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Post by Mr. Thomas on Nov 4, 2013 17:49:24 GMT -5
Post responses here.
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Post by georgebaroudos on Nov 4, 2013 21:12:15 GMT -5
George Baroudos
Mr. Thomas
English 11
4 November 2013
A – I feel as if these pieces target a similar audience. This pieces target those who might have lost their way or trying to find their way. Often times when I feel like I have lost my way or need somewhere to retreat to I look towards music. Music is a stress reliever in my eyes. It allows me to relate sometimes which offers me comfort. The music I listen too has reassurance. This will always be my retreat from the world. I believe that we all have retreats whether we know it or not. We have to keep searching, we must also know that when the going gets rough, keep our head high because it gets hard before it gets easy.
D – “These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.” This quote stands out to, I feel like all people initially have good intentions. I feel like people strive to be educated, caring and overall good people. But, once we are put into real life situations things become difficult. For the most part society wants to develop strong views that reflect well on them. But, because the world is so unpredictable we are never able to anticipate what will happen. We cannot know how we will react to certain situations unless we experience them. Humans are put in a very tough position and many few are able to prosper, while many fold.
I – The conversation of the incorporation of nature remained constant with the writings of Nature. I continued to receive the Daoist vibe, especially when the author says, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith.” I do agree that nature is a retreat and a time of reflection. I do believe that in nature we have the ability to become closer to God. In many aspects I agree that knowledge is gained through nature and when we analyze nature we really become grateful for all that it offers. But, many of the references were odd and weird. Some connections in my mind do not make sense at first glance, but that does not take away the beautifulness of the piece.
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Post by johnmarano on Nov 4, 2013 21:29:04 GMT -5
John Marano
Mr. Thomas
English 11
4 November 2013
C. In Self-Reliance I kind of didn’t understand a specific quote. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” (210) I didn’t really find any importance in this quote. What is the point of this? How is it important compared to the rest of the story.
D. I really enjoyed reading self-reliance a lot more than nature. I liked it more because I interpreted the story as self-reliance being almost a virtue. I like how Emerson contrasted it with other ideas of self-reliance. A specific quote that really grabbed my attention was on page 210. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” I really felt that this quote was so meaningful because it is a foundation for self-reliance. We must learn how to have faith in our choices and our decisions. This quote really made me love the short story because it makes so much sense. I am always being told to trust myself and now I know it leads me to being able to stand-alone.
I. George Baroudos did a great job in the discussion board on tonight’s reading. I would like to comment on his response to Nature. I like how he compared it to his daily life because if you think about it, nature is our daily life. It is always around us. He makes the connection that he uses something to help get his mind off stress. I absolutely enjoyed reading this post because I am the same way. He uses music, which is ironic because it is in our nature to turn to something. He did a great job explaining how he turns to things when he needs to.
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Post by eointunney on Nov 4, 2013 22:07:51 GMT -5
Eoin Tunney
Mr. Thomas
English 11 HW
4 November 2013
A. I really enjoyed reading Self-Reliance a lot more than Nature. I felt that Self-Reliance could relate a lot more to teenagers. There were several parts of the Self Reliance writing, which I felt had a strong connection to teenagers. On the top of page 209, Emerson writes, “… that imitation is suicide; that he must make himself for better, for worse” This quote is saying that a person has to stop pretending to be someone who they are not and accept the person that they actually are. This relates to many teenager girls especially because many of them act differently just to fit in.
I. I really enjoyed George Baroudos’ comments on how he views music as his stress reliever. I totally agree with George because I also like to listen to music when I am stressed. Many people would most likely agree with George because music is known to relieve stress. One thing that I feel is a better stress reliever is playing sports. After playing basketball, soccer, or rugby I feel extremely calm. Sports are always there to help me find guidance through whatever I have to do.
E. Unlike Self-Reliance, I found the short story Nature very un-enjoyable. From the start I didn’t like where Emerson was going when he starting talking about a man needs to be separated from distractions if he is to do anything productive. I found this short story to be extremely boring, and I felt it was hard to read since I was nearly unable to finish reading it.
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Post by bourdonm15 on Nov 4, 2013 22:35:10 GMT -5
Matthew Bourdon
Mr. Thomas
English 11
11/4/13
A. The piece from Ralph Waldo Emerson called Nature was targeted towards those in the Romanticism period. Although he is targeting a specific audience I feel like he also tried to explain his belief and view on nature to a wider and broader amount of people that did not and were not part of the Romanticism era. “Nature never wears a mean appearance. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected all the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood.” (Page 206) This shows the emotion Ralph had towards nature as any other person in the Romanticism period did as well. Nature was a celebration to the romanticists and this was an example of that.
C. I did not feel like I grasped the real and genuine understanding of Self-Reliance. “These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.” (Page 210) I wasn’t too sure what was meant through this line. What voices is Ralph talking about? It was a struggle to understand the story and Ralph’s point of view on the story.
E. The quote I found interesting was sort of like a flashback to what we have been discussing for the past month. “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.” (Page 210) I feel like it relates to the question for our essay topic on why violent hysteria occurs and why does society engage on these acts against their own members. This quote shows that the people in a society have an evil and treacherous plan to question the manhood of everyone in the society, therefore showing no respect for the other members. It gives us insight to Ralph’s thought process.
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Post by frankclarke on Nov 4, 2013 23:01:25 GMT -5
Francis Paul Clarke Junior
Mr. Sean Thomas
English 11
4 November 2013
A. In class today Mr. Thomas discussed how today America is the center-point for television/freedom/basically any ideal. And how it used to be Europe, like it says on page 203 “its freedom from the old, corrupt, and dying thought and the customs of Europe.” Thus proving Mr. Thomas! (Not that I would ever doubt such an intellect) Yet Emerson more or less predicted the downfall of European influence, implying that the world was craving for a new and ingenious society that could fulfill the never-ending needs of a hungry culture. Also I found it pretty rad that people looked to Emerson as a “guru” and how intellects responded to his ideas with optimism. Thus showing that the elite of the citizens helped persuade the shift of knowledge.
D. “To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature.” Absolutely love this line. It exemplifies a few ideals I like to associate myself with. First, it shows that most adults are blind to the ideals of the world and everything around them. For the most part, they put little or no thought into the nature and world around them, from struggling societies to their next-door neighbors. This relates to my most recent essay about ignorance. They know its there, they know its bad, but they deliberately choose to ignore it. And did you really expect me not to comment on the “Self Reliance” mention of ignorance?!?! “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance. Is envy ignorance? In my understanding of both words I would have to strongly disagree. Envy is becoming jealous or self conscious of one’s own attributes; therefore, are we not made aware of ourselves and our abilities? If we are envious, we are aware.
C. I still find it extremely annoying that writers use this mind-boggling form of English that’s impossible for me to read/ turns me off to read it. Why do they do this? Lack of the understanding of proper adjectives, nouns, and verbs?! It’s annoying and I dislike it.
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Post by 1adams12 on Nov 4, 2013 23:26:48 GMT -5
11/4/13
D. One of the lines that I liked was "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse. as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till" (Page 209). The reason why I like this line so much is because of the fact that I myself can put myself into this quote because of the fact that I arrive at the point where I doubt if I can really do this or not.
A. I personally was can see people being in doubt like page 209 because I am in doubt all of the time. For example, I am in doubt that I would be able to choose the right college to go to since some are better than others in different fields. I personally feel that people should be in doubt all the time, because if they were not in debt, they probably would not be able to enjoy life. I know how weird that sounds, but personally I believe that if you are not doubting all of the time, you would know what should be happening for your life and be disappointed in yourself and your surroundings if that thing that you believe does not happen. I also believe that life should be full of doubts, and that is how it is exciting, and if it was not full of doubts, personally it would be boring to live.
E. In the beginning of Self Reliance, I felt that I personally could have been the one talked about because I fit in so many different ways. As I read along though, I felt that it was less and less talking about me, and instead was talking about a farmer. In the beginning reading the line "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse. as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till" (Page 209)" just told me that other people are in doubt and I am not alone in this, which encouraged me because at times, I felt like I was the only one doubting and that other people always knew what was going on and happy with the outcome. I also am like "Alright! I am not the only one that is in doubt. I agree with this quote 100%.
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Post by rodriguezj15 on Nov 5, 2013 1:18:32 GMT -5
Joel Rodriguez Mr. Thomas English 11 November 5, 2013 Emerson's "Nature" and "Self-Reliance" (207-207; 209-210)
F. Even though “Nature” doesn’t have any characters, Emerson does describe nature like an actual person. He sort of compares nature to a child’s spirit and I can see the relation between the two. Emerson describes the mountains, flowers, and the animals being beautiful but reflecting simplicity, just like a kid. A child is a beautiful design but simple-minded. Also he writes, “Miller owns that farm, Locke that, and Manning the woodland beyond. But none of them own the landscape (207).” A parent may ground their son or daughter but they can’t control their spirit, just like a farmer owns the land but can’t control. D. I liked the line, “Neither does the wisest man extort all her secrets, and lose curiosity by finding out all her perfection (207).” I like it because it’s true. Man will never be able to understand nature a 100%, and that’s what makes nature perfect. Its ability to give perpetual curiousity. I.To answer John’s question to what does Emerson mean when he says “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…” you must look at the beginning (210). Emerson says, “…envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide (209).” He is saying in these lines that copying someone or something are for the people who can’t think. These lines are important to the rest of the story because they express Emerson’s main idea, that man should be innovative and able to create new ideas to make any progress. |
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Post by poulong15 on Nov 5, 2013 6:25:04 GMT -5
Gregory Poulon
Mr. Thomas
English-11
4
November 2013
After reading the three pieces I have realized that these three all had to get a point, across, even though some stories did it better then others. The story that I really liked was the story Self- Reliance. The reason I liked this story was because it was very relatable to me, as it probably was to many other teenagers. It was not only the context of the authors perspective, it was the way he portrayed it to me, that really made me enjoy it. There were many times were readers at our age level can actually relate to this piece by Emerson and in a way connect to it, on our own level.
“These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world”. After reading these stories I picked this quote, cause it was kind of bolded in a way in my eyes. It expressed everything, kind of in a nutshell. George Baroudos really summed this quote out and he did a great job. He says “I feel like all people initially have good intentions. I feel like people strive to be educated, caring and overall good people. But, once we are put into real life situations things become difficult. For the most part society wants to develop strong views that reflect well on them. But, because the world is so unpredictable we are never able to anticipate what will happen.” George used these lines to sum up the quote and I completely agree with him. It really stood out to me, because while I was reading I kind of had almost the same idea. The way life is you have to strive for the best because you just do not know what is ahead of you.
To talk a little about what Francis Paul Clarke Jr. kind of harps on, in his discussion post. He kind of violates the authors for using those kind of old English words that people today just have no clue what they are saying. Well to answer Francis’s question with why, well because writers then did not know our of style of writing. Our writing forms into something different as time went on, and that is why it is hard to understand, this old English. As everything else did, out language evolved as well.
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Post by Mr. Thomas on Nov 5, 2013 10:44:53 GMT -5
Sean de los Santos
Mr. Thomas
English 11: American Lit
5 November 2013
Nature Discussion
A. This reading reminds me of many different issues today that have to do with nature and the people’s interactions with nature. One thing this reading talks about the most is the fact that the people are too busy focusing on work and all of these things that don’t have to do with nature. Emerson tells them to stop just concentrating on that and to start concentrating on other things that truly have to do with nature. This is also present in present day society. People need to take a break from all of the work and assignments they have to do. They need to concentrate more on going out and reflecting on themselves.
D. One idea I enjoyed from this reading is the idea of nature being essential for our lives. Emerson says that, “Not the sun or the simmer alone, but every hour and season yields its tribute of delight; for every hour and change corresponds to and authorizes a different state of mind, from breathless noon to grimmest night.(207)” He tells is how nature contributes to all we do in life. How we act, and overall how we enjoy what we do. Every little different thing about nature contributes to our lives in a significant way.
E. One idea I encountered in the reading is the skewed relationship between man and nature. Emerson talks about man not having a true relationship with nature and the world. He tells us that we need to have a healthy relationship with nature and the world. He tells us we need to have a relationship because nature is one of the only things that truly makes us happy.
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Post by Sgarlato on Nov 5, 2013 14:26:18 GMT -5
Stephen Sgarlato
Mr. Thomas
English 11
11/5/13
C. In Self Reliance the line, “He is attended as by a visible escort of angels” confused me. Was Emerson trying to say that he was watched so much that it seemed as if angles where next to him. What also confused me was the use of similes and metaphors to get points across. This is probably the result of 1800’s literature teaching books.
A. Emerson’s nature can relate to our lives because, one nature is all around us and we communicate with nature all the time. Second is that we as humans feel as if nature is just the animals and plants we walk besides. Nature is more than that, we are nature and we are a part of the naturalness that is on this Earth. Also nature is one of our fondest memories as kids. The interaction between it was what gave us delight in childhood
D. In Emerson’s nature, I really enjoyed the line, “To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child”. It is saying that humans lack the ability to see and understand certain beauties like the sun. We know it’s there and we know what it does but we truly do not understand the beauty of it.
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Post by fotia15 on Nov 5, 2013 20:42:11 GMT -5
e. The way Nature describes the importance of going out and seeing the world, brought me back to my childhood. I remember at a young age sitting in my back yard in florida relaxing and watching the sun set over the lake. I also a couple times a year i go down to the park below my house and watch look at the trees. I examine the tree and all the different pigments of leafs. I take the time to reflect on my life and all of those who i hold dear in my life.
a. "yet it is certain that the power to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both." such a beautiful quote/ thought. I highly agree in the way that delight is made man and there surroundings. If you find peace between the too its a beautiful thing.
I. This made me think of a paper i was reading in religion for ms. Dewitt. We were having a conversation in her class about how education is different from schooling. That staying in a routine could mess with you and make things less interesting. "
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Post by etiennem15 on Nov 5, 2013 21:57:40 GMT -5
Marvin Etienne
Mr. Thomas
English 11
4 November 2013
A. I really enjoyed reading Emerson's "Self-Reliance" because what he brings up is so true. I completely agree with him when he says that we should find our own purpose before we try to fix things in the world. We have to find out who we really are in order to make a difference. This reading really spoke to me because I am learning about this type of stuff in religion class. In order to find meaning, you must know yourself first.
D. One quote I really liked was when he said, "The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet." I love this quote because it shows how you must be brave in order to execute a plan that you have. Anyone can come up with a plan or a way of going about doing something, but it takes a strong-willed person to actually take action and be proactive. I like the analogy in this quote. Anyone can have a coach that does some of the work for them, but it takes someone smart to actually use those skills.
I. To answer Matthew Bourdon's question about the quote, "These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world." I think that this quote means that when we are thinking for ourselves, free from the opinions of others, these ideas are good to us. But as we hear the opinions and input of others, it affects our ideas and conflicts our own thoughts and changes them. So our own ideas are changed because of someone else.
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Post by johnrice on Nov 7, 2013 20:32:06 GMT -5
John Rice
Mr. Thomas
English 11
Discussion Board
A. When one writes a piece of literary work they are writing to a specific audience and they want to convey their own point of view through their own literary work. Emerson wrote Nature and Self Reliance. Well those two titles in itself explain a lot. Emerson was writing for people who were interested in nature and self reliance. Woah! Well thinking back on who in history represented these attributes. I think of Trancedentalists. Ermerson targets those who have lost direction in their life. In our life we have things that help us when we lose direction. One of those things for me is running. When I lose focus or are in a bad mood I run and it helps me a lot.
I. I really agree with George and it is similar to what I posted about above. In life we need to be able to turn to things when we are in need. George turns to music when he needs to turn to something in his life. I think as humans we need to have things in our life in order to continue on and keep living. Whether it be a person or a sport or a thing, we all have something that we are able to turn to.
I don’t know what it is about Frank Clarkes discussion board posts, but they always relate to me so much! Authors always use these dialects that I have no idea what they are talking about. I understand why they use it though. It is just because that is their language! Still annoying.
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Post by matthewsegarra on Nov 12, 2013 19:48:06 GMT -5
Matthew Segarra
Mr. Thomas
English 11
10 November 2013
A. I enjoyed this reading because I found a lot of what he said to be true. One thing he said that I agreed with was “we must find our own purpose before we try to fix things in the world”. If we want to make an impact, we have to know what we want ourselves. This reading relates to another story I read, Man’s Search for Meaning. The main character has to discover his real character in order to survive.
D. This quote stood out to me, "The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet." I like this quote because it shows that you can make anything happen. Since this man has no feet, he cannot go anywhere. To cope with this, he builds a coach.
I. I want to respond to Matthew Bourdon for his response to letter C. I feel this quote means that we think more clearly when there are no outside influences. On the other hand, our judgment is clouded when others are giving you advice and telling you what to do. The main concept of the quote is that others affect our decisions.
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