Emerson's Man-Thinker, The American Scholar

In Ralph Waldo Emerson's speech, The American Scholar, he use the term "man-thinking" to denote an independent thinker, or one who is free of constraining fetters of conformity and dogmatic beliefs. The mind of the independent thinker is engaged by the spectacles of nature and ponders his connection to "the inexplicable continuity of this web of God." The scholar sees his connection to nature and his soul's reflection therein; thus, to study and contemplate nature is to study and contemplate one's soul. The scholar also finds inspiration in books and knowledge; however, the true man-thinker uses this rich source of information to create ideas relevant and reflective of his day. He does not deify past thinkers nor apotheosize their works. Great minds think against themselves and accepted ideas in an attempt to arrive at their own personal truth; they are not afraid of contradiction and change.
One of interesting comments Emerson makes about the universe is it is "without center, without circumference." (If you saw the movie "I (heart) Huckabees" this should sound familiar.) The size and scope of the universe is beyond our imagination and understanding. What thoughts do you have about the universe? What thoughts does the universe inspire you to think? Think for yourself and be a non-conformist.

Goals in Life?

Transcendentalists had a view of life and existence that is very different from many of our modern views. They lived lives that many of us would find strange, boring, pointless, and bizarre; however, there was a reason for which they led the lives they did. Transcendentalists were not concerned with making money, achieving popularity or fame, or seeking material and superficial pursuits and pleasures. Their main objective was to experience a communion with the Over-Soul and live a live of inspiration, enlightenment, and peace. Some of their goals are : *the realization of one's union with the Universal Spirit, *the realization of the unity of all existence, *liberation from ignorance, *knowledge of the Self, or Soul, *the direct experience of Divinity. These goals led them to live lives of seclusion, meditation, and study; lives many of today's youth would abhor. My question to you, before we begin exploring further the lives of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, is : What brings meaning to your life? What are you striving to accomplish? What will bring you peace and happiness and why?

Transcendentalism

We can think of the literary and social movement called Transcendentalism as the American child of Romanticism because the former stems from and was engendered by the latter. They both have many ideas and perspectives in common, but Transcendentalism takes these ideas a bit further. The basic precept, or rule, of Trans'ism is : The basic truths of the Universe lie beyond the knowledge we obtain through our senses. Through senses, we learn the facts and laws of the physical world, and we can create science and technology, but there is another realm of knowledge that exists beyond what we can hear, see, or learn from books. We must use the sense of Intuition to transcend the physical world if we want to know the existence of our souls and our realation to the meta-reality beyond the physical world.
Because we cannot use our senses to understand this spiritual reality, we can only understand it through direct experience. What the Trans'ists were seeking is direct communion with the Over-Soul, which is an idea very similiar to Brahman, which is a shared universal soul that connects and includes all forms of Being- God, humanity, nature. Therefore, a Trans'ist feels ALL living beings are significant, from the smallest flea to the most important human. Everything is a significant part of this Universal Spirit the Over-Soul.

The Masque of the Red Death by E. A. Poe

This story is a great example of Poe's vivid yet dark imagination. The "Red Death" is an imaginary plague that ravaged an imaginary principality; however, though this plague is fictional, there have been many instances of plagues that have decimated European nations throughout the centuries. Despite the horror and death of his subjects, the Prince Prospero isolates himself and a thousand of his friends in a secluded castle. They ignore their fellow men and party while they wait out the plague. Their hope is the plague will run its course, and when all the people have died, the plague will perish. Post answers to the following questions:
1. What do you think is the theme of the story?
2. Can you identify the elements of the story that make it Romantic?
3. What is the Climax of the story?
4. Who is the Protagonist? Antagonist?