Self Reliance Essay

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

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 “Self-Reliance”, Emerson adopts the rhetorical strategy of aphorisms to annex what he thinks by enriching his thesis, while allowing a pause in the reader’s mind to comprehend just what he is saying. Emerson’s honest aphorism advises people to actually believe in themselves in order to be triumphant by saying, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men, --- that is genius” (Emerson 1) and “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Emerson 3). The aphorism demonstrates that believing in themselves, and what is important to them, the reader, is what everyone else does, that being an individual is a genius idea. Comparing this to what society, especially the younger individuals with in society, they themselves hear differently, that they

People around the world and throughout time have always had an idea of spirituality. The spirit has been thought of as an essential part of human nature. The evidence is in the common culture of religions in the world. The soul is the essence of humanity and spirituality is the condition of one’s soul. Spirituality is the condition of a consciousness. One answer to creating this essential growth in spirituality is Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the rebellion of one’s soul against the societal laws that humanity upholds. It is the integrity of a being and the healing of a scarred mind through nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a major figure in transcendentalist literature and wrote two separate essays, one being named “Self-Reliance”, and the other “Nature”. Spiritual growth of all kinds is motivated by these transcendentalist impulses, shown through literary impressions and comparisons, mainly through Emerson, around the themes of self-reliance, poetic nature, and the influence of that nature on the soul.

In “Self Reliance”, Emerson discusses being one’s own person and not allowing society to mold someone like a piece of clay; “Trust thyself” are the exact words he used. Trusting oneself means it is okay to be different if one wants or chooses to be different. It

Emerson claims, “To believe your own thought...that is genius...A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages”(14). In this quote, he states that we must be able to detect and live by what we believe and trust our own thoughts as we contain all the amount of wisdom needed to live and succeed.

b) This synecdoche helps further explain Emerson’s extreme belief in self-reliance. The quote states that one must trust his or her instincts and not give in to what anyone else might have to say. Emerson believes that when one doubts his or her instincts, he or she is merely giving in to the unreachable standards society has implemented on it’s members.

In the mid-1830s, Ralph Waldo Emerson created a belief called Transcendentalism. He wrote the essay, “Self Reliance” and Henry David Thoreau, another Transcendentalist wrote an essay called, “Walden.” Both works of literature focus on the Transcendentalism belief. In “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne reveals both Transcendentalism and Anti-Transcendentalism through the attitudes of the characters. Therefore, “The Minister’s Black Veil” can be compared and contrasted with both “Self Reliance” and “Walden.”

In Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, the whole text is trying to make you understand that being

One of the most famous texts ever written for the sheer purpose of Transcendentalism was Emerson’s Self Reliance. In his essay, he writes about the importance of nonconformity and individualism. In Self Reliance, Emerson tells us to “trust thyself.” From only two words, one can gather the whole purpose of his essay. With nonconformity, man can defend himself against the tendency to become satisfied with life, and lose his own individuality. With “good- humored inflexibility” the self-reliant person can become someone who obeys himself. When it comes to a battle of law or a battle of morals, the self-reliant man will follow his morals and discard the law. One is not to use their logic, but use intuition. Emerson simply was striving for not the superiority of one man, but for originality and individuality of all humankind. He wanted to

There have been numerous religious rebellions throughout history, but none quite like that of Transcendentalism. This movement embodies the idea that spiritual growth can be achieved through personal journey instead of conflicting with organized religion. By the time of the movement’s onset, newly gained religious freedom in the United States allowed for new ideas and beliefs to prosper freely. At the heart of this movement was Transcendentalism philosophy famous ambassadors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and apprentice Henry David Thoreau. These men believed nature is what forces us not to depend on other ideas but to develop our own.

     Ralph Emerson wrote many journals and essays dealing with the subject of transcendentalism. One of his most famous works is the essay “Self-Reliance.” In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson hit on the idea that the individual should be completely reliant on God, and that every person has been put into their certain life and position by God and that the person needs to trust themselves. He said that God has put the power to handle things, think, and act into each individual and that the individual needs to trust what God has put inside them to do things with their lives. The idea is almost that of predestination, except for the fact that we have the choice of which road to take. Predestination is the idea that a higher power, or God, has planned everything that will happen to a person in their life.

A Quote from, Emerson Self-reliance tells how people should consider themselves, “Insist on yourself; never imitate, your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have an extemporaneous half possession” (Emerson 166). Emerson’s is encouraging people to be self-Reliant and use their own instincts. A person should trust their selves before other; because they are the only ones who can see into their own heart.

During the late 1820’s and 1830’s in the United States, transcendentalism came into light as a response to take a stand against the broad condition of spirituality and intellectualism. Many pieces of written work from that time period utilized the transcendentalist literary style. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance” contains a dense amount of characteristics related to the transcendentalism period. The transcendentalist elements exploited in the essay helped develop the ideas of individuality and nonconformity in society. Emerson uses transcendental core beliefs throughout the essay to project his thoughts and feelings and to inspire the readers to think and act more as individuals.