Rhetorical Analysis Of Self-Reliance By Ralph Emerson

Individuality; something everyone has, but it’s not something everyone expresses. In the text “Self-Reliance” written by Ralph Emerson, he uses different forms of rhetorical strategies to express his beliefs on the true power behind standing out and embracing your uniqueness.

Emerson uses a powerful metaphor that establishes a unique bond between him and the audience, when he says that “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string”. This statement can be interpreted many different ways, one of them being that the iron string is our way of standing out. Each instrument has different strings that all make different sounds, so just because we all listen to the same song, doesn’t mean we need to do the same dance.

Another way that Emerson shows his thought on inner strength is when he uses a brief form of juxtaposition to say “You must court him; he does not court you” in order to create a curiosity within the minds of

He is using this to elaborate on how we suppress our inner-selves in order to please the people around us. He is saying that as soon as we see enter the real world is our individuality fades and gets suppressed by those who feel like being different is a sin. But when we are alone, we are able to be ourselves without a fear of being judged or made fun of. Which is the point of Emerson’s whole article, to stop worrying about what other think about you. Society as a whole can’t grow if we stick to the same ways, we need that individuality to have a better future.

Despite the constant controversy in our everyday lives, Emerson believes it shouldn’t stop us from living a life that makes us happy. In “Self-Reliance” Emerson’s goal is to get us to ignore the voices who try to change who we really are, and embrace the inner voices that represent