The Importance of Non-conformity and Independent Beliefs in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance

I share this view of society with Emerson: “Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue of request is conformity. Self-Reliance is its aversion.”

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.

Though the existence of some objective moral code may appear to contradict Emerson’s “insist on yourself, never imitate” motto on individuality and the self, ultimately, Emerson means that self-truth is the most sacred truth, and that some degree of right and wrong exists in Nature. On the most basic level, self-reliance refers to the process of self-betterment, not through organized religion or worship, but from looking within, from taking matters into one’s own hands and listening to one’s internal sense. When in touch with this sense, men will arrive at conclusions that have a certain Natural quality; they will just feel right.

Emerson begins his major work on individualism by declaring the importance of thinking for oneself instead of humbly acquiring someone else’s belief. Emerson says, “To believe that what is true in your private heart is true for all men — that is genius”. The one who scorns personal intuition and, instead, chooses to admit others' opinions lacks the inventive power necessary for strong, fearless individualism. Emerson says, “Trust thyself,” a saying that ties along this initial section of the essay. This simply resembles to believe others' judgments is poor-spirited, with no inspiration or hope. An individual with dignity, exhibits originality and is childish unspoiled by egoistic desires but mature. Emerson currently focuses his attention

Emerson’s “Self- Reliance” was written in a time where America was breaking away from the European norms and European control. America was used to thinking and conforming to the European way, but when we broke away we had learn how to think and do for ourselves. Emerson wrote on this topic of conformity and learning to think for ourselves because, he soon began to see a problem when we conform to society.

Through excellent metaphors, Emerson stresses that you must first trust yourself to achieve greatness from your own genius, to realize your potential, and to be self-reliant. Your inner genius, when tapped into, allows you to build self-reliance. Some people might argue that you only need to depend on yourself. If you are totally self-reliant you’re going to have a narrow perspective because you can only pull from your own life experiences or from your own family’s or community’s involvement. However, I am arguing that Emerson uses strong metaphors to show that even with a belief in individualism and self-reliance, one must also trust other sources such as society and God.

Emerson wants people to follow their own individual thinkings, and not conform to everybody else. If you conform to other people, you’re just becoming a copy of another person, and you can’t be yourself. He also wants people to be honest and open when coming into a relationship.

Self-reliance essay of Emerson was a combination of the thoughts, ideas, and activities that he had recorded in his journals over a number of years. In the entire narrative, Emerson emphasizes the need for one to rely on his/herself for knowledge and guidance. He discusses the essay in three parts. The first part of the essay focuses on the importance of self-reliance by indicating the benefits of one thinking for his/her own self rather than blindly accepting other people’s idea. In the second section, he discusses the relationship between self-reliance and individualism. He states that people who have the desire to be self-reliant need to realize their worth as a person and keep it under their control. In the last part, Emerson shows the relationship between self-reliance and the society that one lives in. He argues that self-reliant people can transform a society into a more desirable and realistic place.

After reading Emerson’s essay, I noticed a big difference between him and the rest of narratives we read. Emerson believed in being independent, and not being influenced by anything and anyone around you. He assumed that the mind’s primary theme is an unhappy conformism. In his essay “Self-Reliance”, he focused on his catch-phrase "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string " (Emerson, 270).

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.

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.

In “Self-Reliance”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the audience can see a theme of a desire for an individualistic society. Ralph Emerson wrote: “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist” (935). This statement is

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.

SELF-RELIANCE Self-Reliance is to depend on one's own powers and resources rather than the influence, opinions, and directives of others. Emerson’s concept of self-reliance is that each person should listen to their inner voice, instead of others around them. Emerson speaks strongly on how others tend to follow the popular choice, or the crowd that leads the way but does not to follow one’s conscious and what one truly feels. When Emerson says “you find those who think they know your duty better than you know it” he hopes to advice people, to trust their own choices and decisions; instead of those who feel like they have it all out for you.

Self-Reliance emphasizes that individuals must avoid conformity and express individuality and one should follow their own ideas. Emerson sees society