What is Self-Reliance?

The opening paragraph of Self Reliance states three of my favorite quotes from the entire piece, one of which is: “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”. This quote is very literal and inspirational; however, when reading it at the surface, people might believe that it means their opinion is always right. What the quote is actually saying is that, if you stick to what you believe, and

Self-reliance is the freedom of being independent. One only relies on oneself and doesn’t look for help or for anyone to save them. One is perfectly content with being solely reliant. Three people who believed greatly in self-reliance were Chris McCandless, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. They had many different beliefs and along with acting out in civil disobedience, acting in nonconformity, thinking nature was most important, and being a transcendentalist, they was also self reliant. McCandless, Emerson, and Thoreau were all people who believed strongly in self-reliance.

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

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” Emerson calls for each person in society to be wholly true to themselves. He claims that it is most rewarding to the individual and the society for people to believe in one’s own thoughts and not in the thoughts of others. Emerson believes that conformity will ultimately lead to an individual’s demise because by living for others, people are not being true to themselves. Therefore in order to have a well-formed society, citizens should focus inward and have confidence in their own ideas before beginning to look towards other individuals; moreover, Emerson calls individuals not only in “Self-Reliance,” but also in numerous essays to act independently from conformity and to live for themselves.

There is a large abundance of controversy between individuals over certain topics and what they truly mean. An example of one of these topics is self-reliance. Although there are multiple opinions on the meaning and use of self-reliance the true definition, as found in the dictionary is “a reliance on one’s own efforts and abilities” (Merriam-Webster). Many writers spoke in their writing about their past experiences with self-reliance and what they believe it to be. A few of these writers include Doctor Zhivago, Jon Krakauer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walden, and Peter Buffett. By reading these author’s writings you can clearly understand their views and ideas on self-reliance.

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

“Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Emerson). When you read that quote many would think it is about trusting their first instincts. The way I read it though is trust in your own decisions even if they go off the “normal” beaten path because everyone has their own path they are destined to travel on. This theory of self-reliance is shown in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson since they both display it in following their passion in self-reliance.

Self-Reliance reflects Emerson’s beliefs on Transcendentalism by stating how Emerson believes in inspiration, happiness, and the spiritual measures of inspiration through the depth of the human mind itself. “The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried” (Pg. 774). Emerson in Self-Reliance puts majority of the focus on people trusting themselves, using good judgement, and their own knowledge because a new independent idea makes history not the idea that is copied. “Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Pg. 774). Through this idea that Emerson created, the thought of people trusting themselves, using good judgement, and their own knowledge

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.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” was written in 1841 in New England during the Transcendentalist Movement, which was a revolt against the “Age of Reason” and the beginning of Romanticism. Emerson’s essay is about Transcendentalism, the belief that every human has his own way of thinking and personal inborn knowledge to build his opinion, independent from the common beliefs of the community and he should believe in and express his opinion to be successful. Emerson supports the idea of Transcendentalism by urging his readers to trust their own ideas, beliefs and common sense, to listen to and to trust their inner voice and to hold the popular opinion back from influencing their way of thinking, if they want to be successful. He tells

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.

Throughout the essay “Self Reliance”, one of the main concepts the author addressed was that having self empowerment is one of the prominent qualities to have for oneself. Emerson preached, “Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day… Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood” (Emerson). The main point the author tried to convey was that some of the most significant people in history followed their own personal opinions and