Group 4
Thoreau - Walden
Thoreau:
-treat life as an experiment in self-education
-nature is reflection of inner spiritual reality
-education through intimacy with nature
-possible to feel our individual being in relation to all being (spirit of ourselves= spirit of the
universe)
-left himself free for the communion with nature that was basis in both his life and writing
-”Walden” was his supreme transcendentalist work
From Walden:
-his account of him living in the wild
-spring environment is beautiful
-simplicity
-Compared geese to the army, the leader goose would honk and then the rest would follow it,
much like the commander of an army
-Everything seems like a good idea at the time
From Sounds:
- By focusing only on books, we neglect a bigger part of the universe.
-Nature is right at our doorstep and we must be alert to everything we see and hear in our lives
-Although others may think him idle, just sitting around, he was living as naturally as his
surroundings
-He found every moment of his life to be pleasant
-if we pay closer attention to the little things in life, we could never get bored
From Brute Neighbors:
- Thoreau notices an army of red ants fighting an army of black ants that are half in number but
twice its size. He compares this to human soldiers and real war. He concludes that ants are
fierce and spirited in war just like humans.
-He removes three ants from the scene and takes them home where he observes them under a
microscope.
-He releases the ants after witnessing that they have torn each other into pieces. He says he
witnessed the carnage and ferocity of human battle.
From conclusion:
-Left so he could experience the world
-just live your life, do not complain about it, love it
-do not conform to the things of the world, just keep your thought, that is all that matters
-you do not need money to “buy one necessary of the soul...”
-Life is like the water in a river
-The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us
Emerson Essays and Passages
Nature:
-Through nature, man can connect with the divine; nature brings man closer to God
-Man can find oneself through nature
-Man should develop a personal understanding of nature and not rely on secondhand
information
-We should all have our own perception of the universe instead of creating a traditional
way of viewing it
Self-Reliance:
-Trust your intuition and inner voice
-Our first source of knowledge was intuition and we should rely on our instincts as a
guiding force for our decisions
-Don’t conform to the majority and follow common opinions
-Be outspoken and live up to your own opinions
-Retain your individuality
Friendship:
-We grow spiritually and intellectually through friendship
-A friend is someone you can be sincere with, and you can think aloud and speak the truth
Experience:
-God is the source of man’s strength and power
-Our character is influenced by divine spirit
-Embrace life and look at the glass half-full
-One needs to have the proper perspective to realize the divine power that flows through them
and to see life as a whole
Fate:
-People blame fate for their misfortunes, and people look at fate as their limitations
-Man has the power to overcome fate
“Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free.”
-We can oppose fate with the power of will and intellect
-Even if a person is restricted physically, he is still free in mind
-We are in charge of our own lives; we determine our own fate
Into the Wild
Christopher McCandless follows his transcendental ways into the wild. He concludes that true
happiness has to be shared.
Scarlet Letter
Chapter 18: A Flood of Sunshine
● Hester and Dimmesdale decide to go to Europe
● Hester throws the “A” from her chest and in the process regains her passionate beauty
● Sunlight, which has stayed away from Hester, now brightens the forest
Chapter 19: The Child at the Brook-Side
● Pearl doesn’t recognize Hester without the letter A; so she pins it back on in order for
Pearl to cross the creek
● Pearl kisses Hester and the Scarlet Letter
● Pearl attempts to wash the kiss from Dimmesdale because he is not going to return
holding hands
Chapter 20: The Minister in a Maze
● Dimmesdale returns to the town and tells everyone he sees that he isn’t what they see
him as
● Mistress Hibbins offers herself as an escort next time he visits the forest
● Dimmesdale tells Chillingsworth that he no longer needs medicine
● Dimmesdale burns his old sermon that he is writing for the Election Day and writes a
better one
Chapter 21: The New England Holiday
● Public gathering to celebrate the installation of a new governor and not to punish Hester
this time
● Hester finds out that Chillingworth will be joining the ship because the ship needs a
doctor and he told the captain that he is a member of Hester’s party
● Hester sees Chillingworth smirking at her
Chapter 22: The Procession
● Pearl barely recognizes Dimmesdale and tells Hester that she is tempted to approach
the man and bestow a kiss of her own
● Dimmsdale looks healthier and more energetic than ever
● Mistress Hibbins suggests that the Devil is Pearl’s real father and invites Pearl to go on a
witch ride with her in the future. Then, the narrator informs the reader that Hibbins will
soon be executed as a witch
● Chillingworth’s message - he will make the arrangements for bringing Dimmesdale on
board so Hester should only worry about bring her daughter and herself.
● Everyone is staring at Hester
Chapter 23: The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter
● Dimmesdale finishes his Election Day sermon, which is the minister’s best, according to
the townspeople
● Dimmesdale calls Hester and Pearl to join him at the scaffold
● Dimmesdale declares himself as the one sinner of the world” and displays his red stigma
● Chillingworth says “Thou has escaped me”
● Pearl finally kisses Dimmesdale
Chapter 24: Conclusion (Events following Dimmesdale’s death)
● Most people say they saw on Dimmesdale’s chest a scarlet letter exactly like Hester’, but
others say they saw nothing on his chest and that Dimmesdale’s revelation was simply
that of any man, however holy or powerful
● Left with no object for his malice, Chillingworth died within one year of Dimmesdale’s
death and left a sizable inheritance to Pearl
● Shortly after Chillingworth’s death, Hester and Pearl disappeared
● Hester returns to charity work.
● Hester was buried in the king’s chapel next to Dimmesdale but far enough to suggest
that the “dust of the two lovers shouldn’t touch even in death”
● However, they do share a headstone, a scarlet letter A on a black background.