The American scholar critical analysis

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Student will able to understand the topic
• Student will able to write answer in exam

3. WHAT’S THE TEXT ABOUT?
• This text answers the following questions:
1) What an American Scholar should be?
2) How is an American Scholar influenced?
3) What should be his/her duties?

4. TEXT CONTENTS
• Paragraphs:
1-7 = Introduction and function
8-9 = Influence of Nature
10-20 = Influence of past/Books
21-30 = Influence of Action
31-45 = Duties of American scholar

5. RALPH WALDO EMERSON

6. ORATION
• Emerson opens "The American Scholar" with greetings to the college president and
members of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College. Pointing out the
differences between this gathering, the athletic and dramatic contests of ancient
Greece
• Which took 1 hour and 15 minutes to delivered by the writer himself to the “ Phi
Beta Kappa society of Harvard College” at the first Parish in Cambridge in
Cambridge ,Massachusetts on August 31. 1837
• Originally titled "An Oration Delivered by Emerson, which is now referred to as
"The American Scholar"

7. THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR
Introduction of the Oration (1-7)
( Man and Society )
Oneness of Man (Human nature)
• Man is divided into Men
• Unity in Diversity (One Man)
• Relation with Nature
• Theme of unity

8. INFLUENCE OF NATURE (8-9)
• As a teacher
• How similar minds and Nature (Notion of circular power)
• Everything is connected.
• Soul is the reflection of Nature

9. INFLUENCE OF THE PAST/BOOKS
(10-20)
• Books are the best type of the influence of the past.
Not book worm.
Discourage from exploring new ideas
Considering as resource ( facts into true)
Man thinking again/ explore, not copying
Appeal of books (never underestimate written words)
Field VS Library

10. INFLUENCE OF ACTION
• “ The so-called ‘practical men’ sneer at speculative men, as if , because they
speculate or see, they could do nothing.”
Intuition and implementation
Present vs past actions
I think therefore I am Vs I create therefore I am.
Field vs library ( praising of labor)

11. DUTIES OF AMERICAN
SCHOLAR
• Obligation in general
"He is the world's eye. He is the world's heart.“
• self-trust
• Self-sacrifice
"who raises himself from private considerations, and breathes and lives on public illustrious
thoughts"-(self sacrifice)
• obligated to communicating the noblest thoughts and feelings to the public.
"who raises himself from private considerations, and breathes and lives on public illustrious
thoughts“
• Brave
• Independent