Alaina-q
The Romantic Era of American Literature
Individualism
"All rational action is in the first place individual action. Only the individual thinks. Only the individual reasons. Only the individual acts."
-Ludwig von Mises
I think individualism to me, is really being independent, not just through the mind but like physically. I think individualism affected the American Culture by having more people be more individual earlier, like when they're young and it's important to them already. I think as the years pass by the percent of individuals will increase by a lot. For example, me, sometimes I think being individual make me a better person. I think that if I was really being independent my culture would think of me differently because Yup'iks mostly work together and do things together. I also think that I do better when I do things on my own but I think deep down I don't. The Yup'ik side of me thinks that being really independent is not a good idea but it's not bad either. I wondered if I never learned english or never learned about literature, freedom, independence or about these people I would think that these things weren't important and I'd be less independent. I'm glad that I learned about these things.
Optimism
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." -Helen Keller
I agree with this quote because this is how I think most of the time. I think this is a good quote and it inspires other to be optimistic. Like when one person is being optimistic he/she can affect others to also be optimistic, like a lone nut. I also think that mostly optimism got a lot of things to do with what we've achieved so far in this world. Being optimistic makes me also feel confident.
Idealism
"Reality is what people who lack vision see."
- Makokoma Mokhonoana
It demonstrates idealism because it's what he thinks and his idea of the people who only see reality and he's saying we should imagine things and not just see reality. I agree with this quote because it seems like it's too much, just to be looking at reality. I think having imaginations about the world will make us feel better. I think this quote is a great quote for idealism because it can affect people to not just be real with everything and to imagine a lot of great things. To me, I like the old version of Idealism, or how they used to think about it during the Romantic Era because it makes more sense to me and mostly the idea about it, like because it's the idea of what the person thinks that makes it what it is.
Intuition vs Logic
-Gisele Bunchen
I think this idea is true to some people who really believe in their guts. I think sometimes they don't be or get happier but I think they get stronger on the inside. I think most people choose to ignore them because they like to follow their brain. I agree with this quote because I think sometimes following your guts is good and not just follow your brain all the time. I think sometimes intuition is the the thing in the back of the mind that people faintly hear and only some people choose to listen. Today I think intuition is still the same as it was during the Romantic Era because the population was small and a lot of people followed their intuition and now there are a lot of people and less people are maybe as much as there were during the Romantic Era. I think they're trusting their intuition because they never had technology or they never had good math knowledge. Logic to me is like math, having facts and proof.
Henry David Thoreau
"I preceive that, when an acorn and a chestnut fall side by side, the one does not remain inert to make way for the other, but both obey their own laws, and spring and grow and flourish as best as they can, till one, perhance, overshaodows and destroys the other. If a plant cannot live accordingly to it's nature, it dies; and so a man."
-Thoreau
I agree with Thoreau with this quote because when one gets bigger and bigger than the other it's hard for the other to get the attention. I think this idea is on point with how a lot of things are especially how the government works. Thoreau affected a lot of people and still affects them today and probably still will in the future. He made me think about the government in a really different way and to see how much they changed and didn't change over the past hundred years.
My Letter to Thoreau
11/19/15
Dear Mr. Thoreau,
I think your ideas about the government are funny but they seem true. I don’t entirely agree that the government governs better when they don’t govern at all but I agree that they govern better when they govern less. I think it’s better like this because sometimes they do unnecessary things. For example, the Mexican War, I agree with you that it was unnecessary because like you said, mostly for land and for America to take over that area. Sometimes I think it’s right to do what you think but sometimes I think it’s wrong. Because sometimes when you do what you want to do so many times you might end up in jail, so sometimes you should do what the law says so you don’t get in trouble. I think following your conscience and going to jail and feeling free is better than not following your conscience and not in jail and not feeling free because it’s like following your intuition and what matters is how you feel and you should do what feels right. I also agree that you think the government is only physically stronger because the government can’t control how you think and they can’t just control you.
Mahatma Gandhi
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
-Mahatma Gandhi
I think this is a really good quote, it's one of my favorites. It inspires me to try my best to learn as much as I can in a day, even if I'm discouraged or feeling down, deep down inside I want to keep going, but sometimes I don't make the effort. I think this idea is strong and I bet this quote inspires a lot of people. I agree with this quote because this is how we'll be at our best because we're thinking that we're going to die tomorrow and that affects us to behave and treat people like they're going to die tomorrow. I'm sure this is how Gandhi tried to live, it's like he tried his best to live like this. To me Gandhi is a hero. He got a lot of people to have freedom and affected other people to try what he did. I think this is a good thing because there are a lot of people who want control over a lot of people, like dictators. I think it's good that people try to fight them or do what Gandhi did because freedom is what makes people happy and who they are because they can do so much with freedom. I think people are still affected by the Apartheid and him today and will in the future. If more people were like him this world would be better place, but sometimes I think without the bad people there wouldn't be a lot of people like Gandhi.