Amrican-scholar-PPT

TheAmericanScholar--RalphWaldoEmersonThespeechtalksabout…TheNecessityTheQualitiesThreeInfluencesDutiesTheAimoftheSpeechTobuildAmerica’sownliteraturetraditionSignificanceoftheSpeechAmonumentinthehistoryofAmericanliteraturethatdeclaresitsspiritualindependence.Q:Whyisthespeechregardedasamonument?A:TherewereAmericanwriterslikeWashingtonIrvingandJamesFenimoreCooperwhowereworldlyknownbeforeEmerson,buttheirwritingswerecharacterizedbytheimitativestyle.ItwasafterthepublicationofTheAmericanScholarthatAmericanliteratureentereditsmaturity.ThisspeechinfluencedmanylaterwriterslikeThoreau,Hawthorne,MelvilleandWhitman,etc.Q:WhyisitnecessaryforAmericatohaveitsindependentliterature?A:Emersonanswersthisquestionwell:“Ourdayofdependence,ourlongapprenticeshiptothelearningofotherlands,drawstoaclose.Themillions,thataroundusarerushingintolife,cannotalwaysbefedonthesereremainsofforeignharvests.”Hedeclaresthat“Event,actionsarise,thatmustbesung,thatwillsingthemselves(nativematerial).”Q:WhatqualitiesshouldtheAmericanScholarpossess?EmersonthinkstheAmericanScholarshouldbeawell-roundedmanandathinker.HeshouldbeanidealmodelsetupforalltheAmericans.A:Nature,Past,ActionQ:WhatarethethreemajorinfluencesmentionedinthespeechfortheAmericanScholar?NatureQ:HowdoesNatureinfluencetheAmericanScholar?a.EmersonbelievesthatNatureitselfrevealstruthandheurgespeopletocomeintodirectcontactwithnatureandunderstandtheRevelationgivenbynature.b.Thescholaris“heofallmenwhomthisspectaclemostengages”.Thatistosay,hehasthepotentialtounderstandnaturebetter.NatureQ:HowdoesNatureinfluencetheAmericanScholar?c.Emersonalsothinksthat“Natureistheoppositeofthesoul”“Oneisseal,andoneisprint”,namely,humanthinkingisthemirrorortheinterpreterofNatureandhumansoulcanreflectthetruthexistinginthenature.Therefore,Emersonbelievestheancientprecept“Knowthyself”andthemodernprecept,“Studynature”areofthesamemeaning.Sothemorepeopleknowaboutnature,themoretheyknowaboutthemselves.PastQ:HowdoesPastinfluencetheAmericanScholar?Emersonthinks“Bookarethebesttypeoftheinfluenceofthepast”becausefrombookswecanlearntheamountoftheinfluenceofPastmoreconveniently.However,healsopointsouttheshortagesofbookssuchastheconfinementoftheconventionandlocation.Bydoingso,hecriticizesthosewhoonlyacceptdogmasinsteadofdoingcreativereading.Asaresult,“insteadofManThinking,wehavethebookworm”.PastQ:HowdoesPastinfluencetheAmericanScholar?Inthespeech,Emersonstatesthat“Booksarethebestofthings,wellused;abused,amongtheworst”,thebestwaytoreadabookisbyusinganactivesoul–thecreativethinking,ashesays“Thesoulactiveseesabsolutetruth;andutterstruth,orcreates.”Theactivesoulcannotonlycreate,butalsopreventpeoplefromlookingbackward.Itisbytheactivesoulsthatbooksofeternalpopularityarewrote.ActionQ:HowdoesActioninfluencetheAmericanScholar?Manythinkscholarsarepeoplewithoutaction.Emersonrebutsthisbysaying“therecanbenoscholarwithouttheheroicmind”,namely,thebirthofthoughtisactionanditisessentialforascholartotakeactions.Emersonalsospeaksoftherelationshipbetweenthinkingandaction.Hethinksallcreativethinkingcomesfromlifeandgoodbooksarewroteonthebasisoflifeandaction.A:theAmericanScholarshouldencourageandguidepeopletofindoutthetruthinlife;heshouldfightagainsttheignorantandmaterialisticinfluenceofthetimeandpromotethedevelopmentofart;heshouldcreatenewthoughtandnewthingstoservethepeople.Q:WhatarethedutiesoftheAmericanscholar?Tosumup,whatEmersontriestosayisthattheAmericanshouldwritehereandnowinsteadofimitatingandimportingfromotherlands.ConclusionThankYou