, Zora Neal Hurston, Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Maya Angelou and the list goes on to include newer African American authors and scholars such as Cornell West, Toni Morrison and Nikki Giovanni. ... Washington were the most acknowledged leaders of African Americans during this time, and their opposing views is what separated them as scholars. ... Harper is one of the very seldom talked about African Ame...
"I prefer to try to tell the story of the discovery of America from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slave, of Andrew Jackson as seen by the Cherokees . . . the postwar American empire as seen by peons in Latin America." ... One of the darkest, most controversial, and least talked about moments in American history is the Vietnam War. ... The unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese brought America into the war. ... While Zinn points out that America was the aggressor in the past, I point out that it is not America who invaded Ethiopia, ma...
