How Does Emerson Support Individualism

1. The main theme of the piece “Self-Reliance” is that one should never conform to the way that society views that they should because in doing that, a person loses their individuality. Emerson believed that a person should, “Speak [their] latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense,” meaning that if a person chooses to march to the beat of their own drum, then nobody can tell them their opinion is wrong because at least they are taking a chance and speaking their mind. Emerson’s definition of self-reliance is similar to the common use because both definitions discuss how one should take care of personal needs and be independent. Emerson himself stated that, “the great man is he who

I believe that, essentially, life consists of a series of choices. A grouping of these choices in one direction or another makes us who we are, and ultimately we have control over our lives. What makes one person different from another is his own set of choices. When going through life’s motions, we develop certain worldviews and ideas and values to live by. We develop an opinion of what makes a person “great.” In the well-known essay “Self-Reliance”, Ralph Waldo Emerson provides a beautiful way of approaching these choices, and he reveals a very inspiring set of values centralized around going through life answering only to yourself. I love the way Emerson evaluates the society we live

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” Emerson calls for each person in society to be wholly true to themselves. He claims that it is most rewarding to the individual and the society for people to believe in one’s own thoughts and not in the thoughts of others. Emerson believes that conformity will ultimately lead to an individual’s demise because by living for others, people are not being true to themselves. Therefore in order to have a well-formed society, citizens should focus inward and have confidence in their own ideas before beginning to look towards other individuals; moreover, Emerson calls individuals not only in “Self-Reliance,” but also in numerous essays to act independently from conformity and to live for themselves.

Self-Reliance reflects Emerson’s beliefs on Transcendentalism by stating how Emerson believes in inspiration, happiness, and the spiritual measures of inspiration through the depth of the human mind itself. “The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried” (Pg. 774). Emerson in Self-Reliance puts majority of the focus on people trusting themselves, using good judgement, and their own knowledge because a new independent idea makes history not the idea that is copied. “Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Pg. 774). Through this idea that Emerson created, the thought of people trusting themselves, using good judgement, and their own knowledge

In the essay Self Reliance, Emerson presents the idea of one being able to think independently (apart from society) and then choosing to compromise on those thoughts is suicide. Emerson presents this idea early on in his essay. He states, “envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that man must take himself for better or worse.” This quote describes how having envy or being jealous of someone does not further one’s knowledge and waste their time. It goes on to state that attempting to be someone else is essentially killing one’s own self in terms of personality. This is seen in its most basic form when one follows others blindly never to create their own paths in life. What will most likely lead to a true life lived would be to take one’s self for the bad traits and the good traits. Ultimately, if one decides to be themselves and go through life unphased by such an action as envying or following the masses blindly they can achieve great things on their own.

     Emerson’s writing focused on nonconformity and individuality. In his essay "Self-Reliance," he wrote, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," and, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist."

I agree on Emerson's point of self reliance. I agree with this, because you can’t always rely on other people. Also, if you cannot rely on your own self, you will never be able to do anything alone.

In spite of his individualism, Emerson's thought is similar to the romantic nationalism of 19th century Europe, but where this nationalism focused upon collective entities such as a people, their language and culture, Emerson's focus is upon the individual. In Self-Reliance he says, "it is easy, in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." Where nationalism stresses the development of an authentic national culture free from foreign influences and takes a collective perspective more or less for granted, Emerson applies a similar approach to each individual. Emerson complains that all men hear the inner voice, but most are too scared due to peer pressure to act upon the intuitions. "Society everywhere is a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members." Emerson feels man must work on his own and be diligent and truthful in that work to produce a better society.

As an advocate for both solitary contemplation and social activism, two conflicting ideals, Emerson was able to justify his often lack of political activism by referencing Self-Reliance, written in 1841. In Reliance, Emerson writes, “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustr of the firmament of bards and sages.” A clear example of narcissism, Emerson states the importance of listening to oneself rather than anyone else. Later, Emerson wrote, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the

	Emerson really believes that society is bad, whichever way you look at it. Don't listen to what society has to say, do things on your own free will how you want to do them.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” was written in 1841 in New England during the Transcendentalist Movement, which was a revolt against the “Age of Reason” and the beginning of Romanticism. Emerson’s essay is about Transcendentalism, the belief that every human has his own way of thinking and personal inborn knowledge to build his opinion, independent from the common beliefs of the community and he should believe in and express his opinion to be successful. Emerson supports the idea of Transcendentalism by urging his readers to trust their own ideas, beliefs and common sense, to listen to and to trust their inner voice and to hold the popular opinion back from influencing their way of thinking, if they want to be successful. He tells

Emerson’s quote essentially means to rely on your individuality and never replicate the actions of others. He implies the idea that a person’s identity is special and people should ultimately just be themselves. I completely agree with Emerson’s ideals, as I personally live by these morals every day. I advocate these ideas and influence people to be themselves because they are beautiful human beings.

Emerson's idea of self-reliance provides a look into living a life of solitude, and understanding the mysteries in life. He thinks of self-reliance as some sort of "soul-finding". Emerson believes in, defying the society and becoming one with yourself: " I

Self-reliance is defined as the reliance on one's own efforts and abilities. Self-reliance is part of a movement called transcendentalism led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and other famous figures in history such as Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson. Emerson discusses society, and individuals, and how they relate to the idea of self-reliance. He also recounts the business, religious, government, and family implications of this concept. Through his use of vivid language, Emerson develops his unique world view and explains the theory of self-reliance. Written in 1864, Emerson’s essay discussed his hopes for a society of individuals, which has somewhat come true. Currently in the 21st century, many members of

Emerson promoted a cultural and intellectual type of independence (Woodlief). He declared that the belief in self is what will make an individual grow which in turn will produce growth in society. In his writing, Emerson states that people need to avoid conformity in his statement, “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string”, which additionally also promotes individualism (Emerson B: 270). He believed that humans were inherently good and that each person has unique talents.