Journal Write: Pick one quote and respond

1. Journal Write:Pick one quote and respond • "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" (Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”) • The title “wise” is, for the most part, falsely applied. How can one be a wise man, if he does not know any better how to live than other men?" (Thoreau’s “Life Without Principle”) • Civil war, national bankruptcy, or revolution, [are] more rich in the central tones than languid years of prosperity“ (Emerson’s “The Conduct of Life”) • "If one listens to the faintest but constant suggestions of his genius, which are certainly true, he sees to not what extremes, or even insanity it may lead him; and yet that way, as he grows more resolute and faithful, his road lies" (Thoreau’s “Walden”)

2. TRANSCENDENTALISM a literary movement (part of Romanticism) that flourished from 1836 – 1860

3. How it began…1830’s • Ralph Waldo Emerson – prominent Unitarian minister, left the church to seek a more meaningful religious experience. • He argued that anyone could discover truth and God within themselves without belonging to a church (rebellion against traditionally held beliefs by the English Church that God superseded the individual).

4. Transcendental Club • Followers of Emerson’s ideas came together to form the transcendental club. • They believed that truth transcends (goes beyond) what you are able to observe in the physical world alone. • You must focus on your inner self!

5. “We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds…A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. Henry David Thoreau • Thoreau joined Emerson’s club • built a hut on Walden Pond. Here he spent time meditating, living off the land, and writing about nature. • believed that reform began with the individual • protested against slavery by not paying his taxes

7. Thoreau continued… • Was arrested for tax evasion • After a night in jail, he wrote “Civil Disobedience,” which states that it is not enough to protest against something. Rather one must act in order to be a conscious individual.

8. Tenets of Transcendentalism Simply put, every person is divine and you must rely on yourself to find God and transcend the confines of the physical world. Through our own intuition, you can come to know higher truths.

9. #1 Universal Spirit • There is a divine energy in all living things. • This a universal spirit gives all life meaning and purpose. • God is present in every form of nature, regardless of race, religion, or social status.

10. #2 Self-Reliance and Intuition • You should seek God by looking inward • Individuals should rely on their own heart and moral compass to guide their lives • “Trust your Intuition”

11. #3 Self and Society • Transcendentalists held an optimistic view that all men and women possessed a natural capacity to do good (as opposed to Puritan belief that people were innately sinful) • Believed that social activism was a direct result of an increased relationship with God and self

12. #4 Direct Relationship with Nature • Man has removed himself too far from nature • Only in nature can you truly commune with God • You must leave behind modern conveniences and to learn higher truths about humanity

13. Battle of Lexington & Concord

34. From “Walking” by Henry David Thoreau“I have met but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of Walking, that is, … • …of taking walks--who had a genius, so to speak, for SAUNTERING, which word is beautifully derived "from idle people who roved about the country, in the Middle Ages…They who never go to the Holy Land in their walks, as they pretend, are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds; but they who do go there are saunterers in the good sense, such as I mean…Some, however, would derive the word from sans terre without land or a home, which, therefore, in the good sense, will mean, having no particular home, but equally at home everywhere. For this is the secret of successful sauntering. He who sits still in a house all the time may be the greatest vagrant of all; but the saunterer, in the good sense, is no more vagrant than the meandering river, which is all the while sedulously seeking the shortest course to the sea.

35. Transcendental Writing, 50 summative points Transcendentalist Writing Assignment Rough Draft Due Friday 12.14; Final Draft Due Monday, 12.17.2012 Assignment: If you had to apply a tenet of Transcendentalism into YOUR life, how would this look? • One page, single-spacing is okay. • Be specific. Use specific quotes and specific examples from the writing and from your own life. • Formal writing in terms of syntax, but the use of “I” is expected. • Scope: You might pick one Transcendentalist writing and one area of your life, or you might take a broader approach, where you consider how/where the multiple writings overlap and how these universal tenets may apply to your life in a broader sense (note: do not confuse broad with generalities). Either way, specific use of quotes and application is expected. • This paper should illustrate an understanding of Transcendentalism and its potential applications, as well as the ability to employ meaningful quotes • This is NOT a five-paragraph essay; it does not require an introduction, conclusion, etc. It is short in length (long in thought and reflection) -- you will want to get in and start writing.

36. Rubric, Transcendental Writing Rubric (50 summative points) Displays a clear and distinct understanding of (a) fundamental Transcendentalist characteristic(s) _____/10 Uses academic/formal/grammatically correct writing, with the caveat that “I” is expected _____/10 Meaningfully employs an appropriate quote (or quotes) with analysis as it relates to application _____/10 Uses specifics/avoids generalities as it applies to the Transcendental reading AND life application _____/10 Displays evidence of time, care, thought (“x” factor”) _____/10