FREE WRITING: ANSWER ONE OR ALL OF THE
QUESTIONS (YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES TO WRITE A
PAGE OR MORE)
 What does it mean to be an individual? How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you
think independently of others or do you follow the crowd?
 How do you define spirituality? What is meant by an individual's spiritual side? How to you define
it?
 What is the role of nature in your life? How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it?
Do you reflect the moods of nature? Is there a connection between the individual's spirit and
nature? If so, what is that connection?
 What does it mean to know something intuitively? For example, has a parent or a sibling ever
known something was wrong with you without having talked with or seen you? What do we mean
when we say "I just know it"? Have you ever changed your behavior or actins because you sensed
you needed to?
WHAT IF…
… Emerson had specifically
addressed the institution of
slavery in this essay. What do
you think he would have said
about it?
SELF RELIANCE READING QUIZ
Directions: You can use your annotation and Skillbuilder sheet to answer the questions
below. Your answers should be thoughtful and well-developed (Three sentences at the
very least).
1. What is the purpose of this essay? How do you know? Use the details of the essay itself
to prove your position.
2. What are two important things Emerson advocates in this essay? What does he want
the readers to do? Put it into your own words.
3. Who do you believe the intended audience of this essay is? Why? Defend your ideas
with evidence.
4. What if Emerson had specifically addressed the institution of slavery in this essay.
What do you think he would have said about it? Do his ideas apply to people who live
outside of the dominant culture? Why or why not?
5. Bonus Questions: what does Emerson mean when he says (A) “Whoso would be a man
must be a nonconformist” and (B) “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the
manhood of every one of its members?”
EMERSON TODAY
If Emerson were alive today…
What kind of car do you think he
would drive and why? What would
his bumper sticker say? Why would
this bumper sticker be appropriate
for him?
On front: Bumper sticker
On Back: Car and explanation of
its connection to the essay
CRITIC’S CORNER
The noted writer Henry James said that
Emerson” had no great sense of wrong…
no sense of the dark, foul, the base.”
How do you think Emerson might have
defended his views against this charge?
FROM “MEMOIRS” BY MARGARET FULLER
In the chamber
of death, I prayed
In the very early years,
“Give me truth;
cheat me by no illusion.”
O, the granting of
this prayer is sometimes terrible to me!
I walk over the
burning ploughshares,
and the sear
My feet. Yet nothing but
The truth will do.
How do Margaret Fuller’s
ideas in this poem compare
to “Self-Reliance?”
MAKING CONNECTIONS
How is “Self-Reliance” relevant today? How do his ideas
about the importance of the individual apply to our
modern world?
Consider in your answer:
• His idea that all people should be nonconformists
• His disregard for consistency of thought and deed
• Peer pressure to conform to certain standards.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE FREE WRITING
What does it mean to be a good citizen?
What are the qualities and actions of a
good citizen? Is it possible to be a good
citizen and a lawbreaker at the same
time? Explain with examples
• Write and defend your position with evidence from the world
around you
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE READING QUIZ
1. According to Henry David Thoreau, what is the best kind of government for the
people? What are your thoughts about this idea?
2. What does Thoreau believe are the downsides of majority rule? Are majorities
always right? Is it possible to run a government on conscience alone? What are
your critiques of this for today in your life and in American politics?
3. What does Thoreau mean when he says that governments are mostly
“inexpedient?” What is ineffective about them? How does he believe things can
be done more efficiently?
4. What does Thoreau mean when he said, “a cooperation of conscientious men
is a cooperation with a conscience?” What are the implications for decisionmaking if decisions are made based on habits and traditions as opposed to
being thoughtful about the outcomes?
5. Who makes America great, the government or the people? What did Thoreau
say about this? What do you think about this? Do American people, today,
understand that the government is designed to represent them as opposed to
reign over (rule) them?
6. What are two of the largest points you walk away with from reading “Civil
Disobedience?” List and explain them.
7. Define civil disobedience. What is the difference between civil disobedience
and just plain disobedience? Explain
8. Bonus: Connect the concepts of self-reliance and civil disobedience together.
GANDHI CONCEPTS
On your definitions page from yesterday,
add:
• Satyagraha:
• Nonviolent resistance
CONNECT GANDHI TO EMERSON AND THOREAU
• Homework: On your definitions page, Write a well-written
paragraph that connects your definitions of self-reliance
and civil-disobedience to the question below.
• What are the concepts of Satyagraha and nonviolent
resistance? How did Gandhi’s choices connect to Thoreau
and Emerson? Point out specific examples of his reactions
to unfairness and compare them to Thoreau and Emerson’s
essays and the tenets of Transcendentalism.
TRANSCENDENTALISM REVIEW
1. Define each of the following in your own words and
find an example/ quotation from the texts to illustrate
and support your definition:
• Self-reliance
• Civil disobedience
2. Now that you have defined and illustrated the main
concepts for our first two works, define and explain
what you believe Transcendentalism is.