ipl-logo

Ralph Waldo Emerson Individualism Essay

798 Words4 Pages

“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson produces a definitive statement of the idea of individualism. Throughout the essay, Emerson follows the major theme of individualism in not only personal, but also societal and religious aspects of one’s life. These ideas may have come to Emerson’s mind because he is a transcendentalist. Transcendentalists believe in the power of independence and knowledge. The passage above captures this theme of individualism and supports the transcendentalist tone for the entire essay. Emerson’s essay points to the idea that it is important for each person to follow whatever his conscience wants at any particular time. Earlier in the essay Emerson writes “the other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them” (554). With this sentence, he is explaining that people are afraid of how others perceive them so when Emerson says that people are of “little minds,” like from my chosen passage, he is talking about those who do care about what others think and change themselves because of it. They fear reversing their previous thoughts because they think that they will be judged. …show more content…

He wants people to be independent thinkers. He doesn’t mind if people contradict themselves because at least those people were regularly thinking. In fact, Emerson wants people to change their minds and improve their previous thoughts in order to make discoveries and never have an empty mind. By being an independent thinker and changing one’s mind, people will make

Show More
Related

  • Walden Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    668 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Self-Reliance, he talks about how people benefit from their hard work and enjoy it a lot more when they don’t accept help. Emerson is very straight forward with his opinion but does not try to blantely offend the audience like Thoreau does. He gives his audience an option to think about what he has said, rather than force it down their throats. Also, in Self-Reliance, he talks about how being different and misunderstood can be a good thing at times because many past geniuses were. Emerson gives examples to support his opinions and tries to convince the audience rather than trying to force the audience to see things from one viewpoint.

    Read More

  • Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr. And Haley Schmutz's Argument

    582 Words  | 3 Pages

    The quote “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, can be lived by many people in the world. For example Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr. and Haley Schmutz all live by this quote. Albert Einstein lived by the quote “ To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” by Ralph Waldo Emerson because was a different thinker. Einstein was a different kind of thinker than others because thinking outside the box was one of him many differences than others.(Anderson 23).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

    1139 Words  | 5 Pages

    As Ralph Waldo Emerson, a philosopher who helped lead the transcendental movement, said in his essay Self Reliance, ““...the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plate, and Milton is, that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men but what they thought.” This quote embodies transcendentalism and describes the necessity to be your own person. Chris McCandless is an independent man whose ideology is based off of transcendentalism, but he takes it to an extreme degree to which he believes in. Most people who are tired of society would not take off and live in the wild, but Chris believed in his ideas and stuck to his gut. Another famous transcendentalist is Henry David Thoreau.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Dun

    468 Words  | 2 Pages

    Which means that everything is up to the individual and you have to be self-reliant rather than rely on others. Emerson also states, “self reliance gave me permission to be a free thinker and to rigorously question everything around me.” What Emerson really is saying is that him being self reliant gives him the right to think however he wants and he doesn’t have to listen to anyone else’s thoughts because he doesn’t rely on them only on himself.

    Read More

  • Self Reliance Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a grownup and an adult for that matter, one cannot be like others one has learned from. One should not make efforts to live like ones’ parents, teachers or elders in our society. One must strive to be one ’s own true self. Emerson is convincing that nonconformity is genius.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism In Owl City

    1971 Words  | 8 Pages

    Despite his issues and troubles, he can get through them. A third transcendental ideal that Young represents is individualism. According to Emerson, “To be great is to be misunderstood” (“Self-Reliance” 555). By this quote, Emerson means that individuality is important for every person to know and be themselves.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance

    562 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people rely on the opinions of others, never truly stopping to personally consider the subject at hand. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an impactful American writer, wrote a piece entitled Self- Reliance. In Self-Reliance, Emerson’s purpose is to promote ideas of individualistic thinking. Emerson uses strong, rhetorical strategies, such as figurative language, allusions, and complex syntax and parallelism to effectively persuade his audience to trust their own thoughts.

    Read More

  • How Does Ralph Waldo Emerson Use Rhetorical Devices

    959 Words  | 4 Pages

    This essay, Self-Reliance, is very insightful for its time, and many of the themes written are still relevant today. These allusions used here were put together to further explain his main point on trusting one’s genius. This ignites people to become brave, and trust themselves more, rather than being afraid of their own thoughts and mind. After reading, people may even embrace their thoughts and run with their genius. Emerson again backs up his original statement, but instead uses analogy to express how society rejects individuality, but you must be brave enough to be your own part of this group.

    Read More

  • Micheal Donovan It's All On Me

    392 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Gallian asked Alex if he had a hunting license, Alex replied, “Hell, no.”, “How I feed myself is none of the government’s business. Fuck their stupid rules.” This line is explaining how self reliant Alex is and how he doesn’t need the government. Emerson explains his belief on self reliance in, “Self Reliance”. The quote that speaks the most volume to me is his quote, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity by your own mind.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism In The Dead Poets Society

    931 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Emerson's views, people should “not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”(citation). Based on Emerson’s thoughts, people should not follow the crowd, but instead live their lives and leave their mark on the Earth. Emerson thoughts come from a philosophical movement of the nineteenth century called transcendentalism. Transcendentalism focuses on religious renewal, literary innovation, and social transformation (encyclopedia.com). Because of their belief that God exists in everyone and nature, and that knowledge comes from individual intuition, led to the highlight of individualism, self-reliance, and breaking free from traditions(citation).

    Read More

  • Essay On The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

    578 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of such maxims is “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” This maxim, while ironically mocking the hold of religion upon the society of the time, also serves to display Emerson’s values on the originality of one’s thoughts. In literal translation, the maxim states, “The only sacred thing

    Read More

  • Example Of Individualism In Anthem

    699 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theologian Paul Tillich once declared, “Individualism is the self-affirmation of the individual self as individual self without regard to its participation in its world.” In Anthem, a fictional novella by Ayn Rand, we see the theme of individualism play out, and it gradually becomes an anthem for the story’s hero. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, lives in a society that teaches citizens that collectivism is the only option for humanity to thrive. Equality quickly learns this way of life is not ideal and coins his anthem: “I shall live my own truth,” (Rand 48). By wishing to live out his own truth, Equality realizes the significance of individualism and the change it can bring.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Emerson's Self Reliance

    1332 Words  | 6 Pages

    The theme of the essay “Self Reliance” written by Emerson is for beings to not focus on those of others or subside his/her values to fit in with our society, for true geniuses comes from within and are made with their own heart and mind. His idea of self-reliance differs from that of the norm in that he doesn’t encourage those to mix into selfish ways but to be open and proud of their own individuality for that is the true key to life itself. Emerson’s idea is similar to the common use in that he encourages those to not depend on others to define his/her identity. 2. Emerson’s use of figurative language encourages his readers to view his ideas in a clearer and more emphasized perspective.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Transcendentalism In Into The Wild

    937 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is a sign of Transcendentalism that Emerson could agree with because that's what he thought everyone should follow to be considered their own person. In his essay he writes, “Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your own contemporaries the connection of events. ”(line 8). Emerson believes that you should follow the present and not look back, because if you trust yourself, you can accomplish what you set out to do. For instance in chapter six when McCandless writes a letter to Ron he tells him what can damage an “adventurous spirit”.

    Read More

  • Comparing Nonconformity In Self Reliance And Clark Spencer's Zootopia

    988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dr. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dr. Seuss brings up a relative point by implying that those who speak their mind and say what they believe matter in society and to themselves. This comparison can be applied to many things in real life and in works of fiction. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and Clark Spencer’s Zootopia both prove that believing in yourself and staying in control of your mindset leads to inner strength and nonconformity. This theme is supported by the conflicts of man vs. society, man vs. self, and the theme of nonconformity.

    Read More

More about Ralph Waldo Emerson Individualism Essay

Open Document