The Transcendentalist Challenge



THE TRANSCENDALIST CHALLENGE:

JOURNAL ACTIVITY

“…I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.  I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.  I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life...”

-Henry David Thoreau

As the Transcendentalists did, we will attempt to live “deliberately” through the disciplined acts of reading, thinking, and writing. In the next three weeks, you will create a journal of your writings. Your writings should be creative in nature. They should be modeled after the Transcendentalist writings that we have read—philosophical, personal, and stylistic (use imagery, questions, figurative language, allusions-- historical, literary, personal, etc.-- and perfect word choice). Your goal is to make your writing and thinking worthy of reading.

You may choose to handwrite or type your entries. You may want to consider purchasing a journal or notebook specifically for this assignment.

PART I: REQUIREMENTS

1) Ponderings based on Thoreau’s writings:

• “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, from Walden (In class; handout)

AND

• “Civil Disobedience” (In class; handout)

2) Ponderings based on Emerson’s writings:

• Excerpt from Nature (In class; handout)

AND

• “Self-Reliance” (In class; handout)

3) Ponderings based on Wendell Berry’s “An Entrance to the Woods” (In class; handout)

4) Ponderings based on Rachel Carson’s excerpt from Silent Spring (In class; handout)

5) Ponderings after viewing the film Dead Poets’ Society or Into the Wild (ITW Film Viewing Party date TBD; if you cannot attend or may not watch the film (rated R) than you may borrow Dead Poets and host a Film Viewing Party of your own! You must have a permission slip to attend the FVP at school!)

6) Research one of the following people who are examples of Civil Disobedience. There are two parts to this requirement: 1) Write a summary (in your own words, of course) about how this person performed Civil Disobedience and 2) Include your own ponderings (a journal entry) based on some of this person’s writings (an essay or quotations by this person)

• Deitrich Bonheoffer—A German pastor broke through the church’s silence and openly opposed Adolf Hilter’s regime. He was ultimately a martyr for the cause

• Desmond Tutu—Fought for equal rights in South Africa

• Mushe Feiglin and Shumel Sackett—blocked Arabs from usurping Israeli lands

• Julia Butterfly Hill—Lived in a tree to prevent it from being cut down

• Aung San Suu Kyi—Pro-democratic leader in militant Burma (Myanmar) recently released from seven-year house arrest; now a member of Parliament!

PART II: THE TRANSCENDENTALIST CHALLENGE

For Part II, choose at least five of the following activities to perform and then to reflect upon. If you have a “Transcendentalist idea” that is not included on this list, come see me to get it approved.

Please include a short summary—who, what, when, where, etc. and then your creative, philosophical reflection/ journal entry.

1) Do something alone—go to a movie, a restaurant, a museum, etc. Write about the experience.

2) Sit alone in silence, doing nothing for a half hour. Reflect in writing afterwards.

3) Take a walk in nature by yourself or with a friend in silence. Observe your surroundings and senses deliberately. Write about it.

4) Experience the morning as Thoreau did. Go watch a sunrise. Reflect.

5) Experience the night and the stars as Emerson did. Reflect.

6) Make a list of your luxuries (wants) vs. necessities in your life. Reflect on the simplicity (or the lack of) in your life.

7) Sit outside for a half hour in order to deliberately observe your five senses at work. Notice every detail of beauty that your five senses detect. Reflect.

8) Look up another Transcendentalist writer. Print out a piece of their work. Read, highlight, think, ponder, and write about it.

9) Read an additional work by one of the authors we have already read. Include your reflection.

10) Reflect and write about your own personal “Walden,” that special place in your life. Capture the details and feelings of that place for your reader.

11) Find a handful of inspirational quotes and reflect on them.

12) Write a piece of poetry in response to a piece of Transcendentalist writing that you have read.

13) Have a philosophical discussion (Different than a debate-- a discussion must fairly and respectfully present different viewpoints) with someone or a group of people. Reflect.

14) Read something, not because it is required, but because you want to better yourself. Reflect on what you learned.

15) Challenge one of society’s (“The Machine’s”) or one of your own pre-conceived notions or prejudices. Write about it.

16) Live as simply as possible for a set amount of time (ideally half of a day to a full day). Use no modern technology—TV, radios, cell phones, CD’s, iPods/Pads, cars, Starbucks, microwaves, computers, fast food etc. Reflect.

Part III: REFLECTION

Write a reflection to me. Please include what you have learned about yourself and what you found to be the most meaningful reading and/or activity that we/you did. Please type this (double-spaced) and keep it separate from your journal.

To review:

Your journal will consist of the following:

• Eight required readings & entries from Part I (Notice Thoreau and Emerson both have 2 entries each)

• At least five activities & entries from Part II

• One personal reflection (typed) about the assignment as a whole (to be turned in)

You will have a total of 13 entries + one typed reflection. Each entry should be approximately one page (depending on the size of the paper, etc.).

Please note: This assignment is for you. The goal for this assignment is to see if living “deliberately” through the discipline of reading, thinking, and writing will make you feel more “awake” intellectually and personally.

Thoreau would be SO AGAINST PROCRASTINATION! Therefore, please notice that there are 11 entries to be done over 17 days. In order to be an effective experiment on learning and thinking (rather than one of stress and meaninglessness), the assignment is designed to be a daily discipline that takes no more than an hour.

DON’T YOU THINK IT WOULD BE FREEING TO NOT PROCRASTINATE FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE AND TO EXPERIENCE READING, THINKING, AND WRITING IN ITS PUREST FORM (not stressful)?? This is the goal!

Due: ______________________

**You will be asked to share one of your entries with a small group.

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