LITR 4232:
American Renaissance
Student Presentation Summary
Thursday, 6 February 2003: Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1512-1518 (introduction and opening of Nature), 1555-1560 (opening of “Self-Reliance”), “Concord Hymn” 1603.
Reader: Doug Carey
Discussion
notes: Claire Garza
Emerson fits well into the first objective since most people classify his
work as classical. However, most of his work also addresses some of the problems
of his generation, and he usually writes with that purpose in mind.
Though he is not concerned with the gothic style, he does make some
obvious references to the sublime and has a few romantic tendencies.
Objective 1: Classic Style
The introduction on page 1515 supports the idea that Emerson had a
classical style; Jean Carr states that, “Emerson was indeed an allusive
writer, but his use of cultural materials provokes with a purpose.”
On the same page, Carr quotes Emerson as saying, “Let me remind the
reader that I am only an experimenter. Do
not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not,
as if I pretended to settle anything as true or false.
I unsettle all things. No
facts are sacred; none are profane; I simply experiment, an endless seeker...”
These passages show that Emerson always wrote with a very specific
purpose. Because of this, people
keep referring back to Emerson.
Objective 3: Representative Style
In addition to being a classic author, Emerson was a representative
author. He discussed the major
problems of his generation. There
are at least four good examples of this in the assigned selections.
First, on page 1516 in the introduction to Nature
Emerson says, “Our age is retrospective.
It builds the sepulchers of the fathers. It writes biographies,
histories, and criticism.” Here
he is making a generalization about most of the people of his generation without
passing any kind of judgment. Second
on page 1556 he says, “I read the other day some verses written by an eminent
painter which were original and not conventional. “ This passage shows how he brings current ideas and events
into his writing. Later on the same
page he says that, “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected
thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.
Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this.”
Here he is suggesting that all individuals now are capable of ingenious
ideas, regardless of how they act upon them.
Lastly on page 1558 he says, “I am ashamed to think how easily we
capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.” In this line, Emerson describes his distaste of mindless
conformity. All of these passages
show how Emerson integrates recent personal and cultural events into his writing
to prove his point.
Romantic and Sublime Tendencies
Emerson was romantic in two ways. First,
much of his work is nostalgic. On
page 1516 he talks about the past by saying, “The forgoing generations beheld
God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes.
Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?”
Here he is saying that the previous generation could do something that he
and his generation could not, or would not do.
Second, he has a tendency towards anthropomorphism.
On page 1517 Emerson gives Nature a persona, “Nature says,—he is my
creature and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me.” These examples are about the most romantic trends that
Emerson displays.
Even though Emerson avoided the use of the gothic, probably because he
was a minister, he did put a very heavy emphasis on the sublime.
On page 1517 he says that, “One might think the atmosphere was made
transparent with this design, to give man in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual
presence of the sublime. “ Later
on the same page he goes on to say that, “In the presence of nature, a wild
delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows.”
Obviously, as a minister, Emerson believes that nature is sublime and
integrates that into his writing.
Discussion
Question:
What kinds of issues does Emerson address in Nature?
Question:
What does Emerson say about the youth of his generation in Self
Reliance?
Discussion
Question 1:
What kinds of issues does Emerson address in Nature?
White: In the very opening of nature the
former generations beheld God and nature face to face.
Nature here is substituted for God.
Jody: I was thinking that when he sees
nature it is a helpful reminder to see how often nature comes about, often
see….
S2: I have mixed feelings about what he
thought about nature. He says, "Nature never wears a mean appearance"
and, that statement is very contradictory, because nature can be very violent.
He puts nature on a higher plane than it deserves. He's very idealistic.
Douglas: Yes.
S3: I don't think he's so much
idealistic, if you think about the ideals of the country, and Jefferson has a
very agrarian ideology, that men have small farms and they were very close to
nature. This brings out the best of them, something like Thoreau, and if they
could get back to nature? It ends
up being more philosophical than idealistic.
S4: Nature really just is, this effort
of being.
White: This is the way Emerson Works.
Question 2:
What does Emerson say about the youth of his generation in Self
Reliance?
Douglas:
Because if you look back to the other stories we have read there is a closed
caption view of young people that is very irritating. They are vile creatures.
Here he REALLY has something good to say about them 1557.
White: It
seems like the boy doesn’t really care what you think about him.
He's going do his impulse, his true motive in life.
Douglas:
They are going to do anything to get a reaction from him.
White: Well
as a teacher, we are sure that we don't like that. We socialize people, but the
un-socialized self is the true self.
Douglas: As
children you're not self-conscience
White: The
image of the conscience as a jail is good.
S1: Reminds
me of the gospel, a higher goal, transcends a higher ideal.
White:
Transcend does mean to rise above the rest.
Conclusion
The
transcendental philosophies of nature and spirituality presented by Emerson give
the most positive view of life possible, sometimes to the extent of being
unrealistic. According to Emerson,
the systems of life were evidence in and of themselves of God’s existence.