Question

Review each paragraph of the essay. Then write down one statement from each paragraph that you think sums up the main idea of that paragraph? This if from Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson?

Answer 1

Paragraph I.

Answer:

In order to reunite with nature, a person needs to withdraw and look at it with fresh and pure eyes, without all the bias that civilization has imposed on us.

Explanation:

In our lives, we are too often immersed in trivial worldly affairs, so much so that we take nature and its beauty for granted. Stars, for example, are so magnificent that they are worthy of adoration. But we often fail to see their magnificence just because we see them every night.

Paragraph II.

Answer:

Nature's beauty and perfection are inexhaustible even for the wisest of people.

Explanation:

We can try to grasp nature's wonders all we want - they will never expire or cease to exist, nor will they become incomprehensible. On the contrary, nature will always reflect both "the wisdom of [a man's] best hour" and "the simplicity of his childhood".

Paragraph III.

Answer:

A man can own fields or farms or woods, but he can never own nature itself.

Explanation:

Nature is integral (whole and undivided). Even though people may draw lines and boundaries through it, they can never own it. Only the poet can grasp its full integrity.

Paragraph IV.

Answer:

Nature is comprehensive and inclusive of all of our feelings.

Explanation:

In nature, a man can reestablish contact with his youth and childhood, but also with his own universal nature. Only there can he finally understand how pointless his egotism is, how unimportant all his worldly concerns and cares.

Paragraph V.

Answer:

In their essence, man and nature are connected with an unbreakable bond.

Explanation:

Even if physically alone, a man can never be truly alone in nature. That is because every element of nature (for example, a bough) reflects his inner, spiritual processes. A storm may take a man by surprise, but it is not unknown or unfamiliar to him.

Paragraph VI.

Answer:

Human spirit and emotions are a result of harmony between man and nature.  

Explanation:

We can "read" the same landscape differently, according to our current emotions. For example, a scene that yesterday seemed delightful can today appear as melancholic. "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit," says Emerson in this paragraph. It means that nature is susceptible to our imagination, which in turn means that man and nature are equal, and equally important.