The American Scholar Case

Having the past, nature, and action as reference to our lives is a great way to portray our emotions. In "The American Scholar" Emerson expresses the pros and cons of an American individual; Jamal Wallace in Finding Forrester and Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting interpret these pros and cons too. The so-called art of asking questions, or "soup questions" were also a great part of the movies and the essay. Soup questions are inquiries that help people analyze and understand what is being presented in the text or the film. Soup questions make people change intellectually and become more mature because of various things: gain more knowledge and become more open-minded. Emerson's description of an American Individual is accurate and this line of questioning would have certainly been something he would have supported. Emerson believes that as a scholar the main purpose is to be considered as an individual, a man who is capable of having self-direction (Emerson, "An American Philosopher" par. 1). As Emerson denotes, nature is what edifies a man thinking; then that man thinking can use the past to take action. Emerson uses these core values to show how society wanted to turn man into a mere thinker. His goal throughout "The American Scholar" was to use the past, nature, and action and to get that man thinking back into duty. Independent men are more likely to have individuality on their hopes which they will accomplish.