Stone Wall Of Individualism Analysis

For example, in Self-Reliance, Emerson discusses the importance of an individual’s resistance to conforming to social norms. Listing the several benefits of non-conformity, he surmises that accepting public opinion as one’s own ultimately leads to the wasting of one’s life. He further stresses the importance of non-conformity through great figures such as Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, and Newton, all who were initially ridiculed for their innovative ideas and perspectives on the surrounding world. Furthermore, he notes that any apparent inconsistency will ultimately be consistency when examined on a life-long scale. All of the fluctuations, when viewed on a larger scale, will depict an average tendency. He concludes that our individual natures allow us to combat false consistency, as well as conformity, and allow us to become self-reliant--to be able to express autonomy over our individual

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, Self-Reliance, he claims that everyone can be independent; however, his argument is quixotic today because most individuals in present times are ignorant and do not value themselves as they should.

In the mind-shattering piece of art named “Self Reliance”, Ralph Waldo Emerson said the famous words, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” In the excerpts from “Self Reliance” and “On Various Kinds of Thinking,” one can gather that Ralph Waldo Emerson and James Harvey Robinson shared similar values and views on the flaws society carries, and the many reasons for these flaws. At the same time, the two enlightened authors have different views on how and why knowledge is pursued. To summarize, the two loquacious authors have both similar viewpoints, but also several different opinions.

There is a machine that take people, and makes them into things. It takes passion, creativity and individuality, and strips it away leaving not even a person but thing embraces monotony and conformity. Every person who embraces it, simply becomes a replaceable clogs to eventually be thrown away. They becomes destin for a meaningless life devoid of purpose.This disastrous machine is society. These views are the only way one can live life to the fullest through the views of nonconformity and self reliance while being willing to accept the consequences it entails

Another literary element that is used to convey the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby is through point of view. In Bartleby, the Scrivener the point of view that is used is that of first person narration. By Melville's use of first person narration it allows us to get close to Bartleby but still be confused and in awe of him and since we see him through the eyes of his employer we can quickly identify with the narrator's confusing feelings over Bartleby. An example of this appears on page 127 in paragraph 6; "I sat awhile in perfect silence, rallying my stunned faculties. Immediately it occurred to me that my ears had deceived me, or Bartleby had entirely misunderstood my meaning. I repeated my request in the clearest tone I could assume; but in quite as clear a one came the previous reply, "I would prefer not to." Here Bartleby has just refused orders from his boss who sits at his desk stunned at wheat he has just heard. This is not the only time throughout the story in which Bartleby does this and always with the same words; "I would prefer not to" which only frustrates and confuses the narrator. Another contributor to the narrator's growing

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.

“I am not in this world to live up to other people 's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine”, states Fritz Pearls in the “Gestalt Prayer”. As a noted German-born psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Pearls’ quote casts a spot light on social awareness versus self- independence and nonconformity. Similar to the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street”, published in Putnam’s Monthly Magazine in 1853 by Herman Melville. The narrator, is an elderly lawyer with a small time firm who hires a scrivener named Bartleby. In the beginning Bartleby does the work asked of him by the lawyer but as time progresses he stops working completely using the phrase “I would prefer not to” as a form of negligible defiance. As a result of Bartleby’s consistent refusal to complete various tasks and to leave the establishment the lawyer is forced to move his practice elsewhere. The lawyer returns to find that Bartleby was labeled as a vagrant and removed from the office by law enforcement. The lawyer’s strange obsession with Bartleby drives him to visit him in the tombs that have become his prison. As he continued his defiance in the form of refusal of food, he soon dies from starvation.

Looking at the very first time Bartleby refuses to examine the copies, the reader might think that the narrator is going to dislike him very much, but this is not true at all. When the narrator first hears the refusal, he comes to anger very quickly. He is baffled at Bartleby’s response and proceeds to ask his other employees what their opinions might be. However, the passive nature of Bartleby turns the narrator’s anger into an appreciation for the character. The narrator even tells the reader that Bartleby “means no mischief; it is plain he intends no insolence…. he is useful to me” (Melville 152). This attitude holds strong until Bartleby refuses to do any work at all. The narrator’s thoughts turn into anger again, and he tells Bartleby that “the time has come, you must quit this place” (Melville 159). Nonetheless, after Bartleby also refuses this command, the narrator takes on the responsibility of caring for the poor man. This type of change reflects all of the characters’ changing views of Bartleby throughout the whole story.

In short, Herman Melville’s story “Bartleby, the scrivener”, tells the tale of a successful lawyer hiring a new copyist and the challenges he faced with his new hire. Initially, the new hire, Bartleby, was extremely driven and very efficient. He had a great work ethic, and had an extraordinary output of writing for the head lawyer. On the third day Bartleby stunned his boss by preferring not to comply with his boss’s request. Bartleby’s refusal to comply was at first directed at anything outside of his copyist responsibilities, but gradually shifted toward refusing to do anything including his responsibilities as a copyist. Upon further analysis into Bartleby’s descent from a productive scrivener, to utterly useless in the office. I have found a connection between the people that isolate others because of differences, and the people that choose to stray away from “normal behavior”. This impacts the isolated person, people are negatively impacted when they live in isolation and have little personal and emotional connection with others. Without any emotional connection or contact with others, humans lose their purpose in life, or become useless like in Bartleby in the office.

Imagine a world where there is no society. Imagine if there was no technology and everybody just lived in isolation. In Emerson’s essay, “Self-Reliance,” he illustrates his ideas on the tenet by using metaphors. Nonconformity means being mentally and physically separated from society, a quality which sometimes overlaps with the ideas behind self-reliance. In “Where I Lived and What I Lived For,” Thoreau uses personal experiences, description, and problem-and-solution. Emerson and Thoreau begin by using different techniques, Thoreau using problem-and-solution and description, while Emerson uses cause-and-effect, yet both use cause-and-effect to develop the idea that one should be independent of society in the end.

	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.

Secondly, in the works of “Self-Reliance” written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, when he is talking about the way people think he states, “it is easy 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” This quote is saying that if you are surrounded by a community, do your own thing, which is wrong. The individual needs to be able to blend with a community by still having their own identity. If that individual accomplishes anything, they would feel like they would have to keep it to themselves because they are their own individual. You do need to be your own person, but that means nothing if you don’t have any companionship or relationships in your life to share

In other words, it is better to be true to an evil nature of your own will then the behave “correctly” because it is what society demands. The first section of this essay is about the need of acting independently and trusting yourself to avoid the conformity of

We live in a time of the “ME” generation. A generation that has left moral standards behind them in seek of self – fulfillment. Taylor describes this as individualism, one of the malaises of Modernity. Individualism is defined as a social theory that places importance on the individual instead of part of a group (Individualism, 2017). Although this is seen as one of the greatest achievements of modern life as it values the individual and the individual’s needs, Taylor argues that it has resulted in a society that is egotistical, selfish and lacking in values and morals. He argues that “people no longer have a sense of a higher purpose, of something worth dying for” (Taylor, 1991). The problem with individualism is that self - triumph is the top priority and people will do anything to achieve this state no matter the cost (Caleb, 2017).

Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self. - B.R. Ambedkar