It's that time of year again. We've finally moved on from the painful (because I find it a slightly boring section of the American literature timeline) first unit of the year into a section of literature that is far more interesting for me. Today, we learn about Ralph Waldo Emerson, that rebel. We work on vocabulary, yes, and then we read an excerpt from his essay, Self-Reliance. If only his language were more accessible to student ears and hearts. Emerson's words embody everything they want to believe about the world, yet they do not always understand that he's on their side - advocating for their rebelliousness and right to explore their individual path.
At the end of the reading guide we work on together, the final prompt says this, "Choose your favorite aphorism, or quote, from Self-Reliance and explain why you find it to be the most significant line in the essay." Here's mine. I like to keep it as a reminder when life gets interesting.
"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
So true. Thanks, Ralph.
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