Transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers a speech to young scholars in the Phi Beta Kappa society at Harvard, introducing “The American Scholar.” In his lecture, Emerson makes his idea clear- forming a new American identity is necessary. Emerson acknowledges how Americans thrive on past European influences, and how they allow it to control their lives. Igniting a spark, he promotes his purpose to encourage a new generation to use their mass potential. Society can only become complete when the individual becomes complete.
Throughout the speech “The American Scholar,” Emerson effectively persuades his audience with his use of sentence structure, figurative language, and appeals to the audience’s emotion, making it the famous piece of work it is today. Using a variety of sentence length, parallel clauses, and repetition, Emerson clarifies his point by organizing his thoughts. Prior to several lengthy sentences, Emerson voices his point concisely. “Man is thus metamorphosed into a thing, into many things.” (Line 1). Emerson starts off with that brief sentence to make his claim clear from the get-go, allowing the young adults to comprehend his following points.
Beginning with a short sentence allows Emerson to be straightforward. Man is living a limited lifestyle with little to no purpose when working. The men listening will easily understand Emerson’s hint at “teenage rebellion,” and will become intrigued enough to listen to more. Emerson makes his claims powerful as he uses parallel clauses. “The priest becomes a form; the attorney a statute-book; the mechanic a machine; the sailor a rope of the ship.” (Line 6). Parallel clauses separated by semicolons emphasize the message being sent- the list of real jobs people conform to could last forever.
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Men fall into repetitive jobs with repetitive action. Emerson influences the young intellects to face reality and defy social norms. Incorporating repetition, Emerson enhances his words. “Him Nature solicits with all her placid, all her monitory pictures; Him the past instructs; Him the future invites.” (Line 13). Using repetition, Emerson conveys his prior point of Europe’s major impact on the American man. The past dictates a man’s life, all while the future is inviting him. Capitalizing “Him” is another strategy Emerson uses to emphasize his point- a man occupies one mind, and everything in the past, present, and future holds relevance for every man.
If these students-the men of our future-take no action to create change, America will lack an identity. Society will not become whole. Building a prominent point, Emerson influences the young men by reminding them of their duty as a scholar. Confronting reality, Emerson exercises his figurative language with several metaphors. Within the same quote containing parallel clauses, Emerson utilizes metaphors as well. “The priest becomes a form; the attorney a statute-book; the mechanic a machine; the sailor a rope of the ship.” (Line 6).
Use of these metaphors causes the young audience to easily grasp his points. A man who does not follow the ideals of “Man Thinking” will end up in a life lacking identity. These job comparisons are real-life examples Emerson uses to further support his point. Young scholars are the future, the source of new intellect that will progress society forward- they cannot do that living routine-ridden lives. Metaphorical expressions paint powerful images for the audience, leaving them pondering. Slowly embedding new ideals into fresh minds, Emerson makes an effective influence on America’s fate with his use of metaphors.
Using his figurative language, Emerson conveys his Transcendentalist beliefs through personification. “Him Nature solicits with all her placid, all her monitory pictures…” (Line 13). Influenced by the Enlightenment, Emerson’s belief in the divinity of nature cannot be ignored. Capitalizing the word “Nature” and referring to it as “her,” Emerson expresses “Nature” as a prominent being. Embodying human characteristics, Nature warns man of the wrong choices he can make. Regarding his use of personification, Emerson has the audience form a deep connection with the non-human entity, nature.
Emerson’s words make the entity more evocative because man bonds with nature. Using it to his advantage, Emerson also transforms “Man” into a pronoun, capitalizing it. He treats the word “Man” as an ideal- an ideal of the perfect, complete man. Not an ordinary man, but a man who channels the idea of “Man Thinking.” Emerson continues to encourage a new identity by doing so. Appealing to his audience on an emotional level, Emerson gets a sentimental response. “Is not, indeed, every man a student, and do not all things exist for the student’s behoof?” (Line 14).
Emerson sparks confidence in the men, reminding them that the world is at their fingers- only if they choose to take it. Igniting this feeling in his audience, Emerson speaks to their emotions, encouraging them to join his movement and follow his new ideals. Emphasizing his point, Emerson asks again, “…finally, is not the true scholar the only true master?” (Line 15). The men in the fraternity feel a sense of competition as Emerson boosts their ego with the idea of being “the only true master.” Creating emotion and confidence is effective on Emerson’s part because it influences his listeners to follow his ideals.
Another feeling Emerson draws out is anxiety and fear. “…old oracle said, ‘All things have two handles: beware of the wrong one.’ ” (Line 15). Taking caution with the choices we make are essential. A warning, nonetheless, Emerson provokes a student body full of fret. Emerson advises his audience with impacting words, ideally bringing his audience to reform the society they live in. Seeking to change society through the individuals in it, Ralph Waldo Emerson strategizes with sentence structure, punctuation, repetition, metaphors, and emotional appeal.
As of now, it is impossible to ignore the rise of social media in modern society. When expressing concerns on social issues, millennials do so over the internet rather than actively engaging in real-life. The impact of social media limits our voices to a retweet- similar to Europe’s influence over 19th century Americans. Within “The American Scholar,” Emerson effectively convinces young intellects to form their own identity. Today, society is consumed by social media and lacks identity- Emerson’s progressive philosophies perfectly apply. Society can only become complete when the individual becomes complete.
References
- https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/emerson/
- http://www.wikisummaries.org/wiki/The_American_Scholar
- https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_quotations.html
- http://college.cengage.com/english/vandermey/kirk/writing_critically/8e/students/ar_ch07.pdf
- https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/essays/selfreliance.html
