the american spirit
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THE AMERICAN SPIRIT
Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer Born April 12, 1954 American writer and
mountaineer Mostly known for writing
about the outdoors and/or mountain climbing
Other works include Into Thin Air & Under the Banner of Heaven
Wrote for Outside and Rolling Stone magazines
Published Into the Wild in 1996
About Into the Wild
Into the Wild is a non-fiction account of Chris McCandless’s trek into the Alaskan wilderness
and his resulting death.
About Into the Wild McCandless was a
young, idealistic guy who forms a life philosophy based on his upbringing and his reading in college.
It is important to know that Alex = Chris.
Let’s read the Author’s Note together.
The American Spirit Motif
A motif is a recurring structure in a literary (or, artistic) work that helps to establish the major themes.
This one, however, is very prominent in real life American culture.
The American Spirit is embodied by:1. irreverence (a lack of due respect)2. breaking away from tradition3. seeking adventure4. striking out on one’s own5. the desire to be completely free6. the belief in the individual to
overcome any obstacle7. questioning authority
Quotable Quotes Over the course of this
unit, I am going to present you with a variety of meaningful quotes. I want you to reflect on these quotes in your blue packet. (1)Put the quote in your
own words.(2)Discuss its meaning.(3)Apply it to your life.
STAY HUNGRY
.STAY
FOOLISH.
-Steve Jobs, at a commencement address at Stanford University in 2005
Green Line #1
More from Jobs
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s
thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner
voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and
intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Think, Pair, Share
Who else, besides Jobs,
embodies this idea of
the American Spirit?
The Transcendentalists: Walt Whitman
Born 1819; died 1892 One of the most influential
poets in American literature
In between Transcendentalism and Realism (the era that came next); he incorporated both styles in his work.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were admirers of his writing.
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add,
divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
Questions1. Circle any words that you do not know. 2. The poem has two distinct, divergent parts. If you
had to divide it in half, where would you draw the line? Do it now.
3. Underline all of the traditional math/science/school words you see in part one.
4. Why does the persona get tired and sick?5. Why do the lines in part one all start with the
repetition of “when”?6. How would the persona prefer to examine the
natural world? 7. Where do you see any of the seven elements of
“The American Spirit” in this poem?
Transcendentalism1830-1860
American Literary Movements
Puritanism
1472 - 1750
Rationalism
1750 - 1800
Romanticism1820 - 1860
Transcendenta
lism1830 - 1860
Realism
Naturalism
Regionalism
1860 - 1920
Imagism1912 - 1927
The Harlem
Renaissance
1920 - 1935
POSTMODERNISM
1940s - TODAY
The Lost Generation1920 - 1930
MODERNISM1900-1940s
Transcendent Defined…
transcendent: going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding
Chris McCandless walked into the woods to have a “raw and
transcendent experience.”
What is Transcendentalism?
It’s a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s as a protest to the general state of culture and society. McCandless was an avid reader of works by the American Transcendentalists.
Transcendental Beliefs1. Humankind is inherently good.2. Nature is a doorway to the spiritual world. God’s
spirit can be revealed through nature.3. Society and its institutions—namely
organized religion and political parties—corrupt the purity of the individual.
4. Adhering to authority is only second to maintaining true individualism. Be yourself first.
5. Humankind is at its best when truly self-reliant and independent.
6. Intuition is more important than rationalism. Living in the moment is key.
The Transcendentalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Born 1803; died 1882 He was a key contributor
and founder to the American Transcendentalist Movement.
He was exhilarated by nature’s beauty and tranquility.
He felt he was in tune with himself when he communed with nature.
He encourages his readers to look directly at nature for this same purpose: to find yourself.
Day 2
“To speak truly, few
adult persons can see nature.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (from “Nature”)Green Line #2
The Transparent Eyeball
“Standing on the bare ground—my head bathed by the [carefree] air, and
uplifted into infinite space—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent
eyeball. I am nothing. I see all.”
Emerson had the desire to absorb—and be absorbed
into—nature.
Experiential Learning Where: Soccer Field Bring: Notebook and writing utensil—nothing
else! Do Now: Write the following across the top of a
notebook page and sign it:
I AM A TRANSPARENT EYEBALL. Do Outside: Journal about your experience
outside. What do you notice? What do you feel? What are you thinking about? How in tune with yourself are you?
Length: a notebook page; due at the end of the hour
CharacterizationHow does an author tell us about a character?1. Speech
o dialogue – conversation between characters
2. Appearance3. Private Thoughts4. How Other Characters Feel 5. Actions
o motivation – the reason a character thinks, feels, or acts the way he/she does
Characterization
Direct – a writer tells us directly what a character is like or what a person’s motives are
Indirect – a writer shows us a character but allows us to interpret for ourselves the kind of person we are meeting
Internal Citations When you directly quote from a text, you must
add an internal citation to the end of the quote. It is the author’s last name and page number
you found the quote inside parentheses.
“And he wasn’t a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast.
McCandless was something else—although precisely what is hard to say.
A pilgrim, perhaps” (Krakauer 85).
Envy is ignorance. Imitation is suicide.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (from “Self-Reliance”)Green Line #3
“Self-Reliance” This is one of Emerson’s most famous
essays. It was published in 1841. It contains the most emphatic
statement of three of Emerson’s ongoing themes: oAvoid conformity!oAvoid foolish consistency!oFollow your own instincts and ideas!
Literary Terms: Aphorism
Emerson is famous for a multitude of highly quotable aphorisms.
An aphorism is a short and sweet saying that communicates a general truth, or perceptive observation.
Internal Citations When you directly quote from a text, you must
add an internal citation to the end of the quote. It is the author’s last name and page number
you found the quote inside parentheses.
“And he wasn’t a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast.
McCandless was something else—although precisely what is hard to say.
A pilgrim, perhaps” (Krakauer 85).
“It has become
appallingly obvious that
our technology
has exceeded our humanity.”
-Albert Einstein (1879-1955)Green Line #4
Going off the Grid
Are the technological advancements we
have today helpful or harmful to humans
as a whole? Make two lists in your Literature notes: o At least five positives off the “going off the grid.” • Examples: living in a warm house, easy access to
food, etc.o At least five negatives of “going off the grid.” • Examples: reducing your carbon footprint, learning
self-reliance, etc.
Extra Credit: Cell Phone Challenge
Go one entire school day without your cell phone.
Drop it off with me Monday morning before the first bell. Pick it up right after school.
Write a ten-line reflection on the experience (due Tuesday). o What changed for you?o How did it affect you socially, emotionally,
and academically? You can receive up to 25 points of extra
credit.
“I went to the woods because I
wished to live deliberately… I wanted to live deep and suck
out all the marrow of life…”
-Henry David Thoreau from WaldenGreen Line #5
The Transcendentalists: Henry David Thoreau
Born 1817; died 1862 At the age of twenty-eight,
Thoreau—a Harvard graduate—seemed to be a failure. o failed attempt to be a
schoolteachero uninspiring oratoro his girlfriend denied his proposalo no interest in the family businesso close friends (like Emerson) had
strong doubts about his ambition
Walden After all these “failures,” Thoreau went to live on
his buddy Emerson’s land, near Walden Pond. This two-year experiment was designed so
Thoreau could rediscover “the grandeur and heroism of a simple life led close to nature” (Elements of Literature 231).
He wrote a book called Walden; in it, Thoreau explores what is necessary to have a rich and fulfilling life. o He found that he could give up most luxuries of life.o He found that most of his peers focused too much on
work.
“Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it lets him do
a thing his cleverness forbids.”
-John Steinbeck from East of EdenGreen Line #6
“The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong. Now, I don't know much about the
sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also
know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong,
but to feel strong, to measure yourself at least once, to find yourself at least once in the
most ancient of human conditions, facing the blind,
deaf stone alone with nothing to help you but your hands and
your own head.”
-Primo Levi