As you have discovered from his writings, Ralph Waldo Emerson was an man of profound thought and incisive observation. His calls to live simply and understand ourselves through the natural world around us have resonance even in, perhaps especially in, today's society.
Your task is to choose one of the following Emerson quotes and explain what you believe it means. You may wish to include examples from your own life, or what you know about transcendentalism, to help illustrate your point. Please use no more than three sentences. You must post your response by the end of class.
Please write the number of the quote in your response so I know which one you picked.This assignment is worth one homework grade.
1. "A man in debt is so far a slave."
2. “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”
3. "Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
4. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
5. “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”
6. “It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
7. “I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”
8. “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
9. “Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.”
10. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statemen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do"
11. "Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare."
12. "Society is a wave. The wave moves forward, but the water of which it is composed does not."
QUOTE #3
ReplyDeleteWhen Ralph Emerson said this, he was trying to inspire those who read it to truly live their lives. Ralph Emerson is attempting to inspire the masses to do something with their life rather than remain stagnant. Like most people, he believes that if a person does not take risks or in this case "experiment" he or she is wasting their life.
QUOTE #3
ReplyDeleteWhen Ralph Emerson said this, he was trying to inspire those who read it to truly live their lives. Ralph Emerson is attempting to inspire the masses to do something with their life rather than remain stagnant. Like most people, he believes that if a person does not take risks or in this case "experiment" he or she is wasting their life.
3
ReplyDeleteTrial and error are an important part of humanity, we must make mistakes, try new things, and never fear failure. Experimenting and trying new things allows one to learn new things about themselves, their talents, and how to improve their lives; if we triumph we get the satisfaction, and if we fail we learn what does and doesn't work for us. With every mistake we make, with everything we try, we learn new ways to move forward.
#4
ReplyDeleteThe quote by Emerson menas that the mistakes that I have commited in the past, and the mistakes that I will comit in the future are not as important compared to the person I am inside. It is clear that I make mistakes and I will continue to make them, but what is important is how I face them and how I overcome them which will show my true character.
quote 3
ReplyDeletei think this quote is very profound as its deep meanning shows. and i also agree that "all life is a experiment". life is like an experiment, do not be shy or be sick of what you are doing. you will never know what will happen unless you have done somthing, and it dose not matter what did u do or how did u do. the most imporntant is you have done it! failure is normal, do not fear it. just like people who are learning another language, do not be shy to speak it, otherwise you are not going to get improved!
(8) Emerson is stating that everything in life contributes to making a person an individual and advancing ones own identity. It is always good to give thanks to the people and objects that help better or improve something.The nature around us as the people of a grand society has bettered our lives and deserves a continuous amount of thanks.
ReplyDelete2)Emerson says a person should forget the events that took place yesterday and live in the present. Each day comes to an end and what one did that day cannot be changed, so "forget them as soon as you can." Tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities, so start it with a new attitude and leave out "your old nonsense."
ReplyDeleteQuote 3 means that life is meant for trial and error because no one is perfect. Mistakes are made and so life is an "experiment" because you must analyze the results of your actions and learn from them whether they are successful or not. Thus being "timid and squeamish" is futile because you must be willing to take risks in order to progress and become experienced and knowledgeable.
ReplyDelete2. With all of my effort, I try to live every day of my life by Emerson's quote, “finish every day and be done with it", since I know that it is impossible for a human to travel back in time and fix his/her mistakes. I have suffered from clinical depression caused by thinking about the "blunders and absurdities" I have committed in the past in my social and academic life,which wasted the time I could have used to put more effort into the present and improve my future. Now, in an effort to heal myself and enjoy the fact I am alive, I appreciate the GOOD things that I have accomplished and forget past mistakes which I cannot return to, "begin[ning] [each day] serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with [my] old nonsense."
ReplyDelete6. It is easy to go along with what people are doing around you, even if you feel differently. Alone people can easily do and act as they chose to without worrying about other's opinions. To keep your ground and retain your individuality when in the presence of others is the hardest to accomplish.
ReplyDelete1. This quote is saying that if a man is "in debt" than he will never be able to live his own life. The quote resonates with me because, I am never able to actually feel free until I have finished my homework for the day. I think that this quote, although referring to slavery, is a great example of how people feel when they have work that needs to get done.
ReplyDeleteI have chosen quote 3 because I agree with the idea of taking risks and trying something new instead of being afraid and backing out. I believe this quote is stating how trying out new things is a good thing even if it can be risky or its something your afraid of because its part of living and making these experiments is a way to see life in a whole different perspective. Also with the more experiments you make it is better because you learn more from these experiments and you grow as an individual in many ways in terms of getting over a fear, trying something new, and learning something new can all be found in trying more experiments and to not be afraid of your actions.
ReplyDelete11. This quote is saying that nothing new or of equal quality will come of studying something already created or uncovered. That true greatness comes from an untapped and raw source, like nature and your own life.
ReplyDelete3. This quote means that one must not be shy and stay quiet but be expressive and be more adventurous by standing up against anything with courage and not fear or worry about what is going to happen later, because otherwise one will not be able to achieve anything in the end. From my personal experience, I know because when I was younger I was afraid to talk to people which always prevented me from getting close to making friends, however, as I started to be more courageous and not caring about what the outcome was going to be by being more expressive towards people, I was making many friends. By being more experimental, and being ready to face the challenge, I gained a more than successful outcome which I had not expected for as Emerson said, one should not be timid of themselves but more experimental.
ReplyDelete3. This quote is essentially saying that people should not think too much over a certain action, and they should just do what they have to and fulfill their duties; the more risks and action we take, the happier we will be. An example of this would be socializing instead of being shy; if one is quiet and refuses to step outside of their comfort zone, they will not make meaningful relationships with other people and as a result, will feel lonely. In conclusion, R.W.E. is conveying that if people begin to understand that there is everything to gain by taking action without fear of embarrassment or failure, they will lead better lives.
ReplyDelete3- I believe that this quote means that people are characterized by their experiences in life and only by experimenting with different things throughout their entire lives will people be able to grow and find themselves. When he says that you should not be "too squeamish and timid about your actions," he is reinstating how every action you take shapes your life and what kind of a person you truly are, so it is suggested to do things you normally would not. Making more mistakes and conducting more experiments in life will only benefit you in the long run because they will help you learn more about the world and yourself.
ReplyDelete5. It can be hard to achieve in today's society as everybody wants to be looked at with respect and importance. Too many people just try to fit in today's society and try to be someone that they really are not inside. If you really want to achieve and go above and beyond in this world, you may have to pay the price of being misunderstood as it could potentially help you in the bigger picture of life and way beyond in the future.
ReplyDelete4.
ReplyDeleteEmerson is saying by this quote that whatever happens to us on the outside, it is not as important as the person that we are on the inside. Likewise, it shows how famous people such as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mendela and Marie Curie became successful,leaving behind inspirational legacies even though they had to face difficulties in their lives.
3)Many people in today's society are ambivalent about their performance in life, Ralph Waldo Emerson explains in this quote that if there is no failure then there would be no progress in life which at the end leads to lack of success. When this is related to the development of babies, one of the reasons that their rate of improvement is greater compared to adults is because they are able to do so many things with out being frighten of defeat. Therefor it is for their benefit to experiment in life in order to advance.
ReplyDelete7. “I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”
ReplyDeleteIn this quote, Emerson is trying to convey the message that the past is what makes us who we are. Although we cannot remember all the meals we have eaten, they have provided us with nutrition and the ability to everyday menial tasks, just like how the books Emerson read shaped his style of writing. Just because we don't remember what made us the way we are doesn't mean these things didn't influence us in a certain way