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In class: introduction to Transcendentalism class handout / copy below.
Homework: Excerpt from Emerson's Self-Reliance with accompanying questions. Incorporate textual evidence in your responses. As this is the focus of tomorrow's class, no late material will be accepted.
class hand-out / copy below This is due tomorrow.
Homework for Monday February 4: vocabulary 8 handout in class copy below.
American
Transcendentalism and Analysis of Ralph Waldo Emerson's
"Self-Reliance" by Steven A. Carbone II
What began in New England in the
early nineteenth-century as a reform of the Congregational Church grew into
what some scholars consider to be one of the most monumental movements of
religion, philosophy and literature in American history. Humbly, American
Transcendentalism began its transformation of the American intellect through a
circle of friends, some of whom were former Unitarian ministers themselves.
They desired to further reform the church, which they viewed as a “social
religion that did not awaken the individual’s realization of his own
spirituality” (Versluis 290). These Transcendentalists drew upon the
philosophies and religions of the world to push forth their ideas of the
importance of the self in spiritual life. At the forefront of this movement was
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Himself a former Unitarian minister, Emerson was and still
is viewed as the highest profile member of the “Transcendental Club” that was
responsible for the re-thinking of American spirituality (Barna 60). Emerson’s
statement regarding the importance of the individual in moral and intellectual
development is “Self-Reliance.” His essay supports the American Transcendental
movement’s philosophical pillar: that the individual is identical with the
world, and that world exists in unity with God. Through this logic, it follows
that the individual soul is one with God, thusly eliminating the need for an
outside institution (VanSpanckeren Net). In order to fully understand American
Transcendentalism, and Emerson’s place in it, the movement’s origin and
evolution must first be explored.
The roots of American
Transcendentalism reach back into the eighteenth century. Religion in New England
had been dominated by Calvinist ideologies, set forth by the Puritan settlers.
Calvinist doctrine included the idea of the inherent corruption of human nature
and the concept of salvation coming only by the discretion of God himself
(Robinson “Transcendentalism” 14). It is important to note here that the
Calvinist belief was that the individual had absolutely no control over their
ultimate spiritual fate through their actions in life. This orthodox belief
asserts the Holy Trinity, through which God presents himself, elects those men
chosen for salvation or condemnation - a fate decided before the creation of
the world (Hutchison 3).
In the mid eighteenth century, there
arose a desire to reform these Calvinist beliefs in order to create a more
positive and liberal view of human nature. A number of ministers in Boston
wished to bring about a fresh New England theology that stressed the ethical
and pious behavior of the individual in the self-determination of their own
salvation. This group of liberals, in the early nineteenth century, began to
criticize the Congregational Church and its Calvinist ideals, stating that they
hindered the individual’s moral growth. This group of liberals eventually
gathered behind a spokesman named William Ellery Channing, who argued the case
for this fledgling Unitarian movement (Robinson “Transcendentalism” 14-15).
William Ellery Channing, in 1819,
assumed the role of “unofficial spokesperson for American Unitarianism.” His
sermons and speeches beseeched his audiences to seek the truth for themselves
in scripture, in order to pour their findings and feelings into poetry and
passion for their newfound ideals (Barna 64-65). Channing’s message stressed
the fundamental belief that God was innately part of human nature and that this
oneness with God would be supported by rational and reasonable interpretation
of Biblical scripture (Hutchison 13).
Channing’s efforts to re-define
Unitarianism and establish the self-culture were simultaneously setting the
foundation upon which the Transcendentalist movement would be built (Barna 65).
Channing’s message of self-development through moral and intellectual growth
was reaching a new generation of participants, including Emerson. Plagued by a
lack of self-confidence at this time, Emerson was struggling with the decision
to commit himself to a career in the ministry. Channing’s poetic style from the
pulpit encouraged Emerson, who had previously found Unitarian theological and
doctrinal preaching distasteful. Emerson eventually decided, in 1832, to resign
from the Unitarian ministry in order to pursue a career as an essayist and
orator (Robinson “Transcendentalism” 15-16). This departure from conservative
Unitarianism marked the beginnings of the Transcendentalist movement. In and
around Massachusetts, the majority of new Transcendentalists came from
Unitarianism. The Unitarian intellectuals of the time still believed and
asserted that Christ’s divinity was proven by the miracles documented in the
Bible – a claim found by the new Transcendentalists to be unreasonable (Capper
683).
In its earliest days,
Transcendentalism was known mostly as a religious movement. Further reform of
the church, including more open-minded reading of the Scripture and the
questioning of miracles found in the Bible were considered to be most radical
for the time. The movement, early on, was pushing for a less formal, less
ritualistic religious experience (Worley 267). In 1836 the “Transcendental
Club,” comprised of Emerson and a number of his renowned contemporaries, began
meeting. This was also the year in which Ralph Waldo Emerson anonymously
published his first book, Nature (Versluis 290). From this point forward, the
movement took a turn towards a more broad range of target subjects, including
philosophy, theology, politics and literature. The diversity of the subject
matter of their criticism and writing can be attributed to the range of
intellectual interests the group shared, as well as their use of sources from
the western tradition and from abroad (Capper 683).
It was in this period that Emerson
penned his second collection of Essays, which was published in 1841. Included
in it is Emerson’s “Self-Reliance.” It is a near reflection of the self-culture
introduced earlier in the Unitarian reform by W.E. Channing. Emerson uses the
essay as a vehicle for stressing the importance of the individual’s
intellectual and moral development, and for making a defensive statement
supporting individualism itself (Belasco 683).
“A man should learn to detect and
watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than
the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages” (Emerson 684). From the outset
of his essay, Emerson asserts that man should be focusing his attention to his
inner self for guidance rather than relying on external religion and religious
and philosophical figures. In doing this, he sets out to support the ideology
of the individual that lies at the core of Transcendentalism. Robinson
indicates that “Self-Reliance” deals with the fall of humanity, and it’s saving
throw, disciplined attention to the inner self (Robinson “Grace and Works”
226). As one progresses through Emerson’s work in “Self-Reliance,” it becomes
evident that he works through several themes.
1. Acceptance of self is an important
theme explored in the essay. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron
string. Accept the place the divine Providence has found for you” (Emerson
685). Emerson goes on to describe the
childlike mind, which trusts wholly, without the self-doubt typically encountered
in an adult mind. This state of mind has a self-possession and self-acceptance
on a sub-conscious level, allowing for true, natural intuitive action (Robinson
“Grace and Works” 226). For progress as a true individual under the
Transcendentalist way of thought to be possible, self-acceptance was paramount.
This could occur only through complete trust in a person’s own intuition,
without influence from outside forces of tradition, religion or government
(Warren 208).
2. The theme of non-conformity. Complete
trust in one’s self requires the abandonment of reliance on outside sources.
3. The essences of virtue, genius and
life stems from intuition.
Excerpt from Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)
I read the other day some verses written by
an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always
hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment
they instil is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your
own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true
for all men, — that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be
the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost,—— and our
first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment.
Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to
Moses, Plato, and Milton
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. 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. Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes
much impression on him, and another none. This sculpture in the memory is not
without preestablished harmony. The eye was placed where one ray should fall,
that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves,
and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be
safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully
imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. A man is
relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but
what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a
deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no
muse befriends; no invention, no hope.
Trust thyself: every heart vibrates
to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you,
the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have
always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age,
betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their
heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we
are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny;
and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a
revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty
effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark…These are the voices which we hear
in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.
Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its
members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the
better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and
culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance
is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.
Whoso would be a
man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be
hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing
is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself,
and you shall have the suffrage of the world…
A foolish consistency is the
hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and
divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well
concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard
words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it
contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be
misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was
misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and
Galileo, and Newton
Responses for
Emerson’s Self-Reliance.
1. According
to the first paragraph, at what conviction does every person arrive?
2. According
to the second paragraph, what must every person accept?
3. How
does Emerson describe society?
4. What
is Emerson’s comment about consistency?
5. What
does he mean when he comments: “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”?
6. Why,
according to Emerson, should people trust themselves?
7. How
does Emerson believe people should be affected by the way others perceive them?
8. According
to Emerson, in what way is it true that “to be great is to be misunderstood”?
Vocabulary 8
definitions
1.
allege (verb)- to assert without proof or confirmation;
to claim, contend
2.
arrant (adj)- thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless,
blatant, egregious, unmitigated
3.
badinage (noun)- light and playful conversation;
banter, persiflage, repartee
4.
conciliate (verb)- to overcome the distrust of, win
over; to appease, pacify, to reconcile, placate, mollify
5.
countermand (verb) to cancel or reverse on order or
command with another that is contrary to the first
6.
echelon (noun)- one of a series of grades in an
organization or field of activity; level, rank
7.
exacerbate (verb) – to make more violent, severe,
bitter or painful; to aggregate, to intensify
8.
fatuous (adj)- stupid, foolish in a self-satisfied way;
silly, vapid, inane, doltish, vacuous
9.
irrefutable
(adj) – impossible to disprove; beyond argument, indisputable,
incontrovertible, undeniable
10. lackadaisical
(adj) – lacking in spirit or interest, half-hearted
11. litany
(noun)- a prayer consisting of short appeals to god recited by the leader
alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long
list, rigmarole, catalog, megillah
12. juggernaut
(noun) – a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in
its path.
13. macabre
(adj)- grisly, gruesome, horrible, distressing; having death as a subject;
grotesque, grim, ghoulish
14. paucity
(noun) – an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth of original ideas; lack
15. portend
(verb)- to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give
advance warning of; bode,
foretell, foreshadow, suggest
16. raze
(verb)- to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out to make
room for a larger complex
17. recant
(verb)- to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been
committed, renounce, retract; repudiate, disavow.
18. saturate
(verb)- to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully, permeate,
drench flood, imbue
19. saturnine
(adj)- of a gloomy or surly disposition;
cold or sluggish in mood; sullen, morose
20. slough
(verb)- to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or
unnecessary; to plod through mud; to shed, slog (noun)- a mire; a state of
depression
Vocabulary 8
exercise 1 Use the correct form.
1. However
much it may cost me, I will never ________________________ the principles to
which I have devoted my life.
2. No sooner
had the feckless tsar decreed a general mobilization that he
__________________________ his order, only to reissue it a short time later.
3. Though
some “home remedies” appear to alleviate the symptoms of a disease, they many
in fact __________________________ the condition.
4. Ms.
Ryan’s warnings to the class to “review thoroughly” seemed to me to
________________________ an unusually difficult exam.
5. The men
now being held in police custody are _________________________ to have robbed
eight supermarkets over the last year.
6. Her
friendly manner and disarming smile helped to ________________________________
those who opposed her views on the proposal.
7. The
service in honor of the miners trapped in the underground collapse included
prayers and _________________________________.
8. We object
to the policy of ________________________________ historic old buildings to
make way for unsightly parking lots.
9. You are
not going to do well in your job if you continue to work in such a(n)
_________________________________ and desultory manner.
10. The
enemy’s lines crumpled before the mighty _______________________________ of our
attack like so much wheat before a harvester.
11. As a snake
______________________________ off its old skin, so he hoped to rid himself of
his weaknesses and develop a new and better personality.
12. My shirt
became so ______________________________ with perspiration that beastly day
that I had to change it more than once during the match.
13. After he
made that absurd remark, a(n) _______________________________grin of
self-congratulation spread like syrup across the lumpy pancake of his face.
14. “I find it
terribly depressing to be around people whose dispositions are so
______________________________ and misanthropic,” I remarked.
15. The
breaking news story concerned corruption among the highest
________________________________ of politics.
16. Only
someone with a truly ________________________________ sense of humor would
decide to use a hearse as the family car or a coffin as a bed.
17. “It seems
to me that such ________________________________ hypocrisy is indicative of a
thoroughly opportunistic approach to running for office,” I said sadly.
18. The
seriousness of the matter under discussion left no room for the type of
lighthearted ____________________________ encountered in the locker room.
19. At first I
thought it would be easy to shoot holes in their case, but I soon realized that
their arguments were practically ________________________________.
20. His four
disastrous years in office were marked by a plenitude of promises and a(n)
__________________________ of performance.
Vocabulary 8
exercise 2
1. Ebenizer Scrooge, the protagonist of Dicken’s A Christmas
Carol, has a decidedly _____________________
personality.
2. On the stand, the defendant _____________________________
the guilty admissions she had made in her
confession to the
police.
3. Shouting and name-calling are sure to
_____________________________ any quarrel.
4. The continuing popularity of horror movies suggests that
one way to score at the box office is to exploit the
_________________________________.
5. Any population that has experienced the
______________________________ of war firsthand will not easily
forget its
destructive power.
6. The newspaper tabloid ____________________________ that
the movie star and the director were having
creative
differences.
7. In Shakespeare’s tragedy the audience sees clearly that
Iago is an _____________________ scoundrel, but
Othello is blind
to his treachery.
8. Although the civil servant began in the lower
_______________________of government service, he rose
quickly through
the ranks.
9. The town ____________________________ the old schoolhouse
to make room for a larger, more modern
school complex.
10. We were presented with such overwhelming proof that our
verdict was ____________________________.
11. At New Year’s time, many people resolve to
____________________________ off bad habits and start
living better,
healthier lives.
12. The team’s performance in the late innings was
_____________________________ because they were so
far ahead.
13. In order to discredit the candidate, the columnist
quoted some of his more _______________________,
self-serving
remarks.
14. I enjoy delightful ____________________________ between
stars like Spencer Tracy and Katherine
Hepburn in 1940’s movies.
15. The senate campaign was marred by a
_____________________________ of original ideas.
16. A sponge that is _______________________________ with
water swells up but does not drip.
17. Whenever she talks about her childhood, she recites an
interminable _____________________________ of
grievances.
18. In Shakespeare’s plays, disturbances in the heavens
usually ______________________________ disaster or
trouble in
human affairs.
19. Today’s directive clearly ______________________________________
all previous instructions on how to
exit the
building in case of fire.
20. Because of the weakness of our army, we had to try to
_________________________________ the enemy.
Vocabulary 8
exercise 3
Synonyms
1. the indisputable evidence
__________________________________
2. the banter of the morning talk show hosts
___________________________________
3. the egregious corruption of the officials
___________________________________
4. claimed that a crime had been committed
___________________________________
5. foreshadows dangers to come ___________________________________
6. an idea that permeates all aspects of society
__________________________________
7. will aggravate tensions between the rivals _________________________________
8. a long rigmarole of questions and answers
___________________________________
9. a listless response from voters
_____________________________________
10. the upper levels of power
______________________________________
11. tried to placate both sides in the dispute
__________________________________
12. revoked the outgoing President’s orders
______________________________________
13. wore a very grotesque mask ___________________________________
14. crushed by the force of progress
___________________________________
15. slog through the seemingly endless files ____________________________________
Antonyms
16. a growing abundance of cheap labor
_____________________________________
17. given to lighthearted predictions _____________________________________
18. known for his sensible opinions
___________________________________
19. has reaffirmed her support of free trade
_________________________________
20. constructed a downtown shopping district
__________________________________
Vocabulary 8 exercise
3
1. By
(portending / sloughing) off the artificiality of her first book the novelist
arrived in a style that was simple, genuine and highly effective.
2. By
denying your guilt without offering any explanation of your actions, you will
only (recant / exacerbate) an already bad situation.
3. Not
surprisingly, the committee’s final report was an incongruous mixture of the
astute and the (irrefutable / fatuous).
4. Stephen’s
King’s book Danse (Macabre / Lackadaisical) surveys popular and obscure horror
fiction of the twentieth century.
5. With
incredible unconcern, the nobles of Europe immersed themselves in social frivolities
as the fearful
(juggernaut /
litany) of World War I steamrolled ineluctably toward them.
6. Over the
years, hard work and unstinting devotion to duty have raised me from one
(echelon / paucity) of company management to the next.
7. She excused
herself from lending me the money I so desperately needed by (conciliating /
alleging) that she had financial troubles of her own.
8. Economists
believe that the drop in automobile sales and steel production (countermands /
portends) serious problems for business in the future.
9. We have
many capable and well-meaning people in our organization, but it seems to me
that there is a (paucity / juggernaut)
of real leadership.
10. It is a
good deal easier to (raze / allege) an old building that it is to destroy a
time-honored social institution.
11. I never
ask any one “How are you?” anymore because I am afraid I will be treated to an
endless (litany / badinage) of symptoms and ailments.
12. His
attempts at casual (badinage / echelon) did not conceal the fact that he was
acutely embarrassed by his blunder.
13. What
possible purpose will be served by setting up yet another hamburger stand in an
area already (saturated / sloughed) with fast-food shops?
14. His
debating technique is rooted in the firm belief that anything bellowed in a
loud voice is absolutely (saturnine / irrefutable).
15. Our
excitement at visiting the world-famous ruins was dampened by the
(lackadaisical / arrant) attitude of the bored and listless guide.
16. In earlier
times, people whose views conflicted with “received opinion” often had to
(recant /portend) their ideas or face the consequences.
17. Only a(n)
(arrant / macabre) knave would be capable of devising such an incredibly underhanded
and treacherous scheme.
18. The
authority of the Student Council is not absolute because the principal can
(countermand / exacerbate) any of its decisions.
19. Someone
with such a (fatuous / saturnine) outlook on life doesn’t make an agreeable traveling
companion, especially on a long journey.
20. The views
of the two parties involved in this dispute are so diametrically opposed that
it will be almost
impossible to
(conciliate / saturate) them.
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