Essay Database

The American Scholar In his essay, "The American Scholar", Emerson portrays the scholar as one who learns from the influences of three main things: nature, books, and action. According to Emerson, a true scholar is one who relies upon his own intuition and "self-trust" rather than being a conforming victim of society that does not think and act for himself. In such cases, a man who does not follow these three categories in practice becomes …

…himself free and brave. "Free even to the definition of freedom, 'without any hindrance that does not arise out of his own constitution'. Brave; for fear is a thing which a scholar by his very function puts behind him" (1143). By following the wise words of Emerson, the scholar will "walk on [their] own feet; [they] will work with [their] own hands; [they] will speak their own minds" (1147). This is the greatest accomplishment of a scholar.