Ralph Waldo Emerson SOAPSTONE

Ralph Waldo Emerson is often considered a favorite in the literary world. His unique prose meshed with his exemplifying wit and intellect attract readers of all sorts. This excerpt from his world-renounced novel, Education - which was published posthumously - opens the minds of his readers by challenging what "education" truly is and how one could fully live up to the full potential of gaining a complete education. As one begins to try to grasp the concept of a piece, a simple yet effective way to do so is to analyze the piece using the SOAPSTONE rhetoric method. For example, in Ralph Waldo Emerson's excerpt from Education, the speaker is Ralph Waldo Emerson himself. The occasion is the time period of the 1820's to the 1830's where he found himself disappointed in the educational system after becoming a teacher himself at the age of 18. The audience is hypothetically everyone. Emerson did not write only to a specific group of individuals, but rather for every individual to absorb what he had to offer. The purpose would be to teach, to reform, and to inform. He yearned to teach what he felt needed to be taught, to reform the views of the people on the educational system and to reform the educational system in general, and to inform students that education is not just confined in the walls of the classroom. The subject of the passage is idea that education has been taught completely wrong and that students deserve to be respect and with that respect comes fulfillment of educational wonders. Emerson's tone was confident, shrewd, bold, proud, and he sounded as if he was ready to make a difference in the world. The SOAPSTONE for Ralph Waldo Emerson helps summarize quickly yet effectively his argument.