Rhetorical Analysis Of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Self-Reliance during the time period when transcendentalism emerged, thus based his essay off of this ideology. Transcendentalism is known as the philosophy that divine truth is present in all created things and that truth is known through intuition, not through the rational mind. This principle seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout many of Emerson’s essays. In fact, he is known as a transcendentalist philosopher. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance, Emerson is convincing his readers that self-reliance is more important than being dependent on others by using metaphors and pathos.

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.

Things can be seen different in many perspectives. It can be interpreted in ways others can’t see. But in order to regulate and adjust our lives, to show the meaning of what we see, we need the solitude to consolidate our thoughts and see things that were hidden in the first place. In “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson applies rhetorical strategies for instance the imagery of unity and the allusion of God to experience the nature in solitude.

In the piece “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of Americas most influential thinkers, Emerson talks about the subject of individuality. Using many different rhetorical strategies, he makes his perspective on the subject loud and clear by using personification, alliteration and analogy.

When one lives in self-reliance and protest against the general state of spirituality they would be called a Transcendentalist. A movement in the 1820s to 1830s really brought attention to this. Authors like Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and even a popular film called Dead Poets Society. When one is in this state of self-reliance and Transcendentalism they will usually find happiness in themselves before anyone else. They will follow the steps of Emerson in “Self-Reliance”, Thoreau in “Civil Disobedience”, and the theme of the film Dead Poets Society. Within the writings of these authors there are both benefits and consequences of living self-reliant and “sucking the marrow out of life”.

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.

Ralph Waldo Emerson uses multiple rhetorical devices such as metaphors, analogies, and allusions to argue his main point. The idea that one must rely on themselves and achieve greatness alone is told within these devices. The use of allusions in Emerson’s essay creates deeper understanding whilst supporting his point. These allusions cause the thought that if these historic people could achieve greatness despite nobody believing in them at first, you may be able to do the same. There are also analogies in this essay, mainly speaking about society’s disapproval about individuality and acceptance of conformity. The analogies speak about how important self-reliance is rare in such a world where everybody is trying desperately to fit in. Ralph

The dictionary defines the term outlier as “a person or thing situated away or detached from the main body or system”. In both Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, a person being an outlier is something that is a fairly common thing. The term outlier is consequently the theme of Gladwell’s “Outliers”, whereas in Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, being an outlier means not conforming to society's norms. Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and Gladwell’s “Outliers” tend to contrast quite heavily in as in Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, self-reliance is key to achieving peace, whereas Gladwell seems to believe that you need to be successful to achieve peace and happiness, and success doesn’t happen on your own.

Whether Timothy Treadwell would have ever considered himself a transcendentalist or not, we’ll never know, but Werner Herzog paints him as such in his film Grizzly Man. Herzog took pains, through editing, to present us with a man who followed his heart, over his head, into nature as he rejected society in the pursuit of the deeper truths he thought he could find through life with the bears. Like the darkly romantic and anti-transcendentalist Herman Melville, Herzog himself seems to reject this view, finding in nature not transcendent beauty but only hunger, chaos, and death.

Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau discuss the role of the individual in great lengths. In Emerson’s Self Reliance he expresses his frustration with the general population’s unwillingness to fulfill the duties of the individual. Emerson believes that everyone has innovative thoughts and ideas, but only true revolutionaries have the courage to share them with the world. In Thoreau’s Resistance to Civil Government he focuses on the rights of the individual as part of the State, or government. He believes that it is the people’s duty to disobey the laws if they are unjust.

In the novel Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, Ethan, the main protagonist, encounters numerous challenges relating to his love life, social life, and personal life. Ethan’s actions could be analyzed through his decision-making process and used to display him as a self-reliant man. Self-reliance can be defined using criteria laid out by Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American transcendentalist philosopher, in his essay, “Self-Reliance”. Emerson writes about a checklist containing four primary attributes of a self-reliant person. The first necessary characteristic of a self-reliant person is the ability to exclusively fight for causes which s/he believes in. Secondly, one cannot be self-reliant if s/he is afraid of contradicting her/himself. Additionally,

“Self-Reliance” written by, Ralph Waldo Emerson, tells about how people stick to a certain way of thinking due to the strategy they grew up with and what they have told and seen. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” On the other hand, “Various kinds of thinking” written by James Harvey, tells how people have several different processes of thinking, and their minds and thoughts are constantly changing as they grow. These different kinds of thinking are: conscious, unconscious thinking, mind and body, rationalizing, reverie, real, and good reasoning that explained by both of these authors in their stories. Each excerpt, explains knowledge in its own way.

Life is filled with a mountain of complicated decisions that can shape people’s lives for either the better or the worse. Children are told the importance of standing out from their peers and to be themselves, yet children tend to assimilate to their peers’ ideas, customs, and behaviors. Some argue that assimilation is outgrown by those children as they approach adulthood, but sadly, that is not the case. The 1994 classic film “Quiz Show,” follows the journey of different players deciding to be unlawful and “follow the money,” or to stick by their core virtues. Peer pressure and the desire for power can sway any person’s judgement, but it is up to him to decide if he should keep up the lie, or ultimately tell the truth.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman emphasize the importance of living true to yourself and developing complete self-acceptance. To live true to yourself and completely accept who you are, you must understand your identity and your sense of self. In Self-Reliance, Emerson explains that your identity and your sense of self is spiritual. Whitman argues, in Song of Myself, that your identity and sense of self is based on both your soul and your body. While both Emerson and Whitman allow for intimate connections and friendships, Emerson encourages people to have relationships with a select few, whereas Whitman encourages people to connect with everyone and anyone, due to their different views of self.

What is Romanticism? In The Decline and Fall of the Romantic Ideal (1948), F.L. Lucas defines Romanticism in 11396 kinds of ways. However, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Romanticism is only defined as a period of time during the late 18th and early 19th century where people valued emotions over reasons. Romanticism is a movement originated from Europe and slowly spread throughout the world. This philosophy is created as a reaction to Neoclassicism, Industrial Revolution, and Enlightenment. Romanticism had great influences over artworks, including literature and paintings. The Romantic authors often presented values and characters of Romanticism in their writings. Edgar Allan Poe, Ralph Waldo Emerson,