1. Extended Interpretations
Transcendentalism
Extended Interpretations

2. Free writing: Answer one or all of the questions (you have 10 minutes to write a page or more)
What does it mean to be an individual? How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you think independently of others or do you follow the crowd?
How do you define spirituality? What is meant by an individual's spiritual side? How to you define it?
What is the role of nature in your life? How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it? Do you reflect the moods of nature? Is there a connection between the individual's spirit and nature? If so, what is that connection?
What does it mean to know something intuitively? For example, has a parent or a sibling ever known something was wrong with you without having talked with or seen you? What do we mean when we say "I just know it"? Have you ever changed your behavior or actins because you sensed you needed to?

3. What if…
… Emerson had specifically addressed the institution of slavery in this essay. What do you think he would have said about it?

4. Self reliance Reading Quiz
Directions: You can use your annotation and Skillbuilder sheet to answer the questions below. Your answers should be thoughtful and well-developed (Three sentences at the very least).
What is the purpose of this essay? How do you know? Use the details of the essay itself to prove your position.
What are two important things Emerson advocates in this essay? What does he want the readers to do? Put it into your own words.
Who do you believe the intended audience of this essay is? Why? Defend your ideas with evidence.
What if Emerson had specifically addressed the institution of slavery in this essay. What do you think he would have said about it? Do his ideas apply to people who live outside of the dominant culture? Why or why not?
Bonus Questions: what does Emerson mean when he says (A) “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” and (B) “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members?”

5. Emerson Today
If Emerson were alive today… What kind of car do you think he would drive and why? What would his bumper sticker say? Why would this bumper sticker be appropriate for him?
On front: Bumper sticker On Back: Car and explanation of
its connection to the essay

6. Critic’s Corner
The noted writer Henry James said that Emerson” had no great sense of wrong… no sense of the dark, foul, the base.” How do you think Emerson might have defended his views against this charge?

7. From “Memoirs” by Margaret Fuller
In the chamber of death, I prayed In the very early years, “Give me truth; cheat me by no illusion.” O, the granting of this prayer is sometimes terrible to me! I walk over the burning ploughshares, and the sear My feet. Yet nothing but The truth will do.
How do Margaret Fuller’s ideas in this poem compare to “Self-Reliance?”

8. Making Connections
How is “Self-Reliance” relevant today? How do his ideas about the importance of the individual apply to our modern world?
Consider in your answer:
His idea that all people should be nonconformists
His disregard for consistency of thought and deed
Peer pressure to conform to certain standards.

9. Civil Disobedience Free Writing
What does it mean to be a good citizen? What are the qualities and actions of a good citizen? Is it possible to be a good citizen and a lawbreaker at the same time? Explain with examples
Write and defend your position with evidence from the world around you

10. Civil Disobedience Reading Quiz
According to Henry David Thoreau, what is the best kind of government for the people? What are your thoughts about this idea?
What does Thoreau believe are the downsides of majority rule? Are majorities always right? Is it possible to run a government on conscience alone? What are your critiques of this for today in your life and in American politics?
What does Thoreau mean when he says that governments are mostly “inexpedient?” What is ineffective about them? How does he believe things can be done more efficiently?
What does Thoreau mean when he said, “a cooperation of conscientious men is a cooperation with a conscience?” What are the implications for decision- making if decisions are made based on habits and traditions as opposed to being thoughtful about the outcomes?
Who makes America great, the government or the people? What did Thoreau say about this? What do you think about this? Do American people, today, understand that the government is designed to represent them as opposed to reign over (rule) them?
What are two of the largest points you walk away with from reading “Civil Disobedience?” List and explain them.
Define civil disobedience. What is the difference between civil disobedience and just plain disobedience? Explain
Bonus: Connect the concepts of self-reliance and civil disobedience together.

11. On your definitions page from yesterday, add:
Gandhi Concepts
On your definitions page from yesterday, add:
Satyagraha:
Nonviolent resistance

12. Connect Gandhi to Emerson and Thoreau
Homework: On your definitions page, Write a well-written paragraph that connects your definitions of self-reliance and civil-disobedience to the question below.
What are the concepts of Satyagraha and nonviolent resistance? How did Gandhi’s choices connect to Thoreau and Emerson? Point out specific examples of his reactions to unfairness and compare them to Thoreau and Emerson’s essays and the tenets of Transcendentalism.

13. Transcendentalism Review
Define each of the following in your own words and find an example/ quotation from the texts to illustrate and support your definition:
Self-reliance
Civil disobedience
Now that you have defined and illustrated the main concepts for our first two works, define and explain what you believe Transcendentalism is.