Reading Response: The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1837 is an address of Phi Beta Kappa Society (an honorary society of male society of unusually high-grade students) that are studying at Harvard (‘The American Scholar”). The narrator makes his thoughts clear on the influence of European cultural and cerebral influence on the citizens of America. The subject of study in this particular novel in relation to the reading is the difference between American and European intellectualism and what lead to the major distinction between the two intellectuals in society.
The story talks of Man Thinking, which is an important aspect of an individual in the change process of the society. As a society, the novel teaches us of the reason why we should be thinking people in whatever we are doing because it is only through the constant thought process that humans can come up with various strategies to change everything that we see around us. The novel is written in response to some of the major issues of Western education and the influence they have on the lives of scholars and intellectuals with Chomsky noting that intellectuals are more concerned about attaining power rather than exposing the truth and lies of the society. As intellectuals, the author expected the society to be more rejuvenated about the things that would make the society better such as identify some of the problems that are present in the modern society and adequately address them.
There is a lot of expectations on the intellectuals to do the right thing by standing with what they believe is the truth and advance what is good for society. Scholars are required to use their knowledge and experience to contribute positively to changing society by being the mind of change and not just sitting back to watch how things are done.