Christian Arambula

Ms.Storer
English III Honors Block 1
21 January 2020
Socratic Circle Reflection on Emerson and Thoreau
Reflection on Performance:
During our discussion we talked about the various works of transcendentalist authors
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. One text we talked about during my inner
circle was Emerson’s Nature and the topic was on our increased disconnectedness from nature.
Sabrina specifically mentioned how we, as residents of San Diego, live in such close proximity
to beaches and other beautiful opportunities yet still don’t fully appreciate what we have. My
circle agreed we should make more of an effort to see the beauty in what’s around us instead of
focusing so much on technology. One thing my group did well was explore a variety of topics
from the stories instead of just focusing on one or two while also exploring each question
thoroughly. For example, we discussed how nature allows us to grow in faith while also talking
about how we’re increasingly disconnected from nature, as previously stated. Emily Kwon stated
how nature provides a physical, tangible sign of God’s presence which we may need to help
remind us he is present. John also mentioned how we may not always appreciate nature because
we crave new, exciting opportunities as humans which are easily accessible to us through
technology. This also connects to another process my group did well, accepting and discussing
differing viewpoints with respect. Overall, my group did well and although we may have had
awkward pauses at times we made sure to come back and discuss relevant topics with little
delay.

Individually I talked about how we as humans have a special connection to God’s

creation in nature. I built on this idea further when we got to question two by stating that this
lack of appreciation we have for nature would be changed if we suddenly weren’t surrounded by
nature. More specifically, we’re so used to its presence that we gloss over it and instead
appreciate other material goods. I made sure to use textual evidence to back up my ideas in order
to allows my classmates to understand the basis for my argument. In addition, I brought up how
the context of the authors works was during the industrialization era , as my teacher stated prior
to beginning, to mention how even back then these authors realized how disconnected we were
growing from nature. That trend only continued today and proved them correct. This facilitated
the conversation and allowed the group to discuss a new topic that invited others to give their
thoughts

Reflection on Content:
(1)Thesis :Through Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature, humanity’s special connection to nature as
a reminder of God’s grace as well as its ability to help humanity return to a state of serene calm
can be seen.

(2)The main points I’d discuss in this essay would be how Emerson argues nature allows
humanity to return to a state of peace and simplicity where we are able to look past our current
problems. The textual evidence I’d use would be “The flowers, the animals, the
mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour as much as they had delighted the simplicity of
his childhood.” ( Emerson 191). To reflect the calm that nature invokes on those who bask in it’s
presence I’d use the quote “There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no
calamity” I would also discuss how humanity can use nature to allow them to reconnect with
their faith. For faith is a tangible sign of God’s presence that we can feel a certain connection to.

(3) Some connections I have with Emerson’s Nature and other experiences would be on natures
ability to bring calm and help ignore your problems just for a while. For example, over the
summer whenever I felt stressed I went with my grandpa to his ranch in Mexico. There I was
surrounded by row after row of corn saplings and the trees my grandma had insisted on planting.
When I was there I could just close my eyes and listen to the wind whistling between the blades
of grass and forget for just a moment whatever I was stressing about. Here in San Diego I don’t
have the opportunity to experience that as much but whenever I visit the beach with my friends
we all agree it just helps us destress from school as long as we’re there. Another connection I had
was with Emerson’s argument that nature and humans have a special bond. We discussed this
topic in religion class multiple times, and I remembered how God gave us dominion over the
earth in Genesis. I also started to think about how in the media people are constantly told to get
off their phones and appreciate nature by older generations. But whenever we start to speak up
about how climate change is hurting nature those same people who told us to look up from our
phones tell us to pipe down.