Sunday, December 6, 2009
Quiet Desperation or Sounding Their Barbaric Yawp?
Having examined a few Transcendalists, consider the following quote by Henry David Thoreau: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation". What do you make of this quote? How does it connect to our studied Transcendentalists? Did they, in your opinion, truly sound their barbaric yawp, or were they, instead, merely leading lives of quiet desperation? Consider individuals we examined and/ or the collective movement.
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This quote is saying that as a whole society follows the rules. Men live lives as they are told to, and do not speak or act out against things they don't agree with. Trancedentalists believe that people need to speak out, make a change, and live as they truly believe and want to live. This quote is saying that men do exactly the opposite of the trancendentalist beliefs. Thoreau did sound his barbaric yawp. He protested society and spoke his beliefs through his writings and his actions. He even went to jail to make a point. Walden did not, he instead lived a life of quiet desperation. He lived secluded and alone. Dependant on the care of his mother.
ReplyDelete-Bridget Louis, Paige Ledesma, Hailey Johnson
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ReplyDeleteThis quote really paints society today as desperate and dull, not the way we like to think of ourselves. This really connects to transcendentalism because it really looks down upon people who follow the crowd and hate their lives. Transcendentalism really wants people to please themselves and no one else, not caring what others think of them. This quote does not actually come out and say it, it really just looks down on the other direction. We really feel like transcendentalists did not sound their barbaric yawp. They were just talking, and never really followed up on their ideas. There is alot of proof today, such as his mother living by him and cooking him dinner, that shows that they really were just hypocrites.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Gouin and Kaeli Brotherton
Thoreau was someone that didn't follow the rules but always accepted the punishment. Many people in our country don't accept their punishment for their deeds. He sounded his barbaric yawp when he stopped paying taxes. He went to jail, but felt liberatd and he got to know the men imprisoned with him. He wasn't desperate to follow the rules, but felt free when he broke the rules.
ReplyDelete-Paul, Kristen and Brian
Amanda Sydney Drew Katie and Mary Catherine-
ReplyDeleteYAWWWPPPP
We think that this quote represents what the Transcendentalists are trying to avoid. They think that society is full of conformists and that they go with the flow to make it easier for themselves. This "society" does not sound their barbaric YAWP but instead meekly does what is expected of them and does not question anything. Thoreau sounds his barbaric YAWP by refusing to pay taxes and going to jail for it.
This quote is saying that those who choose to resign themselves from normal society are bound to go into desperation. It is also saying that many of the people in society are quietly going with desperation because they are not fully resigning from society. This connects to our studies transcendentalists because they say to detatch yourself from society so you can be truly happy and content with yourself. The mass of men are living in quiet desperation and do not sound their barbaric yawp because it would be socially unacceptabe to sound a barbaric yawp.
ReplyDelete-Grant and Marie
This quote explains how the majority of people spend their whole life going eith the flow and showing little to no self-reliance or self dependance. Therau and the rest of the transcendentalists believe that people need to follow their own thoughts. I believe that the transcendentalists did sound their barbaric yawp, because in Therau's instance he even went to prison for not paying his taxes because he believed it was not just and that he didnt have to follow them.
ReplyDeleteMeghan, Kelsey, and Melissa:
ReplyDelete"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation"
This quote means that life in solitude confirms one's resignation from society. According to the quote, transcendentalists lived secluded and isolated lives, which showed they were desperate. The fact that they published this quote means they did sound their barbaric yawp. However, they let their yawp resound rather than repeating it over and over again.
This quote means that men follow the crowd and hold their tongue when they don't agree with something, because they want to speak out but they don't because they don't want to accept the consequences. This relates to Civil disobedience because this is the opposite of what most people do and civil disobedience is a kind of transcendentalism. They were merely leading lives of quiet desperation rather than sounding their barbaric yawp. Thoreau didn't sound his barbaric yawp either because he went to jail because he didn't want to pay taxes. He showed quiet desperation.
ReplyDeleteby: Brian and Katelyn
We interpreted the quote as saying that the majority of men go through life planning and schemeing about changing their life and changing society, but never actually put their plans into action. We thought that Thoreau did sound his bararic yawp because he was willing to accept the consequences of his actions again the status quo of society. Though, he was one of only few who ever did.
ReplyDelete-Samis, sarahn, and alexb
The quote by Thoreau is saying that in general, people follow the rules of society, without bothering to speak up. They choose to accept the law, and follow it without question. These people to not stand up for themselves of their beliefs, but rather accept the fact that they are just one of everyone else, and accept whatever comes at them. This quote relates to our study of Trancedentalists because the belief of trancendentals is that they should stand up for what they think is right, and partake in civil diobedience if it is for a worthy cause. These types of people sound their barbaric yawp, and let the whole world hear it. They are not afraid to tell society what they believe is right and wrong, and are willing to fight for the cause, no matter what the consequences may be. In making the choice to fight for their cause, they must accept the consequences of their actions. Thoreau defiantly sounded his barbaric yawp to society by refusing to pay his taxes. He showed authorities that he was not afraid to rebel and accept the consequences that followed to show the world what he felt was right. Walden, on the other hand, lived a life of silent desperation. He chose not to show the world what he thought was right, but rather took life as a whole and went along with it. He lived his life alone, and did not tell the world what he thought throught his actions.
ReplyDelete-Paige Stingley and Madi Bates
This quote, by a transcendentalist, says that most people arent, in fact, transcendental. The coincidental part is that this guy is part of that mass. Sure he went to prison, but he went for... not paying his taxes. Oh man. No transcendentalist ever sounded a yawp, nor anything close. This movement could have been huge, but only inspired people for about 10 seconds until they realize that they dont want to go to prison. This movement is the one that makes everybody think the most, but do the least.
ReplyDeleteAlly, Ben, and Brian--
ReplyDeleteWe think that the transcendentalists were sounding their barbaric yawp. By being civily disobedient, they stood up for what they believed in while the majority of the polulation quietly resigned themselves to their lot in life.