The Individual in "Chains of Illusion”

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

Another principle expressed by these writers is that of individualism. Society of the time said that the lawmakers had a sense of right and wrong and that their laws should be followed without question or thought. Emerson and Thoreau thought that people should think for them selves first. This is expressed in Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience":

He believes that when adults conform to the behavior of a baby, which is generally seen as juvenile and naive, they, in essence, “become” a baby, which is to say they become juvenile and naive. This shows that Emerson believes that to conform is to be childish and stupid, and that, because the baby does not conform to the adults, it has the power to make the adults conform to it. Therefore, Emerson is obviously against conformity and, so, strongly advocates for nonconformity.

In his book The Future of An Illusion, Freud (1928) struggled to create a theory that

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”

From an early age, Dahmer had feelings of abandonment. People who engage in necrophilia behavior is believe to suffer from low self-esteem. The fear of rejection is a factor believed to attribute to developing this disorder (Necrophilia, n.d.). As with Dahmer, as long as his victims were dead, there was no risk of rejection.

     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."

In the 1800s there were two civil obedience leaders. Though they spoke their opinions in different parts of the world they still were similar in many ways, although they also have differences. Thoreau based his opinion civil obedience on protesting against his unjust government and how his people should disobey the law. Gandhi based his opinion of civil obedience on demanding Britain to quit India but that didn’t go so well. Even though Thoreau and Gandhi are two different people that both tried to do what they thought was best for their country and people.

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.

Thoreau said, "Government is best which governs not at all." For society to be able to survive without government, all members of society must be willing and able to do what is right. They must always do what is good for the community rather than for themselves and they mustn't be tempted by greed, lust, or hate. If all members of society cannot meet these requirements, then a government is needed to resolve problems that arise. Emerson's philosophy is based on the idea that people are inherently good, and will eventually make each decision based on their good nature. According to him, every person knows in their soul the difference between right and wrong, and wants to do right. However, if one member of society strays from his good nature and acts in a way that is detrimental to the community, all of society can no longer follow the advice of Emerson or Thoreau.

Most people agree immediately with what they hear even if it is not completely true, So does that give writers and or speakers the right to say anything they want just for the sake of acquiring the attention of the listeners and or readers?

Emerson’s anti-institutionalism- rejection of institutions as an obstacle to the project of cultivating such individuals.

Imitation is suicide is what really stands out; Emerson believes that following someone else’s footsteps is not how someone should live their life. If an individual is doing what makes them happy and ambitious then Emerson thinks that person is on the right track and has individual knowledge figured out. Improving as an individual is more important in Emerson’s mind. He later also goes on to say, “The objection to conforming to usages that have become dead to you is that it scatters your force. It loses your time and blurs the impression of your character” (Emerson, 299). Losing your impression of your character is a major point Emerson claims to make about conforming to society. Emerson may admire the idea of individualism; others may disagree with his ideas, such as

In “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau both authors voiced their opinions on society and what is expected from citizens. Emerson’s essays focuses on the need for individuals to dodge conventionality and false uniformity, and instead follow their own guts and thoughts focusing on one self more. Thoreau’s essay is more focused on patriotism, those who not fully support the rejection of government, but resistance to those laws that he deemed to be unjust or immoral.

The line separating reality and the illusion of reality is a blur. The line separating the narrator’s self-aware expression and his story telling is a blur. The line separating Ambrose and the narrator is a blur. All of this may blur understanding. It is clear, however, that these blurs exist because of the “funhouse”. A funhouse, Lost in the funhouse, in which exist other funhouses. Various funhouses exist in the story and in the writing. For this reason, the title Lost in the funhouse is very significant.