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===Welcome, all ye scholars of -Advanced Placement-  Language //and //Composition! === **﻿﻿﻿** ** A.P. English Language Exam free-response scoring rubrics and samples found [|here] **!

**Spring 2011: Transcendentalism** 



Given the limited number of books, we will have to get a bit creative with our reading over spring break. Below, you will find links to the writing of the core thinkers behind the Transcendentalist movement; these links include the **full text** of all the essays.

Please complete the assignments for Emerson, and post any questions or epiphanies to the discussion forum. We will study Thoreau's work //after// we return from break.

**Ralph Waldo Emerson:** [|Biography] ]]
 * Detailed biography found [[http://www.emersoncentral.com/others/life_of_ralph_waldo_emerson.htm|here.


 * [|Nature]> Read the intro and chapters I-IV
 * What philosophical questions does Emerson address in the Introduction of "Nature"?
 * With which ideas might Walt Whitman have agreed in this essay? With which might he have disagreed? Explain.
 * Discuss the meaning of the "transparent eyeball". If you dare, try to sketch it!
 * How would you compare Emerson's thoughts on beauty with those of Immanuel Kant?
 * [|Self-Reliance]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Against what established ideas and customs does Emerson rebel?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Do you agree or disagree with his argument/ideas?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What are Emerson's ideas regarding traveling? Can these relate to your own life?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Discuss your reaction to Emerson's ideas regarding materialism.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[|The Over-Soul] (**optional**)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">According to Emerson, what does it mean to "crowd eternity into an hour, or stretch an hour to eternity"?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Choose one quotation from this essay and respond to it.

**T__ask__:** 1. Respond to Emerson's words as you read. Answer the questions above in journal form, whether in your notebook or typed. (Suggested length: Four thorough entries, two each for "Nature" and "Self-Reliance") 2. Over break, head outdoors and interact with nature. Find at least one spot that may be beautiful or sublime, and write a reflection about what you experience. Feel free to sketch, take a picture, write a poem, or connect this moment to a quotation that you liked from Emerson's thoughts.

**Henry David Thoreau:** [|Biography]
 * [|Walden]
 * [|Walking]
 * [|Civil Disobedience]


 * For the synthesis assignment on //The Scarlet Letter//:**

//Directions:// The following prompt is based on the accompanying six sources. Synthesize **at least three** of the sources into a coherent, well-written essay. Refer to the sources and cite them as you develop your position. Your argument should be //central//; the sources should support the argument. Avoid merely summarizing the sources.

You may attribute both direct and indirect references.

In his novel //The Scarlet Letter,// Nathaniel Hawthorne challenges us to consider the human soul in light of its community. Hester Prynne walks a desolate -- yet intoxicatingly potent -- landscape of fear and conviction, carrying the burdens of femininity and shame in a world of scrutiny. Discuss what it truly means to wear the "scarlet letter." Using any combination of at least **three** of the sources below, evaluate the ways Hester perceives her letter, and how society influences her personal identity.
 * Task:**

SOURCES


 * Source A:** (Epitaph): Sarah Lloyd's tombstone
 * Source B:** (Plath): "Mirror" poem
 * Source C:** (Hawthorne): Excerpt from //The Scarlet Letter//, page 144 (paragraph starting with "Indeed,..") OR other passage of your choice
 * Source D:** (Cartoon): [|hesterprynne2.jpg]
 * Source E:** (Warfel) [|JSTORScarletLetterarticle.pdf] (Spoiler alert! Pages 5-6)
 * Source F:** (Millington): [|lecture excerpt.docx]

**Due: Tuesday, April 5, 2011**. Please type this in MLA format, completing 3-4 pages double-spaced.