For my first paragraph I have decided to discuss paragraph 14 on the handout Professor Sievers gave us in class. The paragraph is short however it does pack a huge message Emerson is trying to get across to his readers. In Paragraph 14 Emerson discusses the character of Jesus and how he is a respectable person. Emerson goes into detail how Jesus appreciated Moses and the prophets. Throughout the paragraph his tone is very poetic and noble more or less. The final sentence concludes with “Thus is he, as I think, the only soul in history who has appreciated the worth of a man.” Emerson finishes the paragraph by saying that the ‘Character” of Jesus is a good person, however he believes that the “Image” of Jesus is way too overhyped.
For my second paragraph I chose paragraph 15 of Emerson’s essay which explains why he thinks Jesus’s image was so blown out of proportion. He claims in paragraph 15 that “Historical Christianity has fallen and into error that corrupts all attempts to communicate religion.” By claiming that he believes that the idea of Jesus is completely false, that he was this amazing being on earth. He further claims that “with noxious exaggeration about the person of Jesus.” This further explains his belief on how Jesus was not this God like man but more or less just an average human among the crowd. Emerson explains how the church is falsifying the real story of Jesus and who he really was! Emerson concludes his statement by saying no one should strive to be who Jesus was but just strive to be the best you can be.
Great stuff here Nick, I like how you merged two small paragraphs that shared one idea. I like how you pointed out Emerson’s meanings behind his strong and honest message.
Nick – You’re digging into a central issue in this essay. Good! And I would love to see Emerson use the word “overhyped.” 🙂 Do be sure in your essays to not just unpack the text but to also discuss how Emerson’s literary choices help him make his points.