Emerson & Hawthorne

Ralph Waldo Emerson presents in his speech, the American Scholar, the character of the "Man Thinking," an ideal concept meant to offer liberation from the European bonds and the creation of the American social and political system. There are three important parts in the scholar's education: nature, books and action. "Man Thinking" is supposed to discover the hidden laws of nature, to classify them and to find himself in them: "the ancient precept, 'Know thyself', and the modern precept, 'Study nature', become at last one maxim" (Emerson, (http://www.bartleby.com/5/101.html).

Books should also guide and inspire him to develop his own ideas and principles. The last part of the scholar's education is action: he should share his thoughts with others, so that he can become the true "Man Thinking."

Emerson's other work, Nature, presents the main principles of the transcendentalist movement. One of these is the union between nature and the human spirit: "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." (Emerson, (http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-emerson-a.html#Chapter%20I).This union can be identified beyond the material world, when the human being spends his solitude in close contact with nature.

In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, nature represents the place where people can escape from the restraining Puritan society. The deep, gloomy forest holds the key to the freedom of the people: here they learn to be themselves again. In the midst of nature, "the yellow leave will show no vestige of the white man's tread." (Hawthorne, (http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/scarletletter).Both writers belong to the transcendentalist movement and so their views resemble each other: Emerson's nature is a reflection of the human spirit, while Hawthorne's forest reveals people's true character.

Bibliography

Emerson, R.W.: The American Scholar. Retrieved June 2007, at http://www.bartleby.com/5/101.html

Emerson, R.W.: Nature. Retrieved June 2007, at http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-emerson-a.html#Chapter%20I

Hawthorne, Nathaniel: The Scarlet Letter. Retrieved June 2007, at http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/scarletletter

Taylor, Judd: Man Thinking: The Nature of Emerson's American Scholar, March 23, 1999. Retrieved June 2007, at http://www.geocities.com/fidelio1st/literature/theamericanscholar.htm

The Town vs. Nature in the Scarlet Letter. Retrieved June 2007, at http://www.studyworld.com/basementpapers/papers/stack34_6.html