The American Scholar

"The American Scholar" by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a very solid speech the man gave for his recognition over his previous work entitled Nature. While it covers plenty of big topics such as "Man Thinking" (which I will note is a very thought-provoking term), I felt it could easily be summed up in one little segment toward the middle: "I have now spoken of the education of the scholar by nature, by books, and by action. It remains to say somewhat of his duties." He then goes on to prove that he is clearly referring to the idea behind "Man Thinking". The idea of "Man Thinking" involves a man actually thinking for himself instead of being a "mere thinker" as Emerson referred to in the speech. In this instance, Emerson is encouraging us to become more active in our thinking rather than relying on the thinking of someone else or becoming a "victim of society". This goes to show that Emerson's works are certainly ones for committing to memory for both intellectual and societal reasons that only we, as humans, can comprehend for ourselves.