Unit 2 Section 1 American Romanticism 10 th

Unit 2 Section 1 American Romanticism 10 th English

Emerson • Emerson makes an argument for solitude in communion with nature as a way to achieve inner peace. According to Emerson, nature will never fail to nourish and strengthen us is we contemplate it from the perspective of a child whose inner and physical senses are attuned to the natural world.

What qualities does Emerson assign to objects in nature? • He assigns natural objects human qualities. For example, he refers to stars as envoys of beauty that light the universe with an admonishing smile

Concord Hymn

Emerson praises the American Minutemen • • • Here once the embattles farmers stood That memory may their deed redeem Spirit! Who made these freemen dare To die, or leave their children free The shaft we raise to them and Thee

“shot heard around the world” • Metonymy, a figure of speech in which one word is used to stand for a related term. In this case, the shot represents the first bullet fired indicating the beginning of the war. The news of that war did indeed echo around the world.

from Nature

Why can a person not truly achieve solitude unless he or she goes outside? • At home, one has to deal with other people. Even reading and writing involves thoughts of another. A person cannot truly see nature from inside buildings. • Only in nature does one forget about his or her human companions and acquaintances. It is when one has a relationship with nature outdoors that he or she knows his or her own nature. The sense of a God/Universal Being can only be felt when out in nature.

Identify two things that Emerson states people lose when they immerse themselves in nature • People lose a sense of other people and acquaintances in nature • People leave behind their sense of grief and problems in nature. • People leave the manmade world behind when they enter nature • People cast off their age and find endless youth in nature.

Explain Emerson's attitude toward the American Minutemen from Concord Hymn • It is clear that Emerson thinks these men changed the course of history through their actions. He praises their bravery. As free men, they took up arms in order to ensure their children’s future freedom. This was a noble deed that Emerson hopes everyone will long remember, no matter how much time passes.

What can you tell about Emerson’s beliefs and perspective on life? from Nature • Emerson has a deep belief and faith in God. • Emerson has clearly spent a lot of time outdoors observing nature. • Emerson has looked closer at things in nature that the average person. • Emerson thinks each person should have a personal relationship with nature and live in harmony.

from Self- Reliance

from Self-Reliance Identify two lessons that Emerson thinks people should follow and explain how those lessons can be accomplished • Believe in your own thoughts and ideas. No reward will come without hard work. • Trust in your own knowledge and genius. Never conform to what society demands. • Society works against individuality. Selfreliance is the enemy of conformity

Accept the place that the Divine Providence has made for you We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. • Emerson rejected organized religion. He argues that people should recognize their own ideas and follow their convictions. People should live by their own opinions and stop imitating the ideas of others. He is suggesting that we are too modest and timid to trust and express our God given original ideas. Emerson refers to society as a company and to individuals as divine. He believed that transcendental thought and non conformist religion were intertwined.

According to this essay, how does Emerson perceive society and its influence on mankind? • Society conspires against mankind. • Society commonly thinks it knows what is best for a person even if it is wrong. • Society often demands things of man that are the antithesis of his nature. • Society does not encourage or condone nonconformity. • It is easiest to live according to society’s demands, but to do so is to be less of a person.

• According to Emerson, what is a genius? • How does his definition relate to his belief in individualism • In what way should a person approach his or her work? • What kind of work do you think Emerson is describing? • To what does Emerson compare society? • How does society affect what people value? • What part of Emerson’s essay did you find most persuasive? • What techniques did he use to convince you?

• Believing in your own thoughts. • The individualist is concerned with what is true or him or her. • With willingness, confidence, and the determination to his or her best. • He is discussing spiritual activity and the way one leads one’s life. • A “joint-stock company” • Society requires conformity and penalizes those who diverge from it.

• from The Biology of Joy and • Woman in the Ninetieth Century

• What is the definition of happiness, according to professor Davidson? • What are two major findings about happiness outlined in this article? • Identify two reasons why Fuller says men think that women cannot be equal to me. • Identify two ways in which Miranda differs from the traditional women of the nineteenth century

• How might the research of neurochemistry and structure of happiness affect how depression is treated? How would the study of positive emotions influence the treatment of negative ones? • Which argument do you think she supports and why is it so persuasive?

What is the definition of happiness, according to professor Davidson? • It is a group of positive emotional states that people do not want to change. Instead they want to maintain them. It is a placeholder name for good emotional states in the brain

What are two major findings about happiness outlined in this article? • Happiness is not just a good feeling; it is a physical state of the brain. • Happiness is something we are born being able to generate intentionally. • Happiness has positive effects on the emotional health of a person. • Happiness has significant effects on the physical health of a person, including conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.

Woman in the Ninetieth Century

Identify two reasons why Fuller says men think that women cannot be equal to me. • They are worried that women will no longer be in the home. • They do not think that women are capable of the hard physical work men do. • They think that women do not have the dignity to hold political positions. • They think that they (men)are capable of representing women’s needs and issues.

Identify two ways in which Miranda differs from the traditional women of the nineteenth century • Her father raised her as an equal. • She was raised in a very intellectual environment. • Her father was not an indulgent parent. • Her father raised her to feel like a child of the spirit. • She was completely self-reliant and independent.

How might the research of neurochemistry and structure of happiness affect how depression is treated? How would the study of positive emotions influence the treatment of negative ones? • By gaining a better understanding of the functions and chemistry of happiness, physicians and researchers might be able to better treat its opposite, chronic depression. The factors that influence levels of happiness might somehow be applied to people who suffer from depression and other negative emotions. From simple steps such as keeping a gratitude journal to complex concepts such as increasing the activity in the prefrontal cortex, happiness may provide the answers so many are desperately seeking.

Which argument do you think she supports and why is it so persuasive? • One of men’s biggest complaints is that women are not physically capable of doing the same things men are. However, Fuller does an excellent job refuting that. She illustrates her point with the example of Indian squaws at camp, the women of Louis XIV’s entourage, females slaves in the field, and the harsh work of seamstresses. These are powerful and persuasive.

• Fireside Poets and • from Walden

from Walden

Walden • Thoreau rejected a life of needless complexity. He goes into the woods to live more simply. He belittles those who complicate their lives by hurrying, working too hard, and trying to keep track of the latest news. He believes these things limit the time people have for what is important. When he leaves the woods, his belief in simplicity is confirmed and his insight into life is depend.

• Thoreau compares the sightless victim to those whose excessive interest in trivial news blind them to what is of basic importance. Thoreau gives the ants human characteristics such as courage, names the warning factions after human adversaries, and compares the battles to human wars. He characterizes the ants as self-reliant, intelligent, and similar to humans.

• Thoreau wanted to discover the essence of life. Walden offered the opportunity for a simple life and time for reflection. He disdains news and mail, viewing them as unimportant. He values deeper knowledge.

• Identify two ways in which Thoreau believes humans are damaging the quality of their lives • Explain what Thoreau means when he says he wants to “suck out all the marrow of life”. • What advice does Thoreau have for people in the very last paragraph of the essay?

Identify two ways in which Thoreau believes humans are damaging the quality of their lives • They let themselves sink down into the complications of civilized life • They overeat and hurry too much • They immerse themselves in news that they can do nothing about

Explain what Thoreau means when he says he wants to “suck out all the marrow of life”. • He came to the woods to see what life was all about and what was at the very core of life itself • He wanted to get down to the basics of life and human survival • He came to make the most of each and every day of his life.

What advice does Thoreau have for people in the very last paragraph of the essay? • Thoreau encourages people of all ages to determine exactly what they want in life and then follow that dream. He reminds everyone that self-confidence is the key to happiness. He compares dreams to castles in the air and then urges people to put foundations, or actions, underneath them.

To the Fringed Gentleman and Old Ironsides

• Identify two ways that Bryant shows what time of the year the gentian blooms. • Identify two lines from the poem that show some of this action in battle was violent • Old ironsides” is about the demise of a once powerful ship. What is the speaker’s overall attitude about its decline?

Identify two ways that Bryant shows what time of the year the gentian blooms. • • It blossoms under autumn dew It opens after frosty nights have appered It comes late after the violets have gone The woods are bare and the birds are gone for the winter • There is frost • The days are getting shorter • The year is almost over

Identify two lines from the poem that show some of this action in battle was violent • Beneath it rung the battle shout, and burst the cannon’s roar • Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood, where knelt the vanquished foe • No more shall feel the victor’s tread, Or know the conquered knee

“Old ironsides” is about the demise of a once powerful ship. What is the speaker’s overall attitude about its decline? • The speaker is clearly unhappy about the possibility of this noble ship being scrapped. His tone is almost sarcastic as he says, it should be torn apart. Its time of nobility is over. By the end of the poem, he is clearly advocating that instead of tearing it apart, he thinks the grand ship should be allowed to sink to the bottom of the ocean and make its grave in the sea where it thrived.

from Civil Disobedience

Identify two things that Thoreau says about the concept of majority rule • Identify two things that Thoreau says about the concept of majority rule • Identify two reasons why Thoreau refused to pay his taxes • What is the main reason that Thoreau encouraged civil disobedience against the government?

• Just because a majority believes something does not make it right. • The majority may physically be the strongest but that does not make it just. • A government based on majority rule cannot be based on justice.

The majority may physically be the strongest but that does not make it just. • He does not believe in a government that taxes people for services they do not use. • He sis not attend church so saw no reason to pay taxes to it. • He did not want to be a part of any kind of “incorporated society”

What is the main reason that Thoreau encouraged civil disobedience against the government? • Thoreau felt that a government that was not based on the individual’s right to make his own decisions about how he lived was one that could never by just. He opposed many of the government’s enforced decisions such as mandatory taxes. He went to prison rather than give in to that requirement. He was strongly in favor of self-reliance and simplicity and felt that government took both of those options away.

• On the Eve of Historic Dandi March And • Long Walk to Freedom

• Identify two ways that the leaders are similar in their convictions • What are two things you think these leaders foresee for their people in the immediate future • Which of the two philosophies do you think is the more effective in today’s world? – Gandhi’s “truth persistence” – Mandela’s “ abandoned this idea and turned to more aggressive actions, which eventually put him in prison.

Identify two ways that the leaders are similar in their convictions • Both men want freedom and a better future for their people. • Both men have been arrested for their beliefs and actions • Both men rebel against government control that does not keep the rights of the individual foremost in mind.

What are two things you think these leaders foresee for their people in the immediate future • The two men realize that the journey ahead is going to be difficult • The leaders are telling their people that the fight has only begun

Which of the two philosophies do you think is the more effective in today’s world? • Gandhi believed in total nonviolence for his entire life. It was the basis for all his actions, as well as all the actions he advocated for his followers. Mandela, however, turned away from nonviolence in the 1960 s and was imprisoned as a result. While a nonviolent philosophy in today’s world seems impossible. I believe it is the right choice. When violence enters the arena, principles are lost, are blurred and battles are too costly, even if won.