Itzel Crusoe - Ralph Waldo Emerson - APUSH - Discussion Round Table

Itzel Crusoe
Dubuisson
APUSH Per. 3
27 October 2014 I. Hello, my name is Ralph Waldo Emerson and I was born on May 25, 1803. I am an
American writer, speaker, and poet, and most, if not all, of my works highlight my beliefs on
Transcendentalism. My style is more philosophical rather than naturalistic. Some of my more popular works are: "Self­Reliance", "The Poet", "Experience", and "The American Scholar". I often like to refer to my works as "the infinitude of the private man." My pieces have influenced countless thinkers after me. II.
1) I feel like the biggest challenge that Americans face today are their way of thinking.
Humans are too dependent on external forces; they need to learn how to rely on themselves. I believe in this because it is the only way that humanity can build a community. 2) I believe that society and its institutions solely corrupt a person's individuality; this is diluted through things such as political parties and religions. We can improve people by forcing them to become completely self­sufficient. This would keep a balanced community. 3) In my life, I have advertised Transcedentalism as much as possible. I would say that I have been pretty successful because people still remember me in 2014, and I have influenced many. The largest the criticism that I have faced has been that individuality will cause too many differences between people and chaos. However, I believe that if people's motives are not internal, they are futile. III.
1) David Thoreau: What have you learned from me? 2) Horace Mann: How are students supposed to be individual if they are forced to conform? IV. Self­Reliance
Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Place and Time: It was published in 1841 and the later revised in 1847
Prior Knowledge: Transcedentalists believed that knowledge originated from an inner light
Audience: American citizens
Reason: This was written to advertise Emerson's true beliefs
The Main Idea: The main idea was that Americans needed to avoid social conformity and follow their own ideas.
Significance: It fed Americans with a sense of individualism.

Emerson commences the novel by feeding up the reader's ego by claiming that everyone is a genius. Then he points out the decrying influences on citizens that society has on people.
Finally, he ends by advocating self­worth and importance. The main theme of this work was to stray away from social influences and to trust on one's true inner­feelings.