Since the title is "Each to His Own", I think Emerson is trying to tell people to focus on their own debts and troubles instead of trying to fix other people's. When he says "Wilt thou seal up the avenues of ill?" , I think Emerson is telling people they can't possibly make other people walk on a path of righteousness by trying to close off all other ways. Instead, he asks people to pay their own debts.
In this poem, I think that Emerson is attempting to motivate us to do our best in life. No matter what we decide to do, we should dedicate ourselves 100% it, as if each action was for God Himself. -Katie Toth
It sounds like Emerson is making a statement about how trying to keep up with the lives of everyone else should be a minor priority, if one at all, compared to keeping track of one's own life. Also, the fact that this poem is only two lines long may represent his point that we should be direct in pursuing our own desires rather than waste time worrying about someone else.
Well.. everyone except Rachel beat me to what I would have came up with.
I definitely agree with what has already been said.
But I want to add that Emerson tries to remind us that in life, if we make a promise or commitment to our own lives, then we need to stick to that. Although the people in your life may be very important.. taking care of yourself should be first priority. It's difficult to take care of others if you can't take care of yourself.
Obviously there was a street called Ill Avenue and Emerson just forgot to capitalize "ill" in his poem. He wants us to seal up the potholes in this road because he was severely annoyed every time he drove his big expensive solid-gold hummer and they damaged his tires. And Emerson wants YOU to pay for his damage to his tires because god says so.
I actually like Philip's idea the most. However I, being much less creative, took this poem to mean that people should look at every mistake they made or wrong doing they did as an offense made to God. We should look at everything with importance and ask for the forgiveness of others, just as if we had sinned and asked the forgiveness of God. Everything matters, even the little things. But making up for your mistakes is your responsibility, hence the title. It is up to you to pay back each "debt."
It seems like Emerson is saying debt is a problem and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. God wants us to own our own stuff, and to not constantly rely on others. Plus, the reason it is so short is because he is stating a point, and poems do not need to be so long to get the idea across.
I think what Emerson is trying to say is that he wants everyone to clean up their lives and live a life that God wants them to live. Sorry for the typo.
I want to add that the shortness of the poem encourages self reliance, characteristic of the Transcendentalist era. The poem is short because it want you to figure out how to deal with your problems, instead of telling you how.
Whitman is saying that one should live life to the fullest extent. If God wrote a bill, I believe that every debt would be payed off immediately, and that is probably what Whitman is getting at. Don't do anything half-heartedly. If you're not going to finish a project, it's better to not even start.
I think Emerson is saying that we should pay back our debts to other people in full, and then pay them more. God would be generous with the tip if he was the one paying the bill. However, I don't know how that fits in with the first line or the title, so I'm probably wrong.
I think Emerson is trying to point out that we should do every deed in our life to the fullest and be completely devoted to our task. It could also be interpreted as to clean up your own backyard and God will take care of everyone else's. It is not our duty to judge others but to encourage them in love. We cannot fully help someone with their struggles unless we clense ourselves through God wholly.
In this poem, I think Emerson is saying God gave us the body we are living in and for that we are eternally in debt to him. He loaned us our bodies, minds, and personalities, so how can we pay him? I feel like this poem is interpreted all on how you believe in God.
Emerson is saying that everyone should pay their own way in life, essentially. If people were as concerned with themselves as they are with others, everyone would be better off.
God has given us everything and we are ultimitly indebted to him. I believe that Emerson is telling us that we can try to repay God by being the best people we can be.
Not a very long poem but i feel like it's one that is supposed to make us use our noggins...I feel he's saying do everything as if we were doing it directly for God and to treat others as he would treat us.
When Emerson said, "Pay every debt, as if God wrote the bill," I think that he means that whenever you are paying a debt to someone, no matter what kind of debt it may be, think of God while you are doing it because we are eternally grateful to him for dying on the cross for our sins.
I believe that Emerson is asking you to do your part to make the world a better place. God gave us this world and everything in it, and we should treat it all with the utmost respect. He asks us to try to get rid of the things that cause disharmony and hate in our society, because ths is God's kngdom on earth of which we have been made tewards.
For such a short poem, it speaks volumes. My interpretation is that "sealing up the avenues" would be to stop or prevent something. Emerson is saying that you must work hard to pay your debts faithfully so you can prevent "ill". There are many kinds of ill that could come from failure to repay someone, such as anger and lack of trust. Others will recognize that you are not loyal and therefore refuse to help you again in the future. Furthermore, if you continue to borrow without repayment, you will lose initiative and work ethic.
Like Rebecca said, I think the part about paying like God pays a bill with a generous tip.
To tie it in with the title, "to each his own" makes me think of the great diversity in the universe, and with Emerson's first line, if we wish to promote good stuff and 'seal up the avenues of ill', then we need to be generous in regards to others mistakes or even simple cultural or behavioral differences. It makes me think of Matthew 18:21-22.
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
The point wasn't about giving a number to how many times one should forgive someone else, but on the fact that we need to be forgiving.
I think that is one of the things Emerson is trying to say.
To each his own. It is saying that to one, getting ahead in life and achieving their ambitions is the most important thing. To another, being compassionate and helping those less fortunate is the most important thing. However, I believe in order to have a balanced society, we need some of both. It is imploring us to think about our wrong-doings as if we were doing them against the highest power-God himself. Would we still do them if we knew he was directly affected?- to each his own, according to how much each individual cares about those watching him.
I think the first line of the poem is asking if people will stop doing bad things and the second line goes along with it as an example. So, pay your debts like a good person! :)
To be honest, I have no clue what this one is about. Ms. Smith, is this the entire poem? It seems, well, a little short.
ReplyDeleteSince the title is "Each to His Own", I think Emerson is trying to tell people to focus on their own debts and troubles instead of trying to fix other people's. When he says "Wilt thou seal up the avenues of ill?" , I think Emerson is telling people they can't possibly make other people walk on a path of righteousness by trying to close off all other ways. Instead, he asks people to pay their own debts.
ReplyDelete~Allison Bouslog
In this poem, I think that Emerson is attempting to motivate us to do our best in life. No matter what we decide to do, we should dedicate ourselves 100% it, as if each action was for God Himself.
ReplyDelete-Katie Toth
It sounds like Emerson is making a statement about how trying to keep up with the lives of everyone else should be a minor priority, if one at all, compared to keeping track of one's own life. Also, the fact that this poem is only two lines long may represent his point that we should be direct in pursuing our own desires rather than waste time worrying about someone else.
ReplyDelete-Ineke Moore
Well.. everyone except Rachel beat me to what I would have came up with.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what has already been said.
But I want to add that Emerson tries to remind us that in life, if we make a promise or commitment to our own lives, then we need to stick to that. Although the people in your life may be very important.. taking care of yourself should be first priority. It's difficult to take care of others if you can't take care of yourself.
- Shannon Nguyen
Uh... I got nothing from this so I'm gonna say it's about gambling
ReplyDeleteObviously there was a street called Ill Avenue and Emerson just forgot to capitalize "ill" in his poem. He wants us to seal up the potholes in this road because he was severely annoyed every time he drove his big expensive solid-gold hummer and they damaged his tires. And Emerson wants YOU to pay for his damage to his tires because god says so.
ReplyDelete--Philip Wolfe
I actually like Philip's idea the most. However I, being much less creative, took this poem to mean that people should look at every mistake they made or wrong doing they did as an offense made to God. We should look at everything with importance and ask for the forgiveness of others, just as if we had sinned and asked the forgiveness of God. Everything matters, even the little things. But making up for your mistakes is your responsibility, hence the title. It is up to you to pay back each "debt."
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Emerson is saying debt is a problem and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. God wants us to own our own stuff, and to not constantly rely on others. Plus, the reason it is so short is because he is stating a point, and poems do not need to be so long to get the idea across.
ReplyDeleteMary Eisenhower
I think what Emerson is trying to say is that he wants everyone to is to just clean up their lives and to live a life that God wants them to.
ReplyDelete-Patrick Evans
I think what Emerson is trying to say is that he wants everyone to clean up their lives and live a life that God wants them to live.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typo.
-Patrick Evans
I want to add that the shortness of the poem encourages self reliance, characteristic of the Transcendentalist era. The poem is short because it want you to figure out how to deal with your problems, instead of telling you how.
ReplyDeleteWhitman is saying that one should live life to the fullest extent. If God wrote a bill, I believe that every debt would be payed off immediately, and that is probably what Whitman is getting at. Don't do anything half-heartedly. If you're not going to finish a project, it's better to not even start.
ReplyDeleteI think Emerson is saying that we should pay back our debts to other people in full, and then pay them more. God would be generous with the tip if he was the one paying the bill. However, I don't know how that fits in with the first line or the title, so I'm probably wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think Emerson is trying to point out that we should do every deed in our life to the fullest and be completely devoted to our task. It could also be interpreted as to clean up your own backyard and God will take care of everyone else's. It is not our duty to judge others but to encourage them in love. We cannot fully help someone with their struggles unless we clense ourselves through God wholly.
ReplyDeleteRebecca, don't write yourself off as "being wrong." You're usually not wrong! This isn't the kind of thing you can "get wrong."
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, I think Emerson is saying God gave us the body we are living in and for that we are eternally in debt to him. He loaned us our bodies, minds, and personalities, so how can we pay him? I feel like this poem is interpreted all on how you believe in God.
ReplyDeleteEmerson is saying that everyone should pay their own way in life, essentially. If people were as concerned with themselves as they are with others, everyone would be better off.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Akridge
I think that based on the title, Emerson is saying that we should be independant. We should fix our own mistakes, so that we will not make them again.
ReplyDeleteThis is indeed the entire poem. That's the beauty of poetry! It can be any length and any format!
ReplyDeleteGod has given us everything and we are ultimitly indebted to him. I believe that Emerson is telling us that we can try to repay God by being the best people we can be.
ReplyDeleteNot a very long poem but i feel like it's one that is supposed to make us use our noggins...I feel he's saying do everything as if we were doing it directly for God and to treat others as he would treat us.
ReplyDeletei'm going to say that it means that god gave you a bill to pay and no one else.
ReplyDelete-Joey Hanson
When Emerson said, "Pay every debt, as if God wrote the bill," I think that he means that whenever you are paying a debt to someone, no matter what kind of debt it may be, think of God while you are doing it because we are eternally grateful to him for dying on the cross for our sins.
ReplyDelete-Maggie Peake
this is one short poem. Is this even a poem? Is it saying that take every day as your last day because you will never know when God calls you home.
ReplyDeletethat was mine, right above, I forgot to put my name.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Naatz
I believe that Emerson is asking you to do your part to make the world a better place. God gave us this world and everything in it, and we should treat it all with the utmost respect. He asks us to try to get rid of the things that cause disharmony and hate in our society, because ths is God's kngdom on earth of which we have been made tewards.
ReplyDeleteIt think it's saying that you do not know when to die so when you still on the ground do not committed something you might regret die.
ReplyDeleteFor such a short poem, it speaks volumes. My interpretation is that "sealing up the avenues" would be to stop or prevent something. Emerson is saying that you must work hard to pay your debts faithfully so you can prevent "ill". There are many kinds of ill that could come from failure to repay someone, such as anger and lack of trust. Others will recognize that you are not loyal and therefore refuse to help you again in the future. Furthermore, if you continue to borrow without repayment, you will lose initiative and work ethic.
ReplyDeleteLike Rebecca said, I think the part about paying like God pays a bill with a generous tip.
ReplyDeleteTo tie it in with the title, "to each his own" makes me think of the great diversity in the universe, and with Emerson's first line, if we wish to promote good stuff and 'seal up the avenues of ill', then we need to be generous in regards to others mistakes or even simple cultural or behavioral differences. It makes me think of Matthew 18:21-22.
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
The point wasn't about giving a number to how many times one should forgive someone else, but on the fact that we need to be forgiving.
I think that is one of the things Emerson is trying to say.
Live your life like God wants you to, but live it to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteTo each his own.
ReplyDeleteIt is saying that to one, getting ahead in life and achieving their ambitions is the most important thing. To another, being compassionate and helping those less fortunate is the most important thing. However, I believe in order to have a balanced society, we need some of both. It is imploring us to think about our wrong-doings as if we were doing them against the highest power-God himself. Would we still do them if we knew he was directly affected?- to each his own, according to how much each individual cares about those watching him.
I think this poem is about the individual, and the choices they make for better or for worse.
ReplyDeleteLucero
I think the first line of the poem is asking if people will stop doing bad things and the second line goes along with it as an example. So, pay your debts like a good person! :)
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is trying to tell people to fix their own problems before the individual tries to solve any body else poem.
ReplyDeleteThat is NOT the entire poem, there is much more to it. http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/7560/
ReplyDelete