Self-reliance Essay

Emerson is all about being his own person and not letting the world get to him, He says that “the only right is what is after my constitution” (source B). It’s almost like he wants the world to leave him alone so he can do his own thing. He’s also not trying to drag anybody into it with him. This is similar to Thoreau’s quote in “Civil Disobedience” stating that a good government doesn’t do a whole lot (source C). It seems as though Thoreau is promoting Emerson’s idea of letting your morals make your own laws. This is a good idea, but it’s a bit much. The laws we have in place are meant to fit most people's’ views and not everyone agrees and that’s ok. It’s a way of promoting individualism by forcing people to go

     One of the primary issues that Emerson tried to convey was that one must follow what they believe is true for themselves and not listen to what other people think. He states,

Emerson has issue with society. He believes that the conformity and “encroachment on peoples’ liberties [hindered the individual.] He says people should look for individual freedom, and in finding that freedom, people will achieve self-reliance” (Yanella 4, 13). More so Emerson does not trust the system that governs society. He sees society as a “joint stock company that is in conspiracy with every one of its members” (“Self-Reliance” 535). Society can be seen as a hindrance on individual thought because a lot of times people will do what society or authority tells them to do without thinking of themselves first.

Emerson also says, “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance: that imitation is suicide…” (242). Here, Emerson does not believe in conformity. He also states, “To be great is to be misunderstood…” (242). This quote means that people with new ideas are often not understood by the general public. Emerson’s quote compares to Parson Hooper because Hooper was a good clergyman; however, he was misunderstood because he wore the black veil. In Thoreau’s essay, “Walden,” he explains the belief of connecting spirituality with nature. He says that one should think freely, learning to understanding more and being able to make further conclusions about life. “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer” (258). Parson Hooper heard “a different drummer” and followed his own way of life. The minister did not want to be like his congregation, he wanted to be his own person. Therefore, Parson Hooper was in fact a Transcendentalist.

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay titled “Self-Reliance” he speaks on the topic of the individual, creating the idea that an individual being independent leads to greatness. Emerson’s writing within this memoir is relatable to young individuals who are looking for themselves, an individual must avoid conformity and false consistency while following their own thoughts making themselves an individual. Within the essay, Emerson uses a range of rhetorical devices to prove that every individual can do great by being an individual and not like everyone else, something that young people everywhere should hear while growing up with the heinous act of peer pressure.

     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."

A key difference between the philosophies of Emerson and Thoreau as articulated in “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” is their vision of how individuals should shape society and government. Emerson believes that one should only follow his own conscience and intellect not the opinions of the crowd. Emerson argues that it is not only possible to successfully defy the common practices and beliefs of society, but that “to be great is to be misunderstood”

In everything that I do I decide to go the road less traveled, I make the choice to see something in a different way than everyone else. I choose not to wear the same clothes as most people do, I choose to always say what is on my mind and I try my hardest to not let what people may think of me interfere with what I say I and do. I consider myself a non-conformist for these reasons. Even when it comes to culture: I would much prefer the independent, locally-owned video shop where I can find obscure movies to the gigantic Blockbuster. I don’t choose to listen to Popular music or buy the CD’s of artists being shoved down our throats by MTV. I choose to find my own flavor, to disregard the overwhelming majority to the best of my ability. My feelings go along with Emerson’s again in “Self-Reliance”: “A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he.” Continuing on the subject of conformity Emerson provides the famous line: “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” Stressing again the view of answering only

Emerson had given out a speech that was entitled "The American Scholar" to a crowded house at Harvard. The speech was a very powerful and moving call to Americans to get out from under Europe 's control and form their own culture, shaped by the nation 's unique history and geography. In it he also described that in nature we make our own choice from what is given in nature, and we are to find it for we are all given the choices to select from. Emerson wrote, “- - present to all particular men only partially, or through one faculty; and that you must take the whole society to find the whole man. Man is not a farmer, or a professor, or an

. Emerson categorize the “little statesmen and philosophers” to be the politicians and the scientist per say and then he characterizes the “misunderstood” to be the divines or the churches. In which, the difference between the two is vast the statesmen and philosophers abide by their greedy rule while the misunderstood abide by a more spiritual and logical way of

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

In On his last paragraph on “Self-Reliance” he said, “speak what you think now I hard word, and tomorrow speak what thinks in hard words again.” to make a change you can't just shut up and do nothing. You need to stand up for what you believe and if you truly believe that something that is right you will stand up for yourself. Emerson said in Paragraph two, “and we are now men, and must accept in the highest

Society and Solitude written by Ralph Waldo Emerson states what society means to him. Emerson states, “ To be a member of society is to be a conformist, and this makes self reliance impossible.” (Emerson paragraph 2)This quote explains that Emerson believes that to live in our society you have to go with the normal. He states that society makes it hard to come up with your own ideas or opinions. Emerson emphasizes that “It is so easy with the great to be great; so easy to come up with an existing standard.” (Emerson paragraph 1) Emerson is saying that if you have all the ingredients to be great than you will be, and if not then you won’t. In his essay Emerson believes that society will break a person, and it is better to have your own morals and ideas. This

	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.

Emerson criticizes that men do not even try to build their own opinion because they blindly trust the thoughts of the majority or they conform to the will of the community because their opinion differs from the common beliefs. They do not have enough courage and self-confidence to express their opinion since they are afraid that other men could look down at them because they do not have the same opinion. This turns them into just one, tiny, unimportant part of billions of people, whose thoughts are basically equal, but exactly the aspect of being different from everybody else, being an individual, being special and having his own personality is what a human being is all about and is necessary for having success.