Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
2 Qoutes from Henry David Thoreau
Quote 1: "Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself."
I believe this quote means that you should awake every morning without any worries or stress, only intent on the day ahead, no unnatural emotions in your head. You should also be happy with the simplicity of waking up, when nothing clouds your mind and nothing is happening. It also means that you should be in tune with nature whenever you have a free minute.
Quote 2: "Moral reform is the effort to throw off sleep."
I think this goes in conjunction with an earlier statement: "To be awake is to be alive." It basically says that people are trying to justify their existance by putting guidelines into place. It pokes fun at laws and codes and says that it doesn't prove that the creators of these laws are alive. The moral reform tries to supress nature, and Thoreau doesn't like it at all.
I believe this quote means that you should awake every morning without any worries or stress, only intent on the day ahead, no unnatural emotions in your head. You should also be happy with the simplicity of waking up, when nothing clouds your mind and nothing is happening. It also means that you should be in tune with nature whenever you have a free minute.
Quote 2: "Moral reform is the effort to throw off sleep."
I think this goes in conjunction with an earlier statement: "To be awake is to be alive." It basically says that people are trying to justify their existance by putting guidelines into place. It pokes fun at laws and codes and says that it doesn't prove that the creators of these laws are alive. The moral reform tries to supress nature, and Thoreau doesn't like it at all.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Four Quotes: An Ode to Ralph Waldo Emerson (Not Really)
Quote #1 (Self-Reliance): "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string." I beleive that this quote talks about how many people have trouble trusting themselves and they just need to relax. I beleive that 'iron string' is a metaphor for the tension of trusting yourself, a very hard thing to do at times, being that an iron string is very strong and will most likely not break. 'Vibrates' is also a metaphor in my eyes, symbolizing the process through which tension is gradually released and you trust yourself far more.
Quote #2 (Nature): "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society." I beleive this means that to be independent and different, not following the flow of others, you must distance yourself from society, mentally even more so than physically. I believe that this remains a pertinent issue even today, where people are even more easily swayed to join a social group, sometimes a person must distance themselves so that they can better themselves, much like I attempt to do during the Summer. To become aware of oneself, you must be by oneself is how I would sum it up
Quote #3 (Self-Reliance): "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." This probably means that when you think everything is going wrong and life stinks, your own mind is always a retreat from the world. Escaping to your mind is a useful thing to be able to do, it's calming and it releases much stress. Your mind is also the most private part of the world, nobody can see what's going on in there.
Quote #4 (Self-Reliance): "Your goodness must have some edge to it,- else it is none..." This means that being kind and caring without any self-defense always ends with no goodness left. When you are kind, you may feel good, but if people pick on you and you have no edge, that kindness will eventually be replaced completely by anger. I believe that "edge" may also refer to kindness being a double-edged sword, the kinder you are, the more kinder you must be to feel good, and eventually it overwhelms you and you crack, like a drug addiction.
Quote #2 (Nature): "To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society." I beleive this means that to be independent and different, not following the flow of others, you must distance yourself from society, mentally even more so than physically. I believe that this remains a pertinent issue even today, where people are even more easily swayed to join a social group, sometimes a person must distance themselves so that they can better themselves, much like I attempt to do during the Summer. To become aware of oneself, you must be by oneself is how I would sum it up
Quote #3 (Self-Reliance): "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." This probably means that when you think everything is going wrong and life stinks, your own mind is always a retreat from the world. Escaping to your mind is a useful thing to be able to do, it's calming and it releases much stress. Your mind is also the most private part of the world, nobody can see what's going on in there.
Quote #4 (Self-Reliance): "Your goodness must have some edge to it,- else it is none..." This means that being kind and caring without any self-defense always ends with no goodness left. When you are kind, you may feel good, but if people pick on you and you have no edge, that kindness will eventually be replaced completely by anger. I believe that "edge" may also refer to kindness being a double-edged sword, the kinder you are, the more kinder you must be to feel good, and eventually it overwhelms you and you crack, like a drug addiction.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Scott Spot
Apparently it's not an original name... I'm such a lamer, but whatever, I'm cool with that. So, this is my blog for my American Literature Class. The Day 1 homework, actually. So, I guess I'll post here later!
EDIT: I'm supposed to have goals for the year set in type, so here we go: I want to even further develop the ability to write papers on assigned topics and learn to write rough drafts better. I would also like to learn to take better notes, which will not only help me in English but in my other classes as well.
EDIT: I'm supposed to have goals for the year set in type, so here we go: I want to even further develop the ability to write papers on assigned topics and learn to write rough drafts better. I would also like to learn to take better notes, which will not only help me in English but in my other classes as well.
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