Reading Assignment Topics

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Instructions: Write a page (minimum) in response to each of the following topics. Be as

detailed and as thoughtful as you can. This is not a research exercise. The aim is to encourage
close reading and specific thinking about the texts as part of your preparation before coming to
class. You must be clear and coherent, but thought, attention to detail, and willingness to play with
reasonable possibilities of meaning will all count more than either “expression” or “correctness.”
Handwritten responses are acceptable. Late responses will not be counted.

1. What makes Emerson’s scholar American? In what ways does he try to define the scholar’s
role in a particular relation to “the meaning of America”?

Bonus: (Not required)

2. How is Emerson’s concept of self-reliance different from Franklin’s self-making?

Due: Monday, October 12