1. Monday, November 9th and Tuesday, November 10th American Lit.
Standard 2 & 3
Seating Chart: On a notecard, write your name.
1: Name one person you want to sit by
2. Name one person you do not want to sit by
3. Tell me if you need to sit in the front for vision, hearing, attention
ACT Prep: Semi-colons, apostrophes, and commas. Please, complete on a separate piece of paper.
Review Gothic Characteristics
Gothic Writing Assignment in groups
Transcendentalist Notes
Pair share
Read and annotate Emerson and Thoreau excerpts
Extra Credit Opportunity:

2. Your assignment Work in groups of no more than four people.
Take turns around the circle creating a “gothic” story - campfire style mins. in length
Take notes and write down key plot points
Write down gothic elements included.
Turn in when finished. Make sure everyone contributes and their names are on the paper you turn in.

3. Transcendentalism
An important American Literary and Philosophical Movement (though NOT a religion) 1830s to 1860s

4. Transcend (v)
to go beyond a limit or range, for example, of thought or belief
So, TRANSCENDENTALISM, at its core is about “moving beyond” common experience and understanding.

5. Transcendentalism
The idea that in determining the ultimate reality of God, the universe, the self, and other important matters, one must transcend, or go beyond, everyday human experience in the physical world.
Also based on Romantic ideas
Based on intuition; optimistic
Shared the Puritan philosophy that saw signs and symbols in human events

6. Premises of Transcendentalism
There is a direct connection between the universe and the individual soul
By thinking about objects in nature, people can transcend the world and discover a union with the Over-Soul
Follow your intuition and beliefs no matter how much they differ from the social norms
All people are inherently good

7. So who were a few Transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson (former Unitarian minister from Massachusetts who became the most well known Transcendentalist.)
Henry David Thoreau (his pupil, the son of pencil maker who dropped out of society to live a solitary and transcendent life).

8. Transcendentalists
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau

9. Why did Transcendentalism become popular?
As with Romanticism, Americans felt that there must be more to life than logical, rational experience.
The Transcendentalists sought to regain a spirituality that they thought was missing from current thought and philosophy.

10. Transcendentalism With a partner answer the following questions.
How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it? Do you reflect the moods of nature?
What is the role of nature in your life?
What is meant by an individual’s spiritual side? How do you define it?
What is the connection between the individual’s spirit and nature?
What does it mean to know something intuitively?
How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you think independently of others or do you follow the crowd?