Nature by Emerson
Professor Abbott
ENGL 2327
22 March 2014
Readers Response Paper “Nature” Before reading Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson I thought this was going to be a hippie writing about how beautiful nature is and how people need to pay more attention to it, boy was I wrong. Emerson is not a hippie; he is a man who strongly believes in finding ones self when you are completely alone and being self-reliant. According to Emerson the only way to really find yourself and understand life is to grasp the beauty and power of nature. Emerson stated topics and covered things that were thought provoking and enlightening. The two most interesting subjects were being able to be alone and see the world in a different way and how man only uses nature for its benefits not beauty. Most people today, including me, can’t go to the grocery store alone they feel like they need someone with them all the time. Emerson believed in being self-reliant and not reliant on other people. He thought that society and its institutions ultimately corrupt the pureness of an individual. He had faith that people were at their best when truly independent. Emerson said “ To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society…But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars” I think this is beautiful because essentially the only way to be truly alone is to break away from society and go into nature. This such a great thing because society can corrupt a person easily it tells them how to look, act and talk and if you don’t follow what they say is “normal” then you become less than them. People don’t need to be dependent on others or constantly need their approval they just need to be happy with themselves as individuals. Emerson talks about how man just uses nature for its obvious benefits such as heat, food, water, shelter, and transportation when nature is so much more than these things. Emerson discusses that the perception of nature’s beauty lies in the structure
ENGL 2327
22 March 2014
Readers Response Paper “Nature” Before reading Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson I thought this was going to be a hippie writing about how beautiful nature is and how people need to pay more attention to it, boy was I wrong. Emerson is not a hippie; he is a man who strongly believes in finding ones self when you are completely alone and being self-reliant. According to Emerson the only way to really find yourself and understand life is to grasp the beauty and power of nature. Emerson stated topics and covered things that were thought provoking and enlightening. The two most interesting subjects were being able to be alone and see the world in a different way and how man only uses nature for its benefits not beauty. Most people today, including me, can’t go to the grocery store alone they feel like they need someone with them all the time. Emerson believed in being self-reliant and not reliant on other people. He thought that society and its institutions ultimately corrupt the pureness of an individual. He had faith that people were at their best when truly independent. Emerson said “ To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society…But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars” I think this is beautiful because essentially the only way to be truly alone is to break away from society and go into nature. This such a great thing because society can corrupt a person easily it tells them how to look, act and talk and if you don’t follow what they say is “normal” then you become less than them. People don’t need to be dependent on others or constantly need their approval they just need to be happy with themselves as individuals. Emerson talks about how man just uses nature for its obvious benefits such as heat, food, water, shelter, and transportation when nature is so much more than these things. Emerson discusses that the perception of nature’s beauty lies in the structure