According to Emerson, gifts shuold be given with no personal gratification in mind for the giver. He thinks that it's okay if you give a simple gift of necessity since it's still a gift nevertheless. When receiving a gift you shouldn't be overly glad or disappointed in it. If one is overly glad, it shows that that person wasn't capable of going and getting this object they needed for their own selves. Also, if one receives a gift that is exactly what they want, it means that that person is exposing too much of themselves to others in terms of their material needs. He thinks that gifts should represent a part of the giver. If it doesn't, it serves as an artificial social tie since the gift could be taken gladly or sorrowfully. One can tell when a gift is given thoughtlessly if it doesn't help bring the giver's character to the surface. If one can't tell who gave them that gift, that means its a bad gift and there is no emotion or sentiment behind it. This is a lose-lose situation in Emerson's eyes, because either emotion in receiving the gift has faults. He is critiquing the norm of people who take pride in gift giving and receiving because to him there are so many subconscious wrongs that go behind each one...
3 comments:
Dearest Elaina,
I thought you took Emerson's point of view into account quite very well in your post. I sort of drew the mother/child conclusion out of it. The idea that a child can give anything to their mother and their mother will love it no matter what. The quessential idea that it's the thought that counts above all. One question for you is, how do you plan on incorporating Emerson's ideas into your life, or do you even plan on it? Do you think that artificial gifts are bad all the time, or are there certain times when maybe the idea of a "fake" gift isn't really all that terrible?
My favorite thing about your post was how in the beginning you really emphasized that upon receiving a gift it's important to not be too happy, yet at the same time you don't want to act like you just received a lump of coal in your stocking.
Love,
Frannie
I really like your point about someone liking their gift too much. Gifts should not represent materialist things. I agree with your thought that you cannot lose emotion by connection to the aesthetics of the gift itself. The gift should continue to be meaningful to the giver and the one recieving the gift.
With this, one must continue to actually put thought into the gifts being given. This way a gift will show their thoughts and the kind of person they are.
nice job.
Elaina-
I think you explained very well the part of Emerson's thesis about if the person receiving the gift likes the gift too much it means they are “exposing too much of themselves to others in terms of their material needs." I had not really understood this part of his argument until I read your post. I also thought you discussed the importance of giving meaningful gifts well. You said that if you cannot tell who the gift is from the giver has not given a thoughtful gift. I think this is a very interesting way to think about this point.
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