Essay on Emerson

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."

Transcendentalist philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay Self-Reliance (1841), claims that man must achieve singularity and personal confidence by removing himself from societal norms, foster a belief of staunch individualism, and then reinsert himself into society, keeping the new belief of personal responsibility and self-sustainability. He supports his claim, using pathos and, by first outlining the “self-contained genius,” then, using metaphoric language and emotional phrases, states and explains his disapproval for the outside world, conformity and routine, using phrases like “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines,” (Emerson) and finally, with pathos and ethos, professes the importance and value of the concept of self-worth, even to the point of comparing a spiritual god to the inner human nature and spirit. Emerson’s purpose in writing this essay is to help people realize that the most important way of living is not to be the one who is controlled, or indoctrinated by social norms, but rather the one who rejects such concepts and flourishes to becoming his own divine power, his own “God,” because of his power in believing himself; because confidence and trust in oneself is the most empowering and uplifting trait.

Emerson’s “Self- Reliance” was written in a time where America was breaking away from the European norms and European control. America was used to thinking and conforming to the European way, but when we broke away we had learn how to think and do for ourselves. Emerson wrote on this topic of conformity and learning to think for ourselves because, he soon began to see a problem when we conform to society.

“Dance to the beat of your own drummer:'; A piece of advice that I have been told my whole life, and have tried my hardest to follow. The words were taken from Thoreau’s quote, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.';

While taking an English Composition course, my class discussed several ideas behind the American Dream and what influenced its fruition. One day, my professor hands us a stapled copy of Self Reliance, a piece written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and I shout out “he’s a Transcendentalist!” because that’s all I knew of him (something I remembered from high school). As the year went on we were told to write a research paper with a variety of topics. Since I was very interested in knowing a little more about him, I took on the task to learn more about Ralph Waldo Emerson. As I went through article after article, book after book, I became very enlightened, yet very confused. I learned how his whole life was a tragedy- from one family member to the next, they all kept passing away. His story moved me and taught me that anyone can become great after going through darkness if he has a sense of perseverance. Emerson kept on working, no matter the crisis at hand, and pushed his way to becoming one of the most talked about writers of all time. Yet, I was stunned to find that many people don’t enjoy his work and criticize his beliefs that he preached, as he was a minister for quite some time of his life. Some say that his writings should stop being read in classrooms because they are not understandable. My goal in this paper is to recognize whether Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered to be the first great American thinker or not.

Emerson's "transcendentalism" is essentially a romantic individualism, a philosophy of life for a new people who had overthrown their colonial governors and set about conquering a new continent, in hopes of establishing new and unique views. Though Emerson is not a traditional philosopher, the tendency of his thought is toward inward reflection in which soul and intuition, or inspiration, are fundamental. The new American needed less criticism and a rejuvenated sense of personal inspiration. Taking a practical and democratic, yet philosophic interest in all of nature and in individuals of every walk of life. Emerson stresses the potential for genius and creativity in all

In Experience, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about the human condition shared by all in his uniquely “Emersonian” perspective. Perhaps one of his most effective works is Experience, an essay on a subject of which Emerson had much “experience” and personal grief. To fully appreciate Emerson, the reader must closely analyze his writing, with both its obvious meaning, and the experience with which he’s writing.

Emerson, a prominent founder of the Transcendentalist movement, wrote the essay “Self-Reliance,” in which he uses various rhetorical strategies and devices to convey his message to the reader, urging the reader to strive to be unique. Emerson begins the essay by asserting what genius is to him: “To believe in your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men—that’s genius” (Emerson). Emerson purposefully uses second-person pronoun to address the audience directly, and through that, he is able to draw the reader’s attention to his stance on self-reliance, a quality of a genius. He encourages one to be fearless in expressing one’s thoughts and opinions,

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

In this essay, Ralph Waldo Emerson describes his view of an ideal education. What are its defining characteristics?

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emerson is a firm believer of maintaining self-reliance and values rather than following the crowd. He also explains that in order to be truly successful in life, a person must make decisions and trust in his or her judgment. In today’s society, teenagers are more likely to not be self-reliant because the teens feel they will be judged for having different beliefs. People today need to realize that they should not conform to be like the rest of the world, they must not depend on the judgment and criticism of others, and people must refuse to travel somewhere in order to forget their personal problems. Through Emerson’s piece, readers are able to

Ralph Waldo Emerson							I am writing this essay on the beliefs and thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the subjects of individuality, society, government, technology, and spirituality.

Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson long essay, was written in 1836, and at the time it presented very progressive ideas. Not only Nature presented a novel way to connect with God, but it also changed, to some extent, previous beliefs about the natural world. For most of human history the wilderness was a place that provoked fear and meant trouble. Emerson argued differently, for him nature was part of God 's creation, and, thus could not mean any harm .Furthermore, he asserted that to truly experience the richness of the natural world, one should step in not only with an open mind, but also with a child like curiosity, and more importantly, is should be done in solitude.

After coupling Emerson’s text with the notes from today’s lecture, I see now that Emerson wanted to find a way to bridge the divide between education and duties/labor of men and create a more cohesive identity as American scholars. I now understand that the “American Scholar” represented mankind; (man, women, young, old, etc.). Man’s individuality is not restrictive, but rather inclusive in the character of American society.

Ralph Waldo Emerson states in The Poet the question, which is what is the poet? He says that all men express their feelings, but what makes a poet is that he has more ability to express his own. For example, a poet would express the beauty of nature well, while men who are less expressive cannot give nature the worth it should be given, related to reality of course.