云南师范大学外语学院美国文学课件Chapter Three.pptVIP

Chapter Three Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 -1883) Born in Boston to a clerical tradition. Leader of the transcendentalist movement in America. Journals and speeches were the forms of communication most natural to him. Literary term Transcendentalism: It refers to a kind of attitude that believes in the recognition in man of the capacity of knowing truth intuitively, or of attaining knowledge transcending the reach of the senses. In another word, transcendentalists believe that man learns things not only through reasoning based on his five senses, or by his own sensual experiences, and that he also learns truth spontaneously, out of his soul or instincts . Text study: Self- Reliance Theme of Self-Reliance (1841) This essay focuses on his discussion on the individual’s relations with his culture – culture in the broadest definition, thus exploring the implications of the fierce individualism at the heart of his Transcendental faith: the dignity, the ultimate sanctity of each human being. Quotations for further appreciation I ought to go upright and vital, and speak the rude truth in all ways. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. To be great is to be misunderstood. Quotations for further appreciation Men imagine that they communicate their virtue or vice only by overt actions, and not see that virtue or vice emit a breath every moment. Instead of the gong for dinner, let us hear a whistle from the Spartan fife. Let us never bow and apologize more. Every true man is a cause, a country, and an age; requires infinite spaces and numbers and time fully to accomplish his design; - and posterity seem to follow his steps as a train of clients. Special features Mode of perception A.