Emerson's Last Nine Words

In his essay entitled “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson encourages his readers to look around, appreciate, and take nothing for granted. Emerson emphasizes the importance of removing oneself from all distractions, and suggests solitude as a way to truly connect with nature. We need to look at the landscape, and become a part of it. For nature allows one to focus, and become enlightened.

Since the beginning of time, man and nature have coexisted with one another. Before civilizations began and industrialization spread, all that was in the world was nature and man. Both Edward Abbey and Ralph Waldo Emerson, viewed nature as something which made us complete as a person. Abbey claims nature both “bore us and sustains us”. They believe we owe everything to nature. Nature has provided us opportunities to grow and prosper as an individual, yet what Abbey and Emerson failed to recognize is the importance of community. Both men believed one could truly understand himself by escaping society and pursuing the serenity of nature. This theory has its faults, for while moments of isolation may be beneficial in renewing one’s self, other

Do you know what a hero is or what it means? Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” I personally agree with that quote, because my hero is my dad. A hero is someone who is brave, compassionate, and someone I can look up to.

Ralph Waldo Emerson can go by many titles: scholar, philosopher, wordsmith. All hold true in one of his greatest pieces, Self-Reliance. In which, he uses his words to spread an idea of individuality in thought and how essential it truly is. Scattered throughout the massage are examples of metaphors, comparing his vast and complex ideologies to comprehendible and mundane objects, he uses allusions as well, bringing to light not only Biblical themes, but also men of old more times than often seen as great and influential and referring time and time again to the Bible. In doing these things, Emerson conveys his ideas, swaying and bending the words to his will. A first arguably more evident example of this would be found in his metaphors.

Throughout human existence, scholars have earnestly pursued knowledge and the attainment of truth. Historical figures such as Plato, Descartes, and Emerson sought answers to daunting questions of: ‘What is truth?’; ‘What is reality?’; ‘How is wisdom acquired?’ Many scholars believe these philosophers presented conflicting viewpoints: Plato encouraging skepticism among all previous historical, cultural, and personal perspectives; Descartes questioning definitions of reality and his very existence; Emerson encouraging self-trust and confidence in one’s ideals, opinions, and convictions. Surprisingly, reconciliation can be reached from these three differing hypotheses. Emerson’s thesis merely expounds from Descartes and Plato’s

Description of meeting: This was a memorial for the deceased student IC. The Emerson’s principal conducted the memorial in the Emerson School’s cafeteria.

To be a conformist is to march to the beat of your own trumpet. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote, he is saying that you will have a much better life if you are individualistic and do what makes you happy. A good example of this in today's culture is Miley Cyrus, she has most definitely done what make her happy for herself. Most people thought that Miley would continue as the girl she was in the show “Hannah Montana”, but that was just a character for her. Miley has done a lot of things that most people consider crazy, but she is doing what makes herself happy and not trying to please others.

Emerson and Hawthorne both focused on nature and how humans affected it, but Emerson wrote more about being optimistic than Hawthorne, whom was more of a dark romanticism writer. In the essay "Nature", Ralph Waldo says, " But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give a man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime"(Emerson 11). This quote demonstrates how Emerson focuses on the feel of nature to oneself being one with nature. Previously he talks about how nature offers solitude and how we should take advantage of it instead of ignoring what the world has to offer.

In Emerson's Self-Reliance we see the crowning work of the transcendentalist movement. In this piece Emerson explains his belief in the innate divinity of man and defines our "Self-Reliance" as the broad identity in which we personally participate. Emerson challenges his readers to not conform to traditional practices in a variety of realms. However, he punctuates just four aspects of these challenges to tradition and they are: religion, education, art, and society. I found these passages to be the best representatives of Emerson's ideology due to their poignancy and numbered paragraphs. He talks of these challenges to man as revolutions due to a greater self-reliance. The profoundness of thought in this piece is surprising to

This poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson is an exceptional work of his. Entirely characteristic of his poetic approach, it captures the full meaning behind the appreciation of nature, and it does so in a simple yet effective style. The poem is also, in my opinion, an effective rebuttal to the Puritan critique of the Emersonian lifestyle.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character." This quote is a belief that your beliefs show innermost self. Emerson believes that your thoughts and ideas of the world reflect your true self. I agree that your mental outlook of the world is a representation of your real character. Regardless of whether or not you expressed those thoughts and ideas out loud, they still show your true colors. Opinions are just another way of showing the world who you really are. Your attitude on the certain topics and people, marks your stance on the world and show your true beliefs.

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

	When Emerson says "Insist on yourself; never imitate." he is saying that you should act like you are on the inside; don't try to be like someone else. Be your own person and strive

In fact, Emerson is thought to be "anti-urban" and incidentally, we will briefly note, according to Coleman, "he writes that the way in which language is corrupted by secondary desires suggests why country-life is better for powerful minds than that of the city" (2000). In other words, living in the country guarantees a direct relationship with nature than that of the city-life. Coleman also states that Emerson believes "urban life is detrimental to human beings both physically and spiritually; and conversely nature is a source of well-being" (2000). Emerson is right that natural environments create a significant soothing feedback than that of urban environments, but nature is not just rural. Nature is around urban environments as well and as Cronon argues, “people should stop putting up border between themselves and nature” (Vining) and start seeing nature in the urban environments and thinking of themselves as nature too. “Thus, if an individual desires a sense of connectedness with nature, he or she may have a more connected view of nature with humans than would an individual desiring isolation”

In this work, man is an object in the middle of living nature. Nature itself draws us from dependence upon the past and invites us to a richer state of being. Do not remember the past for "[t]he sun shines today…[t]here is more wool and flax in the fields…[t]here are new lands, new men, new thoughts"(215). Which suggests that because there is always a tomorrow. Man should not focus on the present and be more concentrated on what will be happening in the future. Emerson believed that nature was beautiful and nowhere else on earth could he find the majestic settings of the macrocosm. As Emerson declares "[in] wilderness, [he finds] something more dear and connate than in streets or villages"(216). He cannot find anything more loved and kindred than in towns and cities than what he finds in nature. Unlike Thanatopsis, Emerson focuses on the living and not the defunct. He tells us that "[in] the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature"(216). Man's nature is more beautiful than the outside of his exterior. Therefore, according to this attitude, man's life is just a mere dot in this world of blackness.