American Scholar Ralph Waldo Emerson Term Paper

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The "young grub" metaphor which he used to relate to the poets was confusing and I could not figure out how this metaphor was used in connection to the poets. Another complicated metaphor used by Emerson in his writings where he talks of the human mind claiming "It is one central fire, which, flaming now out of the lips of Etna, lightens the capes of Sicily." Likewise Emerson uses such metaphors which are difficult to understand throughout his essay and created confusion for me during my reading of "The American Scholar." No doubt Emerson's essay is a remarkable piece of American literature, his style of writing and his complicated metaphors make certain parts of his essay hard to read.

Regarding a scholar Emerson says that a scholar is the one who resists vulgarity "by preserving and communicating heroic sentiment, noble biographies, melodious verse and conclusions of history." To the best of my understanding, a true scholar should be competent enough to point out the dangers in certain trends that are or might be prevalent in society. His role should not be restricted to "heroic sentiments." While at the same time Emerson talks about physical labor and how it is important to the scholar, I do not fully understand the reasons for such an emphasis.

CONCLUSION

Emerson has written an outstanding piece of literature and it has been recognized to be one of the best works as far as American literature is concerned.

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However, the form that Emerson chooses in writing his essay is rather complicated and the metaphors rather confusing. He has talked probably about the Greek mythology when talking about the perfect Man but his application of that perfect Man to the idea being presented in his essay, to the best of my understanding, does not fit in appropriately. His stresses on the importance of scholars and the role that they should play and at the same time he urges others not to use books for any other purpose than pure inspiration. Emerson is found to be teaching the audience that they should try to become scholarly and add to the future rather than living lives and adding nothing to the society and the community. From what I understood Emerson, prefers and wants to encourage people to be writers more than readers. He acknowledges that reading is good but is not very enthusiastic about the idea to encourage others to read more. This concept is confusing because from what I know the more a person reads, the more he would become refined and would be able to express his thoughts clearly….....

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