The American Scholar

In both Plato’s “Apology” and Emerson’s “The American Scholar”, the two authors focus on a similar topic: the characteristics and examples of a man thinking. Emerson discusses the American Scholar, also known as the “man thinking”. A “man thinking” is rare in a community. This individual is one who thinks outside of the norms and is not easily influenced by society’s common beliefs. In Plato’s Apology, Plato presents Socrates whose actions allow us to believe that he is an example of a “man thinking”. Plato’s writing discusses Socrates experience, decisions, thoughts, and actions while he is on trial. I will evaluate Emerson’s detailed description and arguments regarding a “man thinking” and outline the similarities between Socrates and a “man…

You do you, Make it Popular The speech, The American Scholar, by Emerson describes that it is time for America to create a new cultural identity. American needs to get rid of Europeans influences, and the american scholar will be the majority of developing american cultures. After the american revolution, the society of america is changed. The americans are immigrants; therefore, they come with their own cultures and religious. The speech points out that it is important for americans to…

The first couple-paragraphs of Emerson’s “American Scholar” gives advice to the male American scholars. Emerson wrote the “American Scholar” a couple decades after America got its independence. For America, it was time for change, so Emerson delivered a speech that would help motivate the “American Scholars” to push for that change. One way Emerson delivers his message is the way he appeals to his audience. When Emerson starts off his speech he lets the “American Scholars” know that it's going…

Paragraph in his Speech The American Scholar During the 1800s in the years following the American Revolution, the United States and its people were still strongly connected to Britain. This European country was a strong leading power, so America had yet to establish their individuality, and rather, continued to conform to Europeans’ past ways. In his speech The American Scholar, Ralph Waldo Emerson connects this time period to men and scholars alike; he urges them to break away from the past…

“The American Scholar” which was originally named “An oration delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa society, at Cambridge, August 31, 1837” was delivered by Ralph Waldo Emerson as a speech to Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa society. Later that year, the speech was published under it’s primary title and then republished in 1838. After a couple of years, in 1841, he embodies this essay in his book of essays under it’s new title “The American Scholar”, aiming to extend his audience. Emerson Introduces…

considered one of the greatest American scholars of all time, delivered a speech to an audience of Phi Kappa Beta students at Cambridge. He delivers the speech in order to provide insight on the future, but also to enlighten them to a new way of thinking. Emerson was influential to that group of students, and is still influential to people today. That is why in “The American Scholar”, Emerson effectively impacts an unintended audience, today’s society, by explaining his ideology through a…

oldest schools in the United States are less than 10 percent and those who attend them believe they have a certain superiority over the common man. A writer and philosopher who was a scholar himself gave a speech to one of these universities, which completely challenged the way that these men thought and most likely outraged them. The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson is still relevant today due to the common belief in the world that only those who do extremely well academically and attend…

Having the Right Ideas. Sometimes people need to get out of their comfort zone in order to learn something new. They are influenced by their experiences. This influence can lead to growth. In the article, “American Scholar”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson explains that his intent is to explore the scholar as one function of the whole human being; the scholar is "Man Thinking." The remainder of the article is organized into four sections: the first three discussing the influence of nature, the…

Never ending war between science and religion In the essay, “Without God”, the author, Steven Weinberg, highlighted the prediction of Ralph Waldo Emerson in “The American Scholar” which transformed the American cultures and societies. He argues that the world has become a better place because of the scientific discoveries and the decline in religious belief is obvious and a day will come when people will have no faith on religion. The argument that the scientific discoveries have unveiled the…

The complexity of the human mind is very hard to understand. McEwan’s Atonement, is a novel beginning in 1935 when Briony Tallis, a thirteen year old girl commits a crime that sends Robbie Turner, an innocent man to jail. Consequently Briony seeks redemption and atonement throughout her live, initially during WWII and later in the late 1900’s in a form of a book that Briony writes of Robbie Turner’s and Cecilia Tallis’s undying love. On the other hand, DeWitt’s The Sisters Brothers, is a story…