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Meets Expectations Course: ELA Grade Level: 11-12 Type: Informational/Explanatory Structure: Analysis Teaching Task 21: What is Freedom? After reading Anthem by Ayn Rand and excerpts by the Transcendental writers Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, write an essay that addresses the question and analyzes the meaning of the word “Freedom” from the authors’ perspectives, providing examples to clarify your analysis. What conclusion or implications can you draw? A bibliography is required. (L2): In your discussion, address the credibility and origin of sources in view of your research topic. (L3): Identify any gaps or unanswered questions. Performance Level: Meets Expectations Freedom: One Word, Different Meanings Jim Morrison, the late lead singer of The Doors, argued, "The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. [.. ..]There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first." Ayn Rand, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson would agree with Jim Morrison's view on freedom, with some minuscule differences. Ayn Rand's view on freedom is greatly influenced by her early life in Communist Russia while Thoreau's and Emerson's perspectives on freedom are mainly inspired by their strong Transcendentalist beliefs and morals. Rand, Thoreau, and Emerson can all agree that freedom includes individuality, personal time, and hard work. Although this trio shares many similarities concerning their views on freedom, they do differ from one another and all three fail to acknowledge some aspects in their arguments. In their works, Rand, Thoreau, and Emerson all express that freedom includes the needs and the wants of the individual. Rand expresses the need for individuality by making the society in Anthem an extreme communist state, where Equality possesses "a head which is too quick," and gets punished for his intelligence since "It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them " (Rand 2). In his own society, Equality stands out amongst his fellow citizens because of his higher intellect and receives punishment and scorn because of this. This rule cramps the learning style of each individual since every person learns at their own pace- one course level does not accommodate to everyone. As for Thoreau, he expresses the importance of individuality by talking about how everyone has different pursuits and interests and that others should let them be themselves. Thoreau advises readers that "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away" (Thoreau, Walden 243-244). Thoreau advises here for people to let others pursue their passions and interests even though they themselves may not want to follow that same calling. Everyone has different passions and interests and others should let them pursue their goals, even if they don't want to follow that path themselves. Finally, concerning Emerson, he emphasizes the value of individuality by explaining how individuality gives a person peace and, possibly, great achievement. He argues this point by explaining in his essay 'Self-Reliance' that "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world..." (225). By this, Emerson means that the most important aspect a man can possess is the courage of speaking boldly and from the heart and if a man does so, he can achieve much. The quote connects to the importance of individuality since the quote implies that a man can earn great success and huge acclaim if he invests in his own ideas and beliefs, ignoring the society around him and their opinions. From their writings, one can accurately claim that Rand, Thoreau, and Emerson all believe individuality is a major component to preserving the idea and practice of freedom. In their various writings, Rand, Thoreau, and Emerson all agree that freedom consists of alone time, where a person can express their individuality. Rand conveys the idea that freedom consists of solitude with Equality's tunnel and Equality's feeling of euphoria in the Uncharted Forest. When Equality was his in his tunnel, he felt " the first peace we have known in twenty years" (Rand 7), which conveys the idea that, even though Equality broke a law (going out into the tunnel alone and thinking by himself, not thinking along with his ' brothers'), he feels at ease for the first time in his life. This specific event in the book tells us that time alone brings a person tranquility and a sense of calm and content, allowing the person to be themselves. When Equality entered the Uncharted Forest, he laughed "as if there were no power left in us save laughter" (Rand 19). This occurence shows that Equality feels joyous, feels free from the restrictions of his brothers and his society. This event in Anthem shows that a person needs some solitude in their life in order to feel free to express themselves and think their own thoughts. Thoreau, on the other hand, suggests the idea that freedom consists of solitude by explaining how men never connect just by standing near one another. In Walden, Thoreau explains this idea: "What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary? I have found that no exertion of the legs can bring two minds closer to one another" (238). By this, Thoreau means that through solitude, a person connects with their fellow neighbors- a man will not connect with another man just because he sits near him. A person needs solitude not only to discover their individuality, but also to find peace and connect mentally and emotionally to the people around them. The third person in this trio, Emerson, portrays the idea that freedom includes personal time by describing how nature enlightens a person by its untainted purity. Emerson expresses this idea in “Nature” when he writes, "But if a man be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things" (219). This quote means that if a man spends time alone in nature and looks up at the stars, his spirit will be cleaned of the stresses and evils of society, thus relaxing the man with its peace and simplicity. This quote explains how a person needs alone time in nature so they can cleanse themselves of the woes and pains of society, and focus on finding their sense of self and their individual thoughts and emotions. Rand, Thoreau, and Emerson all think freedom contains the key concept of solitude, which ties along with individuality. All three authors also express that hard work frees a man’s soul and fills him with accomplishment and joy. Rand expresses the idea of freedom including hard work through Equality's sense of achievement and happiness about the invention he created. In Anthem, Equality explains that "Only the glass box in our arms is like having a living heart that gives us strength. We have lied to ourselves. We have not built this box for the good of our brothers. We built it for its own sake" (Rand 19). This shows that Equality built the box for himself, not for the benefit for the community- he invented and built the box for selfish reasons, yet he feels no regret and feels no shame for creating this box. This example from Anthem explains that if a society allows a man to build his own inventions- with his mental and physical strength-, he can contribute to society while feels a sense of worth and joy. As for Thoreau, he explains that freedom includes hard work with a simile comparing cowbirds and cuckoos to other birds. Thoreau uses this example in Walden, which goes like this: 'There is some of the same fitness in a man’s building his own house that there is in a bird’s building its own nest. Who knows but if men constructed their dwellings with their own hands, and provided food for themselves and families simply and honestly enough, the poetic faculty would be universally developed, as birds universally sing when they are so engaged? But alas! we [sic] do like cowbirds and cuckoos which lays their eggs in nests which other birds have built, and cheer no traveler with their chattering and unmusical notes" (235-236). This simile explains how when a person is hard at work, they fill themselves with happiness and pride, but when they pass the job onto someone else, they rob themselves of that sense of joy and accomplishment. This explains how if a person acts like a cowbird or cuckoo in Thoreau's simile, they deprive themselves of the freedom of doing what they want and from achieving the satisfaction of a job well done. With Emerson, he describes that freedom includes hard work by explaining how hard work paid off for the great thinkers of the world. In his essay 'Self-Reliance', Emerson encourages the reader to pursue their dreams by asking the reader, "Is it so bad to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood" (225). This quote is advising readers to follow their dreams and passions, since even though a man and his ideas may be misunderstood in his time, they may greatly impact the future generations.
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