Books, A Disguised Threat?

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Ralph Waldo Emerson’s oration delivered to the most brightest students of Harvard was an odd approach, yet clarified what the real definition of a scholar is.

“Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst. What is the right use? What is the one end, which all means go to effect? They are for nothing but to inspire.” (Emerson 15) Emerson devotes much of his attention on the influence of books. He states that books pose danger to readers although we gain knowledge of the past. He questions if it does benefit us by showing us a picture into the past but pose a great danger, what is the real use of books? The question he raised made me think differently. As a student, we are so absorbed in reading chapters in time for the next lecture class without fully enjoying the subject. Our priority is to get a general understanding of the text for the purpose of doing well in our exams. We would learn the material but as Emerson mentioned, we would not think anything beyond than what is presented within the printed pages. According to Emerson, scholars are of no difference since they can also suffer from the undue influence of books. In fact, books are just there to inspire if the genius remain stuck with the concepts that it projects and are prohibited to explore new ideas of their own. Thus, Emerson suggests books should only be a resort to true scholars if they are unable to use their minds and apply it creatively.

I couldn’t agree more to Emerson. Although we devote our time to read books, we pay little or no attention to thinking outside the box. Rather than relying on what a book is trying to say, creativity must be fostered. Books may be the heart of endless knowledge but they should not restrict our thoughts.

Break Free From Traditions

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Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered one of the most influential speeches, “The American Scholar” to Harvard’s Phi Beta Kappa Society. This society compromised of an honorary society of male students with stunning grade point averages. In this address, Emerson pushed to separate the way American writers, artists, and philosophers, create their own works separate from European traditions. Emerson conveys his message using various elements, one element that was very prominent was the usage of metaphors. Emerson paints a picture of how society, once whole, has become divided in several factions with a more refined purpose to live their life. I would say this was crucial in Emerson’s success in motivating his audience to create works that are original.”But unfortunately, this original unit, this fountain of power, has been so distributed to multitudes, has been so minutely subdivided and peddled out, that it is spilled into drops, and cannot be gathered. The state of society is one in which the members have suffered amputation from the trunk, and strut about so many walking monsters, — a good finger, a neck, a stomach, an elbow, but never a man,” (Paragraph 4). Emerson compares the society to a fountain of power which has divided into droplets of water that can not become united into one substance. In doing so, he makes in very clear of what his stance is on the ideology of jobs. He creates a metaphor to create a visualization of what it really means to be a separate entity from others. He also creates another visual image for readers, by comparing members in society as “monsters”. As though they are individual body parts, attempting to function as a whole, but never succeeding in doing so. At first I was confused when Emerson introduces the term, “Man Thinking”, in which is his way of saying those that deem themselves as writers must take their thoughts and turn them into a reality.

Great Works Vs. Action & Belief

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Throughout Ralph Aldo Emerson’s oration on August 31,1837, “The American Scholar” a constant theme arises, take action and listen to your beliefs. His speech was kind of a bizarre way to reach out to the Phi Beta Kappa society which were the elite members at the top of their class at Harvard.

“Yet hence arises a grave mischief. The sacredness which attaches to the act of creation, — the act of thought, — is transferred to the record. The poet chanting, was felt to be a divine man: henceforth the chant is divine also. The writer was a just and wise spirit: henceforward it is settled, the book is perfect; as love of the hero corrupts into worship of his statue. Instantly, the book becomes noxious: the guide is a tyrant. The sluggish and perverted mind of the multitude, slow to open to the incursions of Reason, having once so opened, having once received this book, stands upon it, and makes an outcry, if it is disparaged. Colleges are built on it. Books are written on it by thinkers, not by Man Thinking; by men of talent, that is, who start wrong, who set out from accepted dogmas, not from their own sight of principles. Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books.” (Emerson,13).

In this paragraph in particular Emerson has a way of kind of challenging what these students have been taught their whole college careers. Action versus reading books. Emerson is very insistent that just because great leaders of the past have shared their intellect via books and novels doesn’t mean that these are guides on how to go about leading your life. Emerson states that the ones who first wrote these “great pieces of work” were just young men like yourselves sitting in a library, challenging other great works and the authors who wrote those books. Great works are only great works because they are viewed that way. By reading great works they are suppose to inspire you and ignite the creation from within, not create a “bookworm” who accept the views of another person.

Actions of an “American Scholar”

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On August 31,  1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers an oration called “The American Scholar” to the elite members of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society of Harvard University. These member consisted of students that were known to have the highest GPAs and the brightest students of the school. Emerson uses the speech to convey a message to express the influences of the nature around themselves in real scholars today, and emphasizes what it truly means to be a scholar.

“Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man. Without it, thought can never ripen into truth. Whilst the world hangs before the eye as a cloud of beauty, we cannot even see its beauty. Inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without the heroic mind. The preamble of thought, the transition through which it passes from the unconscious to the conscious, is action. Only so much do I know, as I have lived. Instantly we know whose words are loaded with life, and whose not.” (Emerson, 21) Emerson uses the quote to explain the epitome and duties of an American Scholar. In todays society, it is simply not enough to be just smart. Having action, being able to apply yourself into the real world is essential. Putting yourself out there, being able to meet new people, letting your guard down to make connections to experts in the field can help you go further in life unlike someone that is smart in the books but doesn’t apply themselves outside of the world of reading and testing. Where the quote also states that not taking action would be considered as cowardly. The world around us is a reference. Emerson believes that we should use what is provided to use as keys to unlock our greatest potential through action and belief.

 

 

Look inside yourSELF to be a scholar

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In Ralph Emerson’s speech “The American Scholar”, he gives a surprising and new message to his Harvard student listeners. Emerson stresses to his audience what it truly means to be a scholar, however this definition of scholar isn’t what these students are. Emerson was transcendentalist himself, and his speech was full of transcendental themes as his definition of what a true scholar is was based on transcendental principles. Around paragraph 31 of his speech, Emerson begins to use the term ‘self’ such as “self-relying”, “self-trust”, and “self-directed”. Emerson is telling these listeners (students) that if they want to be the true scholars that they think they are, they need to think for themselves. This idea of self and Emerson’s emphasis on it reflects the overall message Emerson is trying to get across to the listeners. Emerson is trying to send a message to his listeners that they need to always remain independent in their thinking and in their actions. Although reading is good and necessary as Emerson says, he wants to stress to these students that they need to put the books down and stop glorifying these dead thinkers from Europe. In the eyes of Emerson, if you want to be a true scholar you need to develop your own thoughts in isolation in order to discover universal ideas. Emerson stresses the idea of self-trust and repeats it in the paragraph to show the listeners that this ‘truth’ is present in all of us and can be found if we look for it. Emerson is telling these students to stop glorifying the writers and thinkers of the books they’re reading and instead find their self-worth within themselves rather than these other thinkers. If we can understand the reasons Emerson emphasizes the sense of self and his transcendental background, we as readers can better understand Emerson’s definition of what a true scholar is.

Reading Is Not Learning

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Emerson heavily emphasizes on the influence of the past and books when it comes to the way we learn. He states “Books are the best type of the influence of the past, and perhaps we shall get at the truth – learn the amount of this influence more conveniently, – by considering their value alone.” (Emerson Paragraph 11) He admits that people can still benefit from books and if people use it correctly they can attain knowledge from it. However, books should not be the substructure of a person’s education. He points out that books aren’t the only factors when it comes to learning as books have their limitations. He points out that books cannot offer as much and that it limit the mind from thinking further from what they read. He reiterates to not fully rely on the text, but to experience it and to actively think. Emerson says, “Genius looks forward, the eyes of man are set in his forehead, not to his handheld: man hopes: genius creates.” (Emerson Paragraph 16) When a man is really thinking, it is a man who creates, not one who read other peoples’ creations. The power of knowledge is not merely just from books, but from one’s mind in using their own experiences.

“Man Thinking” The American Scholar

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“Books are written on it by thinkers, not by Man Thinking; by men of talent, that is, who start wrong, who set out from accepted dogmas, not from their own sight of principles.” (Emerson 4)

The American Scholar was a speech given to the gentlemen of the Phi Beta Kappa Society in Harvard. The speech is essentially addressing the fact that many of the men in that room have never really worked or experienced real life. They are book worms who have lived their lives through their reading and through what they have been taught.

The quote stated above stuck out to me. As a student, who doesn’t know much outside the school system, this quote gets me thinking. Why do we assume that some authors are extremely knowledgeable? Because we were taught about them in school? Because our favorite professor told us so? These questions are brought up many times as a student. Emerson bluntly states what we’re thinking: these are men who were told were good thinkers, who were told they could write and tell stories. Throughout the speech, Emerson gives multiple examples of this. Emerson believes that only through action, you can truly be knowledgeable.

At first glance, the quote is something most students may agree on. However, there are always the scholarly students (like the Harvard) who would disagree. The fact that Emerson is speaking about these “great works” and “great writers” as people who were just born talented and did not actually experience anything real, is quite shocking. The students listening may not agree and may not be happy, since many of them may look up to those authors.

Many students who go to Harvard are those students who truly lived and loved school more than anything else. Their social life, sports, and other aspects were never more important. Yes, every case if different, but let’s assume that’s the vast majority. These students who have worked 18 years to get where they are, another 4 to get into this society, and most likely another 8 for a further degree, do not want to hear that their role models and favorite authors are not just talented, but wise amongst words.

The passage above is not to be taken lightly for, he’s insulting many of the books we’ve read. Emerson is no fool and is able to admit that the writers are talented, but that’s all he can say about them. He even says that they “start wrong.” What could that mean? That the authors stumbled upon brilliance? They did not work for it, nor did they struggle for it?

I could argue that students who have worked their entire lives to make it to a school like Harvard and be a part of the Phi Beta Kappa Society have worked very hard. But with this quote, is it possible that they just were born with it? I do believe that some are born with more intelligent capacity, with more advantages, weather it’s financial or genetic. However, can we doubt that they did not work as hard as the common man?

Post Group Assignments

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Here are the groups for posting on the smaller readings that we will ALL read throughout the semester.  For more on posting, please refer to the “Posting and Comments” page under “Assignments.”

POST GROUPS

A:  Alisha, Domonique, Hnin, Tom, Jasmine, Samantha, CJ, Danay

B:  Katherine, Jelandi, Mamady, Ruwani, Mark, Shannon, Ishaana, Jamaul

C:  Sarana, Gudman, Caleb, Media, Andrea, Sanam, Abby, Jia

Book About a Book Group Assignments

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Below are the group assignments for the final “book about a book” project.  Because we only had one person on the Kafka, I cut that text. If your name is in bold, it’s because you were previously in the Kafka group or absent last Wednesday, so I have just assigned you a text.  Please let me know if you have serious reservations about the text to which you’ve been assigned.

BOOK ABOUT A BOOK GROUPS

Scarlet Letter:  CJ, Ruwani, Alisha, Domonique

Notes from Underground:  Mark, Jia, Media, Shannon

Quicksand and Passing:  Sanam, Gudman, Andrea, Ishaana

Little Prince:  Katherine, Tom, Jasmine, Jamaul

Beloved: Abby, Danay, Jelandi, Mamady

American Born Chinese:  Caleb, Hnin, Samantha, Sarana