The early literature of the United States presents an interesting view of the emerging American personality. Writers were expressing ardent political views, describing macabre settings and horrific acts, and philosophizing about life. You have read examples of this in "The Declaration of Independence," "The Devil and Tom Walker," "Self-Reliance," and "Nature." In what ways are these texts relevant today? Are there current events that relate to the themes or topics of these pieces? What? How?
Post by 8:00 AM Monday, 10/03.
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"The Declaration of Independence" has many relevant things about it today, mostly with teenagers. Teens complain about parents trying to control their lives but they also want more money from them. They, a lot of the time, keep looking forward to the day they can be totally independent (The day they move out).
ReplyDeleteIn "The Devil and Tom walker," greed and "be careful what you wish for" and two big lessons readers get. Greed always has and always will be a part of human nature, but you can control how much controls your life. People today can still read the short story and learn that you should be careful with deals with people you meet. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
Again, teenagers are the ones that come to mind with "Self-Reliance," today teens are becoming less self sufficient and need to learn to be able to care for their own selves instead of relying on mommy and daddy to fix everything. Teens aren't the only ones though; young adults (20-40) are also taking advantage of their parents and the government's help. You shouldn't rely on anyone but yourself.
Nature is something society seems to be pushing away each day. Nature also always has and always will be here and it can survive even when humans are gone. We need to live with nature and learn more from it. It provides us with food, water, shelter, and beauty. The weather channel is a fine place to watch nature and how we try to predict its weather patterns, but we aren't always correct. It can be unpredictable and there is never a set pattern in life with anything.
Well as for the Declaration of Independence it makes me think of how a ot of people in the U.S. blame President Obama for all of our problmes. People blame him because he is the "head" of the U.S. kind of like the king, but personally, I think Obama isn't nearly as bad as the king. In the Devil and Tom Walker I thought about how people now are still very self-absorbed and only think for themselves. Like Tom Walker, many people will go to great lengths to have what they want. While reading Self-Reliance it made me hink about how a lot of poeple don't have it: self-reliance. You can find many still relying on their parents well into their thirties. As for Nature, I think we are ruining it more and more throughout the years. I also think we take it for grantid, hardly anybody takes time to enjoy nature anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence is what made us, us. That is why our country is free and not under the control of the king. Each and every day we all just live our lives as though it is not very important and it does not mean that much. As we do with Nature as well. We use it to our advantage and do not realize that when it is gone, then we cannot get it back ever again. In The Devil and Tom Walker, he only cares about himself. He only wants money... and when it is his time to go, he only wants to save himself. We truly get nothing in the end, if we use it without caution. Today, people really have no self-reliance. We depend to much on others to get our own stuff done. We rely on our parents to survive, and once as our parents are GONE, what will we do?
ReplyDelete"The Declaration of Independence" and "Self-Reliance" are good examples of American values. The Declaration pretty much tells what we value: individuality, personal achievement, justice and truth. "Self-Reliance" promotes self-achievement by telling us to rely on ourselves to make ourselves better by doing what you think is right and going after the things you want. "The Devil and Tom Walker" does this as well, but in a different manner. It shows the value of truth and justice by showing what happens when you are untruthful and unjust.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of Independence blames the king for most of America's problems. Likewise, most people like to blame the authority figure for current dilemmas. No one ever blames Congress or the House of Representatives for anything that goes awry in the States, but instead they focus most the blame on the president, even though he gets help and advice from these branches of the government.
ReplyDeleteThe Devil and Tom Walker reminds me of the investors on Wall Street and gamblers. These people put all of themselves into their work and become greedy (give up their souls). They try to invest too much money to try to make money, and end up getting haunted in the long run and losing a lot.
Self reliance is similar to almost everyone. People always are asking for favors and leaning back on their families for support. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing though because that is what a family is for, but people do need to learn to be more independent because people can turn on the person or no longer be there for help.
Nature made me feel that humans do take too much of an advantage on the environment and overlook it. People need to stop and realize what nature provides for humanity. The green movement sort of relates to the story because people are trying to preserve the environment and appreciate it more. People need to learn more from the environment because it has survived the longest on the Earth, so the environment must be very wise.
Being human, we have our faults. We blame others for our mistakes and depend on others to fix our problems. We are always looking for more. More money, more clothes, more stuff. "Self-reliance" is a good example of how we need to become more independent and take more responsibility for our actions. We should be less concerned with materialistic items, and more appreciative of what we already have and the beautiful world we live in, like in "Nature". "The Declaration of Independence" tells us everyone is equal. Although it had a different meaning back then, (slaves we're still not considered equal) today it is a symbol of our free country.
ReplyDeleteEarly American literature is equally significant today as it was when first published. “The Declaration of Independence” is the basis of not only American government, but also a source of national pride. Currently this text holds relevance in political debates, and public concern. What is a current event that pertains to “The Declaration of Independence”? The Tea Party Campaign that is going on (along with other numerous political campaigns) is a great example. Over and over, people stress the need for the protection of their rights, and what better way to defend rights than referring to the document that gave them to American people?
ReplyDeleteThe story of “The Devil and Tom Walker” is important today because it could possibly create a link between the work Tom was doing, and the foreclosures that have swept the nation. Another way this story connects with the present is the idea of greed, and deciding if you can live with your actions. Guilt, I think, plays a pretty big role in how people make decisions today. I think that people today are thinking about how they can affect others (positively or negatively) through what they do, or have done.
Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” is easily noted today. Many people are more inclined to act on their own thoughts and/or beliefs than ever before. The stress of individuality is prevalent in the way that people deviate from the norm more often than not (whether in the way transcendentalists meant or not – is up for debate). Although having self-reliance mentally, and having self-reliance financially are two different things, I at least believe that free-thinking is growing (and will continue to grow) as time passes. A question to ask about the self-sufficiency of Americans is whether they can live and prosper by themselves, or not.
The ideas in “Nature” are a far cry from how people see nature today. Though we continually hear about the Green Movement and all the fantastic things we can (and should) do for the Earth, there lacks any real enthusiasm or even general love for the very thing we strive to protect. Yes, we recycle, and fight air pollution, and promote electric transportation – but when have you last gone outside and relished in the elements around you? How often, do you think, do people actually stop and realize that they are such a minuscule part of something so vast and perpetual?
The themes from all of these pieces of literature, just as with all literature, carries across time. "The Declaration of Independence" is still significant to the American people to this day and is a symbol of the freedom this country gives and the battles that have been fought to win that freedom. "The Devil and Tom Walker" demonstrates what desiring wealth or possessions will get you: nothing. The desire for tangable objects only ends up harming yourself, which is something that everday people in our modern era need to realize. "Self-reliance" and "Nature" urge the importance of the self. Emerson explains the importance of believing in one's self and listening to it, no matter how different it may be from the norm. This type of thought is needed to bring change in America and the world. All in all, these selected pieces of literature, along with every other piece of literature, have themes that are relevant across time. That after all, is the distingquishing factor between literature and a simple novel.
ReplyDelete“Nature" reminds me that society has lost interest in taking care of the Earth. Society tends to overlook and take nature for granted. People are ruining it more and more every day, but without nature, humans would be nonexistent. Society needs to take the time to appreciate and learn more about our environment.
ReplyDeleteThere are seven deathly sin, but in "The Devil and Tom Walker," greed is the most conspicuous sin mentioned. Tom simply cares only about himself and his money. When it is Tom's time to die, he only tries to save himself. Greed can be controlled, but it if is not, such as Tom's situation, losing everything is the distressing consequence.
"The Declaration of Independence," is what makes the United States such a powerful country. Americans live their lives not under the control of a King, but under the elected government and President. I personally believe society blames much of America's problems on the President and not nearly enough on the different branches of the government.
"Self Reliance" reminds me of how young adults tend to feed and life off other people. I believe there should be people guiding and teaching them to grow and to become an independent individual. The youth need to learn how to become more reliant on themselves instead of other people.
The Declaration of Independence shows why the king was the cause of all the colonies problems and reminds me of how everyone is blaming our current president for theirs. The Devil and Tom Walker shows how being greedy will affect you adversely. In Self Reliance it emphasizes the need to be as the title says, self reliant, which many people today are incapable of doing. Nature reminds me of our need to protect the environment because once its gone its gone and it will affect us greatly once its gone because we are a part of and dependent on it.
ReplyDeletePeople today take advantage of nature. We completely over look the things in life that really matter. Not very many people take the time out of their day to sit outside and actually pay attention to their surroundings. We rely almost completely on technology, and throw away our natural resources all the time. Most people don't recycle, or use things cautiously. People don't realize how important nature truly is to our survival, and when the day comes that we run out of the resources we need, we will have no idea what to do. We need to take better care of our earth, for the necessity of our survival. Technology only goes so far, however nature is vital to us.
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