Ralph Waldo Emerson's Argumentative Essay

This inspires many people, including myself, to pursue their dreams and to ignore what others think about them, in turn boosting their own self-confidence, which is something that Emerson would

Emerson is hoping that, by saying these things and using pathos that he can make his readers understand how lovely it is to be independent of others and the consequences of conforming. Self-Reliance¬ ¬is written with an abundance of metaphors and pathos to persuade his audience that they should not conform to society’s norms. “Society is a joint-stock company”, wanting what is best for a society as a whole and not their individual selves. Though

In the first paragraph, Emerson introduces explosive diction that is self- absorbed and determining at the same time. The idea of people should think for themselves is immediately instilled at the start with word words that are grasping when one reads them. Some textual examples that are found in Emerson's essay are "influence," "yourself," and "pre-established" , these words help Emerson send out his message to the audience. When Emerson says "Trust thyself…self -reliance… be a non -conformist" helps connect to the ideas of transcendentalists. This in turn makes them more likely to agree with Emerson.

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance, he passionately expresses his views on individualism. Emerson’s views on individuality are views of following oneself’s own thoughts and passions, rather than fearing men and following the world. The speaker is successful in getting his point across with the use of allusions, anaphora, and thought triggering metaphors. As discussed previously, Emerson employs strong allusions of well known people to get his claim across, which is how important individuality is.

Throughout the piece, Emerson uses extensive metaphors, making comparisons to things that are important to the audience, which increases their understanding and engages them. To open the third paragraph, Emerson makes this comparison: “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that

He also describes society and how the problems that occurred decades ago still occur now. He says it best in this quote from “Self-Reliance”, “Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water of which it is composed does not.” (Emerson). This quote describes how societies thoughts and emotions have stayed the same although many years have passed.

Emerson says, “But the great man in the midst of a crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude” (Emerson, 247) it is saying to be a great man they have to stand out in the crowd and not conform to society. Because if we just follow society blindly we just all become the same and nobody stands out. This is all true since nobody wants to break a rule so they just follow it and live a normal life. But if we act different we are to be an outcast which is why he adds the line “perfect sweetness the independence of solitude” (Emerson, 247) which is trying to say it is a misunderstanding to be an outcast and we should not fear it. Since we have to stand out in the midst of the crowd we have to do things that aren’t the same as others which is why Emerson says, “There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide” (Emerson, 246)

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.

On the occasion of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, “Self Reliance,” Joy Zhou chooses to positively embrace his writing in a reflective argument. Although the essay seems to present itself in a traditional style, her words resemble a more opinionated approach that is supported by her personal life; she comes across as an inspired individual who agrees with Emerson’s ideology. Zhou tackles her claim by breaking off short quotes from Emerson’s essay directly and supporting his relevance with modern, personal experiences. Her first main paragraph discusses Emerson’s quote, “‘[t]here is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide.’” Responding, Zhou provides an anecdote in which

In the passage, he says that every person has the potential for accomplishing amazing things without the negative effect of society; this is accomplished through the power of self-belief. Emerson also talked about how people should not follow the rules (not in a rebellious display) in order to express individualism. Regarding these beliefs, I side with Emerson because I believe that people should be themselves and not allow society to tell them how to act. On the

This maxim particularly expresses the theme of individuality and enforces society to be their own. During Emerson's lifetime, he had been a strong advocate of the abolitionist

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.

While many people are able to reap the benefits and get use out of books, others “abuse” books, neglecting or contending against them. Emerson’s continual use of loaded words throughout his speech engage the audience and teach them of the powerful impacts books can have, positively or

To begin, Emerson makes effective use of figurative language such as personification while emphasizing his comparison of nature and the attributes of man. He also uses paradox and with this he accentuates the idea that nature provides wisdom. However, the wisdom it furnishes can only answer so much and we will never fully be reassured of all of which we would like to know. Its infinite knowledge will never fully guide us to that of which we seek. Emerson’s use of paradox allows the audience to contradict the truth and that of what they already believe.

Finally, Emerson uses an analogy, stating “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Emerson). In other words, you must allow yourself to trust in yourself. Without trust in yourself you cannot trust in others. Emerson also uses another analogy, stating “It is not without pre-established harmony, this sculpture in the memory” (Emerson). What Emerson means by this is you can’t have a good stung memory of something without the event even