In two paragraphs, accurately convey one of Emerson's main points from his essay "Self Reliance". In the first paragraph, articulate his point and use a quote from the text to exemplify what he is claiming. In another paragraph, take a position either affirming, denying or qualifying the point you are working with.
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Emerson’s Self-Reliance reveals the true reality of human nature and the way the human mind is influenced by original and conventional truths. Emerson writes about everything we are afraid to address. While reading his essay, we are forced to look deeper in ourselves and discover our own truths. He wants us to have our own perspectives simply influenced by our true selves. He focuses on how we grow and learn from our own experiences as we follow our truths, although we can sometimes fear them. He declares, “But the man is, as it were, clapped into jail by his consciousness. As soon as he has once acted or spoken with eclat, he is a committed person, watched by the sympathy or hatred of hundreds, whose affections must now enter in his account (Emerson 21).” This conclusion he conveys through this quote is as a consequence of maturity, our original truths we live by get clouded by the influence of others, conventional thoughts, and fear of divergence. He argues that there is something in you to follow, but there comes a time when ignorance appears negative and looked down upon by others. We deny our self-reliance because we are concerned with conformity and depend on acceptance by others. We do not take the time to know ourselves because we are so distracted today, and our own voice cannot be heard. We need time to listen to ourselves because we judge our truth by how many people agree with us.
I completely agree with Emerson’s arguments. When reading the quote I mentioned, I realized how personal development in society today is seen as a bad thing. “You’ve changed” is a phrase used as an accusation instead of a praise. We hate change and variation because it terrifies us-- we are terrified of judgement and stepping out of line. Emerson’s Self-Reliance has taught me that we are under no obligation to be the same person we were five years, or five minutes ago. We can hold on to that childhood ignorance and we can be aware of the judgement. All that matters is that we should change and edit our lives as often or rarely as we want. Our truths are ours, and ours only. We find them where we can, and we break them if we have to. Sometimes we have to step out of line to discover the truths that are most important. I’m so tired of twisting myself into something that accommodates to others, with the fear that I will be hated for trying to figure myself out, when there are far worse things in the world to be afraid of. We can only grow and learn from our experiences if we follow our original truths without fear of criticism by others. As ignorant as it sounds, having no obligation to please other people than yourself is a great feeling.
In Self-Reliance, Emerson conveys that society should be irreverent to the common man and should not affect one’s inner self. Emerson states, “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” (Emerson 21), expressing that the only reliable source in life is oneself and despite one’s surroundings, in order to truly be a man, one must speak and develop one’s beliefs from one’s own thinking. Emerson displays that one must be willing to remain with one’s truth and no one truth is better or worse than another’s truth despite the consequences or ramifications. Although something that is said or believed to be today may be different from what is said the next day, Emerson asserts the importance of being able to believe one’s own thought and not depend on the outside forces which may disagree.
Although Emerson makes several well-crafted points about personal identity and remaining true to one’s beliefs, his points are very extreme and fail to accept that whether one chooses to agree with it or not, individuals are influenced and controlled by the society. Emerson conveys that relying on things such as society, religion, and those relationships of those who surround us, one is unable to balance one’s beliefs and interests with one’s surroundings. However, when one unsuccessfully abandons outside influences, one becomes self-centered and democracy that one has relied on, begins to no longer exist. Through the refusal of accepting that many different things within culture influence individuals, Emerson is unable to recognize that an individual alone cannot survive. Through the lack of trust and reliance on one’s environment, there is no way an individual can happily, live within society without empathy and trust in those who surround him.
In Self-Reliance, Emerson infers that it is inevitable that we as humans are influenced by the environment around us because of the people we are surrounded by and the experiences we go through. Our perception changes and we realize certain things that we did not notice before. We are all aware of our own thoughts and our truth about the world around us, but, there is a certain hesitation and shyness we experience when we want to express our own thoughts. We are hesitant due to the fear not being accepted by others, we discourage our thought and what feels right to us and take someone else’s truth as ours, when deep down, we know we think differently. “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion” (Emerson 20). This goes to show that if you take someone else’s truth as your own, you are not only discouraging your own thought and taking it away from your own heart, which is like suicide, but you are taking someone else’s opinion and truth as your own, but you are taking something that is personal for them and is meaningful to them.
I completely with what Emerson is saying because although it is hard to stick to what we believe we should not be afraid to do so, because it is our truth. People who stick to their truth are said to be misunderstood because they do not think or believe the same things that others do. Those who do not succumb to societal pressures are those who stick to their truth no matter what, and that is something that I admire. For me, it is hard to stick to my truth because I used to, and sometimes still take others opinions as my own and it is because I am scared to speak my truth due to the fact that I could be ridiculed or misunderstood by others. However, I have come to the realization that if your family or friends misunderstand you, they are in the way of getting to know yourself and your truth, and as ignorant and selfish as that may sound, it is my truth. When we were children, we did not care about what people thought of us, we did what we felt was right and what we wanted, because it was what we knew we wanted. No one had to tell us to want it, we knew it and we did it. Why have things changed? Why are we so scared to relieve our truth? We do not have to be, and we do not want to be. We should remember the boldness of our childhood and always remember that our truth is most important. It is important to live out our truth eventhough we might be ridiculed in the beginning, we will inspire others to live their truth. It may not be the same as ours but we must learn to respect their truth for we would not want them to change our truth and for them to change ours, because that would be going against what you believe and know is right.
In Self Reliance, Emerson focuses on the importance of truth. He emphasizes that one’s truth is only valid if it comes from within. Emerson discusses our tendency to seek consistency and to conform. He claims that a fixed mindset eliminates one’s ability to innovate and he asserts that one should “Speak what you think now in hard words,and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today (24).” Emerson promotes the action of questioning and examining concepts, creating and changing one’s opinion every day. He contends that those who stray from society’s prefered consistency are criticized and alienated for challenging traditional ideals. Emerson then provides examples of renowned leaders and philosophers who experienced this disapproval because they overtly expressed their opinions on conventional beliefs.
I believe that Emerson’s outlook on our tendency to avoid change is extremely accurate. Those who question common societal beliefs are often misunderstood and denounced because of the immense fear of change and nonconformity conventional minds tend to hold. I completely agree with Emerson in that we should be able to contradict ourselves and speak differently everyday because it exhibits the thinking processes of questioning and searching a great mind accomplishes. Our preoccupation with conformity has demoted open thinking. In attempting to conform, many people generate stern beliefs without doubting it or considering the opinions of others.
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance, the reader is presented with a metaphor relating society’s ability to contaminate an individual’s truth is not a concern in the mindset of a child. A “healthy” human being is someone who does not strive to please others. A child “cumbers himself never about consequences, about interests; he gives an independent, genuine verdict…but as the man is, as it were, clapped into jail by his consciousness (Emerson 21).” As we age, the awareness of society’s power and the rejection that follows those who divvy outside of convention becomes more prevalent. Children do not allow the affirmation of others to intercept their truth; they are bluntly honest and innocent. But as our minds become polluted with convention, our truth disintegrates.
Emerson’s point reigns true. As we mature, we sacrifice our truth to gain the approval of others and our voice becomes contaminated with societal conventions. Our original truth is drowned by the abundance of other’s affirmations that are ultimately irrelevant. Children are not concerned about the opinions of others because their approval is the only one that is of importance. The only declaration of truth that is significant is our own and it must be recaptured in solitude. In isolation, the mindset of a child can be revived because conventions are prevented from intercepting our truth. Without a personal approval, complete satisfaction will never be achieved.
In Self-reliance, Emerson explains that a truth can only be heard if one’s conscience speaks it. However, he realizes that people often give up their truth, and he investigates why we fail to listen to our consciences sometimes. One of his thoughts to why this matter occurs is because of the societal pressures of conformity. In order to receive social advantages, it is often necessary to give up one’s truth. Social advantages, that are the result of conformity, give pleasure because people naturally seek the affection and approval of others. He justifies this claim and says, “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure” (Emerson 24). People search for comfort, and comfort lies in conformity.
Emerson profoundly and accurately discovers one of the reasons to why we give up truths. For example, in Souls Belated by Edith Wharton, Lydia is caught between her truth about marriage and the societal advantages that come with marriage. Lydia is a true example of Emerson’s idea because she rejects her own truth about marriage and conforms to her society in the end. However, Emerson’s idea does not apply to every situation. In a similar reading, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier goes against society’s norm, separating her from her community, allowing her to have her own ideas. She soon realizes that isolation deprives her from the advantages she once had when she conformed. Although unlike Lydia, Edna refuses to conform and give up her truth. Emerson’s concept is relatable, but does not apply to everyone.
Emerson’s Self-Reliance
In Emerson’s essay, Self Reliance, he reveals his theory that nature is found within an individual and nature is what holds truth. Our unique truths cannot be extracted from external forces, but only discovered from within. There is a fine line between what is conventional and what is natural, but a belief becomes natural when it is your own truth. Agreeing with others in order to please them defines conventionalism. This leads individuals astray from their own natural truth, and they become influenced by a truth that is not their own. Truth is dynamic not static, and an individual’s truth can change and grow. As Emerson stated, “The only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong is what is against it (Emerson 22).” Your truth can never be wrong because it is what is inside of you and it is what you believe to be true. We live in a changing world, so inevitably we will have changing truths.
I believe this to be one of Emerson’s most profound points, considering that our truth is within us and is unique to each individual. Agreeing without question or consideration of your own truth is not wise, except in the case where fact is being stated. You can have an opinion on a fact or an individual truth on the process taken to reach that fact, but you cannot deny something that is historically or scientifically proven to be correct. Aside from this, Emerson’s points reveal the importance of making decisions on your own despite the opinion of others and taking the risk of relying on the natural and abandoning the conventional.
Emerson’s Self-Reliance is a transcendental essay based on finding your truth and learning to avoid being driven by convention. Emerson believed that we should be trying to discover our truth in not convention, but nature. Emerson gathered that we often zap our own thoughts, our truth, out of the way in order to make room for what convention wants to tell us. While discussing this idea, Emerson wrote, “A man should detect and watch the gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages”(19). People are raised to believe their own thoughts are wrong and, as a result, push their own away in fear of being wrong and then begin to believe what everybody else believes. However, Emerson wrote to “Speak your latent conviction” (19). Your hidden “conviction” will eventually turn into your truth, and Emerson anticipates that we should act on those convictions in order to be honest with ourselves. Another point that Emerson touched on was the act of conforming to society’s rules. Every day, whether we like it or not, we somehow conform to a belief or action that society wants us to think or do. Emerson wrote about how we need to learn to become more incorruptible. He believed that the main way to do this was to do things for yourself, and not for anybody else. To somewhat introduce this idea, he noted that “the nonchalance of boys who are sure of a dinner, and would disdain as much as a lord to do or say aught to conciliate one, is the healthy attitude of human nature”(21). An attitude that is in good shape is one that does what he or she wants in order to please him or herself, not to please anyone else.
Both of Emerson’s points that were mentioned are completely valid. Conforming to society’s beliefs is the easier thing to do out of the two options, the other one being to speak your own truth and beliefs. People with a more robust attitude would certainly want to speak their truths, but the people who can’t find their voices are the ones that need to speak up more often. The most straightforward way to gain affirmation from someone is to agree with his or her thoughts, even if it was the complete opposite of what you were thinking. If someone cannot find affirmation in himself or herself, they often tend to look for it from someone else. However, this is the real conflict that presents itself: conforming to another person’s thoughts and beliefs while pushing aside your own will make you unsatisfied with yourself. When this conflict is unveiled, we need to discover a way to become satisfied again, which is what Emerson articulates. If you are completely true to yourself and speak your own thoughts without becoming afraid of judgment, you will not be unsatisfied.
In Emerson’s "Self Reliance", the idea of uncovering your truth through self evaluation, and from there, developing a will power to protect the truth from that of society’s conventional truth, is explored. In his novel, Emerson seems to make a point that the only legitimate truths are ones that are solely original to you, as illustrated when he writes, “…the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong is what is against it” (22). This quote serves to strengthen one of the main arguments Emerson debates in his essay, about convention vs. nature. By the rules thought out by Emerson, right and are a matter of how they affect your truth. They do not stand along the lines of moral reasoning, but seem to be based on how you interpret your truth from day to day and how you encounter the effect an event has on your truth.
In a perfect world, this idea about the way one determines wrong and right would be the best solution, but this brings up many issues and concerns for our world today. By rejecting that you believe to be wrong, based solely on how that idea affects your truth, therefore begins to slow the dynamic of your truth and in the end causes it to be static. If you only accept what is in harmony with you truth, the ability and opportunity to grow and learn from your mistakes will evidently weaken your truth. A good solid truth is one that has been able to survive though many perspectives and can stand on its own without the opposition of a “wrong” idea or belief to knock it down. A strong truth has grown and developed, though times of great doubting and molding by successfully persevering though obstacles, with its believer to make it almost unbreakable. I believe that this idea is not Emerson’s best because it has many weak spots when applied to certain circumstances and does not allow for development or growth of a believer’s truth.
Emerson’s Self Reliance In-Class Essay
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance, Emerson shares his thought on society. Four of his main points are original vs. conventional; which discusses humans’ natural instincts and how the conflict with conventional society, static vs. dynamic, which discusses the eastern idea that progress has no end, American Philosophy, and the relationship between reason, nature and the individual. Emerson discusses the interesting concept that, “Men do what is called a good action, as some piece of courage or charity, much as they would pay a fine… Their works are done as an apology or extenuation of their living world. (Emerson 22)” He expresses that charity is only done to make up for something, or for approval.
Although some people only participate in helping others just to appear admiral or superior, or because they feel they need to make up for something they have done, some people help simply because they want to make a difference in their communities. Emerson is right when he says that sometimes society does things for the wrong reasons, but he can not apply this to the whole human race, because like he said, not everyone is the same and everyone should have original thoughts and actions. One example of honest giving is when people anonymously donate. This is a counterexample for Emerson’s idea, because these people are only giving because they want to help society, not because they want to receive any recognition.
In Ralph Emerson’s essay, “Self-Reliance”, Emerson illustrates a new philosophy, that truth is not a solid thing or belief, but is the process of finding the truth. The title of his essay captures this philosophy because self-reliance is present in a person whose truth is evident. Emerson believes truth is found and evident in nature. He credits that everything natural is grown to thrive and flourish. But society surrounds itself with convention rather than the truth of nature. Convention in society distracts one’s truths, which leads one to conform to society’s way. Emerson claims, “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure” (Emerson 24). The act of conformity involves one seeking other people’s approval while losing their truth along the way. In order to grasp one’s truth again, Emerson professes to meditate in nature and to be silent—learn your truth. Everyone needs to understand their truth through their inner voice and conscience, which ultimately will recognize one’s voice and truth.
I am in unison with Emerson’s arguments that voices the importance of stepping back and understanding our truth. By grasping one’s truth, one can seize their understanding of themselves and their role in society. It is rather easy to get caught up in society’s truths, which hides our truths along the way. It happens to be undemanding to sit in silence, rather than stay true to one’s truths. Development of self-reliance appears when one sticks to their truths and flourishes with bravery and courage. By listening to our voices, we can understand our truth. Although we may fear our own truth and be afraid of the outcast we may be in society, our truth can be valuable to development of ourselves and the roles we play in society.
Based on his belief on transcendentalism, Emerson throughout his essay points out that the truth is in the state of nature. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is,” Emerson states, “true for all men.” Humans often conform and are restrained by the ‘sour face,’ and this conformity is rather ironic because we as humans that are originally the state of nature form the manufactured convention and paradoxically intimidated by the convention. Humans, the original state of nature, come together and develop a society, the convention, and that convention is the greatest force that avoids humans from securing the truth. In order to acquire the truth, humans desire to get back to the nature.
True, the state of nature is the pure state of truth. The state of nature in which humans can listen to their inner voice without any distraction is the greatest status in which humans can retain the truth. However, the state of nature is not the only circumstance in which humans can acquire truth. It is possible to maintain ‘my own’ truth with the conventional interruption. It is difficult to do so, but distraction is just a distraction, not a force that will prohibit one’s requiring truth entirely. Furthermore, the perspective adopted and learned from the societal phenomenon or experiences is still a valid truth, if that perspective is fully understood and then reproduced, reformed, or analyzed in one’s own way to comprehend. True, community itself is not a convention but a unity in nature. Nevertheless, once humans create a community and then become aware and learn anything that differs from what they already hold within their inner voice, they are already educated in the convention and belong to a convention.
Through Emerson’s Self Reliance, Emerson articulates his theory that in life, many people only, “half express [themselves]” (Emerson 20). The reason for this, through Emerson’s perspective, is that we are, “ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents.” (Emerson 20) Through this quote, Emerson expands further on the idea that we cannot be our true selves if we are too ashamed to live our truth publically. Because expressing our own truth is an original piece of nature—which opposes the convention of society—we become self-conscious of the originality our idea, and suppress it. Having a different opinion than society has its consequences, and everyone who has a contrasting truth knows this. If we choose to act upon our truth, we make ourselves vulnerable to the judgment of others, which makes us ashamed of ourselves.
Emerson’s idea is correct, but this issue is far deeper than he articulates. The ides of being ashamed and hiding your truth is true, but it is also possible to be at peace with your truth, but unsure how to express it to society. The fear of how society will receive your truth is still present, but that fear does not cause you to be ashamed of your own truth. It is necessary to add this idea to that of Emerson because there are different ways in which people only live part of their truth. Another way in which people live only part of their truth is through living double lives. It is possible for one to be totally comfortable expressing their truth in one society they associate themselves with, but not in another. In this way, the person is able to live their full truth in one aspect of their life, but not the other. Through my own experiences, I have discovered that these things are very possible and should be accounted for.
In self-Reliance, Emerson focuses on individualism by asserting the importance of thinking for oneself rather than conform to other’s ideas. He promotes the idea to reveals the true reality of human nature–“To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true in your private heart is true for all man–that is genius”(Emerson 3). Emerson keeps asking: What is your own truth and how do you get there? In order to be “A true man”, one must “Trust thyself” instead of rely on other’s opinions lacks the creative power necessary for individualism. To rely on other’s judgments is cowardly, non-individual and it cannot be our own truth, without inspiration or hope. Emerson also reveals his personal theory that nature is what holds truth, and it is not only those object that around us, but also our individual natures. These individual natures allow the great thinker–the ideal individual–to accept nonconformist and battle conformity and consistency.
I agree with Emerson’s theory of individual natures of holding truth. Nowadays, we are gradually losing our truth and individualism gradually being far away from being to speak your own truth and belief by being as conformity and consistency. We do not realize that we are taking other’s thought as ours when we are thinking and rely on other’s opinion but not ours. Emerson finds the phenomenon of people losing their individualism and self-reliance, he points out that the individual truths are often being misunderstanding and ignored. It causes restrains independence and growth.
In the article Self-reliance, Emerson discusses about the identity of truth and also the relationship between people’s own truths and the society. Emerson believes that our truth should come from the voice in our heart, which is nature and is not a convention. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, —that is genius.”(Emerson 19) Emerson claims that people should act according to their truth. Do not just do the things that everybody thinks you should do or you have to do, but listen to the voice in your heart to find out your own truth and do what your truth tells you to do. “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.” (Emerson 23) Emerson also discusses that it is tough for people to act as their truth because of the society. Since the society is full of displeasure, people always judge by others and the discipline limits people.
Even though Emerson fully expounds that people should act as their believed and he also discuss about the conflicts between truth and society, he does not really answer that whether people should keep doing as their truth while the truth is hurting others. Emerson explains the importance of having own truths and the reality of the society, but he still does not let people know what they should do when the conflicts happen. If the person chooses to not hurt others and gives up his truth, he will loose his identity and he becomes weaker. But if the person insists on his truth and hurts others, he will not be accepted and even may be punished by the society. The conflicts between the society and individual truths make it hard for people to live really happily in the society.
Emerson expresses the individual’s need to do what is best for the individual— not doing so will cause the individual to become a puppet of society’s thoughts; and such thoughts, essentially, could be, and probably are, harmful to the individual. The individual becomes exhausted by the constant fight with life external the mind and life inside the head-- the one which is subconsciously interacted with 24/7. Eventually, the individual decides that having to face the question “who is more important, society or the individual?” is too difficult to ponder and the individual seeks affirmation of another person, thus, giving into convention. Often times, that person, in fact, does not know what is truly beneficial for the individual, as explained by Emerson when he states that “this rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it” (Emerson 23). Emerson believes that comfort results from living by the opinion of society because once the individual gives into outside sources’ desires, the individual receives approval from that source and, therefore, the social advantages that follow. What most do not realize, is that once the individual finds his or her truth and lives by his or her opinion, it is just as easy, if not easier, to live in solitude. It is powerful for an individual remain true to him or herself in a crowd of people, all with one, conventional opinion or thought— power which derives from the people jailed by their addiction to living by society's opinion or thought and who are both terrified and in awe over the individual’s drive to live by his or her truth. Emerson forces readers to question: where is the power in being one in the crowd? How can a person progress when he or she is one of a billion people with the same thought—what makes that person stand out?
It is essential that a person follows his or her instincts to determine which path is best for them. Sometimes it takes a person to go far out of his or her comfort zone to find their truth. There are some cases in which a person follows convention to avoid judgment or to avoid arguing with the source of which the thought derived. When an individual fails to live by his or her own thought, the individual is lying to him or herself. When an individual follows a path that has already been carved out for him or her, that path could be more dangerous than the one the individual would have carved for him or herself. A person cannot grow if he or she does not take the time to learn how to grow. When a person follows convention, he or she does not learn anything, but just regurgitates the information that has been imposed on him or her. Once a person goes through life always agreeing with what another person says, it is very difficult for that person to then evaluate his or her beliefs and successfully express them to others. People can, and will, take advantage of those who do not exhibit their own, true thoughts.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance exposes human nature’s dependence towards conventional thinking versus the natural truth. Throughout the passages, Emerson conveys the conflicting structure of human’s personal thoughts being influenced by societal ideals, or what he calls conforming into the common typical beliefs that everyone else in humanity believes is right. He explains that “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure (Emerson 24).” Society develops and evolves overtime, but the one piece that that remains rigid in society is convention and what humans innately see as ‘normal’ and ‘ordinary.’ He articulates how human’s truth is conventional, hence, believing in another person’s opinions and saying it. This truth therefore, is not static or natural whereas a natural truth is having your own actual opinion that may contradict to what society thinks is wrong. He blames consistency, something that keeps humans in place, is what scares humans from acting on their self-trust. This consistency etched in humanity is thus, the reason why nonconformity in society is a rebellious and or improper act that prevents people from relying on their own personal beliefs and instead blindly believing into the traditional truth.
Humans are intrinsically involved in societal standards, whereas others who are not participating in society are referred to as rebels of society. These rebels today are viewed by some people with distaste, thus affirming Emerson’s assertion the public’s antipathy towards nonconformity. It is because of this reason that some people cannot simply trust themselves and articulate their beliefs in fear of it being not up to social standards, or what I call the popular truth. And therefore, those who say conventional thoughts are sacrificing their personal truths to please others. It is indeed difficult to be true to oneself and be your own person having the pressure of society involved in your act of faith and opinions. It is a harsh world we live in knowing that not conforming to traditional beliefs is having “the world whip you with its displeasure (Emerson 24).”
The essay “Self Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, comes to various conclusions about society’s influence on a person’s true self and the steps one can take to ensure that he or she stays true to him or her self and ideals. A key point in Emerson’s argument would be if one is self-reliant, then one is not cowardly in public. He supports this by explaining that in order to be truly self-reliant you must be just as consistent with your actions and thoughts in private as you would be with hundreds of people surrounding you in an unfamiliar or crowded environment. Emerson claims, “Your conformity explains nothing,” (Emerson 25). Meaning, changing one’s thoughts to fit the accepted mold society has laid for it’s participants does no good for one when one is trying to determine his or her real self. Emerson argues the process of finding your true self is more important than taking the shortcut and performing with a cookie-cutter image of yourself, rather than portraying your genuine self, no matter how different you are.
I believe that Emerson is right to think that people should act the same way as they do in private in public in regards to stating their beliefs as their own truth rather than spitting out lies about controversy just to please other participants of society, no matter how much their beliefs may vary from their peers’ views. However, I find that in the process of finding one’s true self and determining what one believes to be true, one must try new things and therefore, may experience different reactions to those new events as opposed to already understanding how they should feel. Henceforth, while one must not cower out of fear of others’ possessing negative opinions about him or her, one does not have to maintain one persona during the process of finding him or her true self. It takes time and different identities to find which one truly defines you.
In self-reliance, Emerson argues that humans have to trust themselves and to accept and trust what have been given to them in lives; he stated, “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events (Emerson 20).” Emerson thinks that everyone in this world has been given a place and that people will have to trust first in order to find the specific string to that heart. Believe everything in the surroundings is designed for each of the people is an act of trusting the self. People cannot find themselves if they choose to close their eyes and ears because of their hatred to the given environment; therefore, they cannot hear the voice deep in the heart because their heart will also be closed if they only see and hear what they want. Believe in the environment is also the first and most important thing to do before really staying in nature or even in silence to find the voice.
I totally agree with Emerson’s point because of my own experience, when first arrived in a new place, knowing that I am going to study here alone, I chose to close my mind out of fear. I could not even think in a more positive way that this new place is found for me or this might be the iron string that my heart has been looking for. So the first year was kind of hard for me because I could not find the true self, I did not know what I really want because I can’t hear my own voice in my heart. But luckily, starting last year, I accepted this place that I am staying in and every good and bad that has appeared in my life. I found myself happier and more relax. I can finally listen to the voice in my heart… This experience really helped to prove that Emerson’s idea is totally correct because during the first year here, I could not hear any voice from my heart even if I tried to stay in a calm mood and I blocked the voices outside. Clearly, accepting the place will be the first step to do before doing anything else (i.e., look into nature, block the voices from outside…). If one cannot accept the place that he or she is at first, then there is no way that he or she can go into the next step and hear the true voice from his or her heart.
In Self-Reliance, Emerson tries to address the problem in most people in the American society. People live in the chaos and darkness that they give up their real selves, instead of following their heart and accomplishing their original dream. The society had adverse effect on the growth of each individuals’ the most direct, original feelings toward the world and their lives. Emerson reminds readers to recall the boldness of childhood. In his opinion, a healthy attitude of human nature should be “unaffected, unbiased, unbribable, unaffrighted” like a child. He indicates the significance of independence and nonconformity. Emerson argues that personal value is already determined on own deep inside nature that is innate with one. We should not violate our nature to deny ourselves and shut our heart off. Nonetheless, the process of growing and participating into the society murder individuals’ independent thinking and courages to live for themselves. “Man is timid and apologetic; he is no longer upright; he dares not say ‘I think,’ ‘I am’, but quotes some saint or sage.’’ People don’t believe themselves; they are mendicant and sycophantic to cater for the rules of the society.
It is important for us to discover our nature and life for ourselves instead of others. People who choose to blindly trust and follow forerunner ideas without testifying by themselves will never know what is best for themselves. Nowadays, people are afraid to express themselves because of too much pressure from society, and they are afraid of consequence of failure, misunderstanding, and negative judgement from others. So they contradict themselves. But most people live in part of their truth. It’s almost impossible for one to live completely comfortable following their own thoughts. However, choosing convention but discarding own nature will never make you develop, and will never find out own truth.
Emerson makes many claims about truth and how we should live our truth. Our truth means that we should speak with confidence no matter what. Our truth means that we should speak with confidence and that we should speak what we think no matter what; even if we contradict what we had said earlier. Emerson claims that we should speak with confidence at any time by saying, “speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day” (Emerson 24). We are to speak what we think at that very moment and if it changes over time, still speak with confidence. It may not be the same idea that we began with, but as long as we speak with confidence, then that is the truth. People may judge or misunderstand us for contradicting ourselves, but it does not matter as long as we speak with the confidence that we have in ourselves. Emerson also talks about how all of the wise people in the world were misunderstood because they acted like this as Emerson lists Pythagoras, Socrates, Jesus, Luther, Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton and that “to be great is to be misunderstood” like they were (Emerson 24). And if we are like that, then we will be great. However, we have to infer what he says if our truth is morally wrong. Emerson wants us to live our truth, however, if the truth includes hurting others or doing something very wrong (maybe like breaking the law), it may not be the truth that we are looking for. That truth is not supposed to be conventional, but it also must be something that does not come to the cost of others. We are supposed to live our truth and be an individual, but we have to ask ourselves when our truth is hurting someone else, is it really our truth or do we have something better as our truth.
I agree with Emerson in the point that he makes about speaking with confidence and authority even if that means contradicting yourself. If you experience something that changes your mind about a previous idea, then it is perfectly fine to contradict yourself because you experienced. For example, every time there is a class that I have a test in and another class takes it before me and says it is hard, I tell others I heard it was hard. However, if I take the test and I think it is easy and someone asks me how hard it was, I will contradict myself from earlier to tell them that it was easy. Emerson’s point is easily proved in everyday life because something as simple of what I experienced proves his point, there are many other possible examples. I do disagree with his point about how you have to be misunderstood to be great. There are many people who are considered great and most everyone will understand them. There are a few people in modern day that do prove this point. However, I disagree from my experiences. When I meet someone who I think is successful or who I consider great, I talk to them. When I talk to them, they tell me their story and I usually understand what they are going through or what they had to face. That then makes that person understandable, not misunderstood, and they are still great even though they are not misunderstood. To be misunderstood could mean that you prove people wrong and become great, but in most cases, being great is being yourself and being able to connect with people who understand you.
In Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson truly speaks on the importance of truth. Through out the essay, Emerson emphasizes on the self-reliance, self - culture, and individual expression. But his main focus in revealing the truth, someone’s truth is never more valuable that your truth because every truth is the same no matter what truth it is. A quote that Emerson says is, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all me, - that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost – and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment.” (Emerson, pg. 19) Emerson explains how the truth is above everything else and whatever you think is right, He also says that even if you did do something bad and you tell the truth, that everything is going to be alright because it is a part of being human or like Emerson says, it part of being a man.
I entirely agree with Emerson’s ideas in his essays. The main argument in the quote that I was trying to pursue was about Emerson’s idea about “truth”. I completely agree with the argument about truth that Emerson was trying to make because I believe that if you tell the truth it is always that right thing to do even if you don’t think it is. I also agree with Emerson when he says that everyone is here or does things for a reason because it is Transdentilism. Emerson believes in the goodness and trustworthiness of nature because its your own nature that you either tell the truth or not. A question that someone might ask is, how do you be right with yourself? A good answer for that question would be to always be true to yourself and whatever that you believe is a reason for you being genuinely human.
One of Emerson’s main points in his essay is the importance of truth. It’s an adverbial move of his to convey the value of finding the truth within yourself or something. Everybody has his or her own truth and their truth is never more valuable than someone else’s truth. Emerson wants us to understand how far the truth can come along and how it defines us as individuals. People like to believe that love is what makes us human, but Emerson claims truth is what defines us. He states, “Thy love afar is spite at home. Rough and graceless would be such greeting, but truth is handsomer than the affection of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it, -else it is none (Emerson 22)” This claim of his portrays that as hurtful as the truth can be it’s that “edginess” that makes it good after all. People have the tendency to be afraid of the truth within themselves or simply when they don’t want to know heartbreaking information. You cannot be a good person without truth, because that truth forms your good intentions.
I completely agree with Emerson’s perspective. Personally, I find honesty and truth very important in relationships, and a huge aspect in being a good human being. First, it’s truth then love. Love simply comes with being a truthful human being to people and ourselves. As individuals we should be challenged to influence our very own perspectives by ourselves. We have to stand for our own truth and views, because it’s that type of edginess that defines us. People have the tendency to view being honest and blunt as rude, but in some aspects it’s good. Through this quote that’s what Emerson is trying to convey.
Emerson says, we are all nature, so trying to find one self in nature is unnecessary, since we are nature, we only have to look into ourselves. Nature is truth and truth is inside of each individual. Emerson argues that we must find the truth inside of ourselves and not outside of us. Thus, he quoted,” Do not seek for things outside of yourself”, Then says, “Trust thyself”. (20). Our eyes are closed and we don’t want to open them to seek for our truth, we are incapable of trusting ourselves, because we are afraid of convention, society of what others my think about you. Society creates a truth that we believe it because of conformity, and fear. Convention is giving up what you are. Emerson says that we should stick to our truth; to go deep inside of us, accept who we are and our truth. Even thought you could be rejected and judge, the most important thing is your believe, your truth, do not seek outside, seek inside of you. Convention tries to change who you are so we live in other people’s truth, “it is in the world to live after the world’s option”. (23). We are conformed with the worlds option, because it is easy to live someone else truth, so you don’t be rejected or judge by others. Afraid of standing to your truth, then you re afraid of nature, because you are nature, then you are truth.
Emerson ideas in self-reliance are great and from my view I I agree with most of what he says. Emerson say we are nature, and that we could go to nature and find ourselves, but most important thing is to find find yourself inside of you, because we are as nature as the rest of the world. Once we find ourselves, and our truth, we have to stick stand to it, but if your truth is going to affect other people, then I personally thing that that truth could change not a day from another, and not taking other people truth, but taking time to think about how you can make that truth not hurt someone else’s. We have to be carful because of the conventional society that changes who you are and what you think. Us being afraid of society is right, and that we conformed with it, because it is easier just to stick to someone else’s truth and what the world like and dislike. We are afraid of change, to stand to your parents, friends and society, Emerson is right we have to seek inside of us, and find our truth, your own voice and stay with it.
Many times as individual who are a part of a continuously busy society, we rely on others experiences for wisdom. The wisdom and advice we receive cannot be authentic until we truly and truthfully have the experience ourselves. Relying on other people’s knowledge from exposure to a certain event is completely conventional and is not an internal truth for the person who did not have the experience. Individuals who conform to what they are told to believe loose focus on their own experiences that eventually make up their own truth. For individuals who only receive wisdom from other do not know the truthful truth, therefore “their every truth is not quite true. Their two is not the real two… so that every word they say chagrins us, and we know not where to begin to set them right.” (Emerson 23) The exposure and awareness to something allows an individual to grasp and have knowledge of their real truth.
The idea Emerson has about only having wisdom about what you discovered is a concept that I agree with. When people think about individuals who have wisdom, the type of people that come to mind are usually elder people. I think that although sometimes, older people have more wisdom, because of more experiences it is not always the case. A young person can experience something and have wisdom about that certain topic that an older person may not be aware of. Having experiences and expressing truth makes internal truths not conventional truths.
Emerson’s essay on Self Reliance stressed the importance of relying on ones inner self instead of swearing by society. Emerson says, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” (Emerson 21), meaning that nothing you see in the media or in society can be trusted or kept sacred, one has to develop their own thoughts before conforming to someone else’s. We have to be confident enough within ourselves and come up with our own theories so we are not affected by what outside forces say. Emerson believes that the only way one can be a true man is by being right within yourself. It is important to seek inward for answers and not outward because the theories and beliefs we invest our time into should come straight from the heart rather than from another’s truth. The only way to find out our truth is to go through life’s experiences and understand that every stage we are in is exactly where we are supposed to be. We have to go through our own trouble in order to understand the meanings or truths in everything.
Although Emerson makes a handful of valid points such as not conforming to society and being your own individual, I do believe some of your own believes can be strengthened by learning from other people. It is irrational to believe that a person cannot be truthful within ones self by looking at society. We can look at societies weaknesses and learn from them and overcome them but we can also look at its strengths and become like them. It is important to think for yourself and be true to yourself but just because our truth is based off of someone else’s truth does not mean we are being fake within. Once you detach yourself from society and refuse to believe it then you become almost too sheltered and judgmental because you are not experiencing different mindsets and cultures. Instead of cutting off all of society the human race needs to learn to be comfortable enough with themselves to not conform to a truth that isn’t theirs.
Emerson discusses how children are able to make decisions independent from the world around them. They have no notion of social structure or a conscience for other people so the choices they make are original and have no influence from the outside, “He cumbers himself never about consequences, about interests; he gives an independent, genuine verdict.” A child’s choice is from within where an adult’s decision is conventional, taking into consideration the people around them. Adults value the approval of others over their own desires and are afraid of not fitting into society and pleasing the people around them.
A lot of what a child wants is from inside and is their own original desire, however, no matter how small, children are also affected by the outside, but not as much as adults. Even little children are affected by the actions of the people around them; they are impacted by the action of the adult around them and what they say. Adults are affected by the outside world, but have their own desires that can be original as well, but it is harder for them to make the decision from within. People are influenced by those around them and want to please others, but they also want to please themselves and fulfill their desires from within. Adults have original decisions and desires, instincts and cravings that come from within and are not impacted by the outside.
I think that all men and women have strong and weak points. However, I don’t believe that all those strong points are the same; all different people are good at different things, and that is what makes progress. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,―that is genius,” is Emerson’s claim. In other words, all men are geniuses and they are all geniuses in the same way. I don’t believe that this is true. I do believe that everybody has potential for greatness, but everybody has potential for different types of greatness, which contradicts Emerson’s idea that people should “speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense” because no idea is fully and 100% universal.
In Self-Reliance, Emerson proves that it is inevitable to stray away from society's thoughts and beliefs. Society makes it hard to be your own person. Everyday something in the news or on television will affect a human's behavior. Emerson cannot stress it enough that the human race evolves into what society wants them to be. In this day and age, it is hard to decipher what is your real truth, and what others want your truth to be. It is extremely likely that most people's truths are not actually their own, but they are truths that they have adapted from their community and the people around them.
I agree with Emerson’s point on how it is almost inevitable to not be affected by the people you surround yourself with or the society you live in. This will unfortunately never change, because of human nature. Most people do not want to have a belief that could be wrong because that would cause conflict. It is hard to have your own thoughts and opinions on things in today's society because of the fear of rejection and causing conflict. Many people are afraid of being rejected because of their own truth and they do not want to cause any conflict that could end badly. Society is so quick to judge in this day and age that it is hard for almost everybody to speak his or her own truth. A person should be able to express his or her own opinion without the fear of being rejected.
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, “Self-Reliance”, Emerson is revealing his philosophy of developing your reason for being on this earth, your adaptation to nature, individuality, and self interest. We are trying to find our inner-self with the help of those components. Our adverbial response is key to understanding ourselves. It is considered away of processing ideas we never took into consideration. How we adapt to nature and how we understand our place is a process that, we as individuals can only understand on our own. We look around and see a diverse group of people, wondering how to act and what to say. Each and every one of us is guided by our self-interest and how we are able to act in a society as an individual with our, knowing our self-interest should be our first priority. “Of the universal mind each individual is one more incarnation.” (Emerson pg.2) Every role in society is based on the system of self-interest and because we are afraid of breaking those roles of the system, we create rules, which is also known as a social contract. After we make the rules, we universalize them.
I believe the point Emerson is making, is true. As a whole, we could be very powerful, but the ones who wants to flourish on their own, are the ones who strive in society. He explains if we cannot understand our self, then we start to appeal to society and the consequences that come with it. Being able to be an individual at a young age can only benefit you in the ling run. We also need to understand that following convention will not always be the route we are supposed to take. Facing judgment is hard, but it is part of the process you take to be an individual.
Humans have a raw natural quality that embodies acting on impulse. We often times rely on other individual’s truth or experience to guide us on our journey, but Emerson communicates that in order to make decisions, we first need to make mistakes. Accepting guidance from others prevents an individual from obtaining original knowledge and contemplating their own truth. Original truth can be defined by Emerson as an idea or a way of life that one personally believes is unerring based on prier experiences and previous knowledge regarding his or her surrounding. An individual must “trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events” (Emerson 20). One must experience the process of, not only physical, but mental maturity; the only way to understand it is to personally accept the people and circumstances in one’s life. One must confide in the idea that everything in existence is grown to prosper and reach full potential.
In my opinion, Emerson’s profound discovery of finding satisfaction in individuality is accurate. One must advance in order to uncover his or her own unique truth. When an individual encounters someone else’s opinion and chooses to incorporate it as their own truth, then it is their truth since they have deemed it infallible. Aside from confirming another individuals belief’s as one’s own, I believe that Emerson spends time stressing the significance of personal experience and not succumbing to the pressures that society has set forth based on acceptance, because we must unveil our own truth through abandoning convention and proceeding on our own journey.
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self Reliance,” Emerson emphasizes the idea of trusting oneself and following your personal truth by relying on what’s within you rather than relying on convention. In order for an individual to truly discover who they are they must follow their natural path, speak from within, and to accept their current place, situation, and surroundings. Your growth stems off of your nature, impulses, truths, actions, and thoughts. To be able to grow you must make mistakes. But to be able to genuinely know who you are, Emerson believes you must trust yourself and be confident in your actions. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events...Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day. “Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.” Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” (Emerson 22)
I completely agree with Emerson’s idea of in order to be great or to thrive you must be unique, be completely yourself and misunderstood by others. I feel that to be able to do things to your best ability you need to truly know who you are and be your true self. If you are not your true self your work isn't necessarily your work but the work of others and their impacts on you. By accepting your mistakes and your place in society you are able to learn more about yourself and find your inner self.
Wordsworth’s influence on Emerson is seen through the expression of individuality and how solitude gives us opportunities to explore and discover our natural lives. Both authors emphasize the importance of this exploration of one’s identity, which leads to true happiness. We find this pleasure through the hidden knowledge only found in “the Bliss of Solitude (Wordsworth).” In Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, a reader may perceive the title as a negative connotation, although the author is expressing the lonely state as a place of discovery and expansion upon natural truths. Emerson elaborates on this idea, as he writes “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own (Emerson).” Living by conventional truths is living a life of ignorance because we deny our self-reliance.
Wordsworth encourages originality due to the positivity it conveys, but Emerson stresses that being an individual who lives by his or her own truths, makes you stand out among others—something humans fear most. He builds on his ideas from Wordsworth, but writes more about individuality in the perspective of human nature. We deny our own voices because we are afraid of displeasure by others. He argues that there is something in you to follow, but there comes a time when ignorance appears negative and looked down upon by others. We deny our self-reliance because we are concerned with conformity and depend on acceptance by others. We do not take the time to know ourselves because we are so distracted today, and our own voice cannot be heard. We need time to listen to ourselves because we commonly judge our truth by how many people agree with us. Emerson encourages his readers to be misunderstood, because knowing ourselves and following our own truths gives us the true happiness that Wordsworth expresses.
“These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world.”
In the essay Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson states that the voices we hear in solitude are completely different from the voices we hear once we enter the world. The truth of every human being is only honest and true within himself or herself. “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Once your truth reaches the real world, your truth becomes conventional. It is a constant struggle within yourself, whether your truth is conventional or true.
I believe that Emerson makes a good point, but I think it is extremely rare to find someone with a true truth in this generation. This generation is controlled by technology and others influencing others, that most people have a conventional truth without even realizing. I agree with Emerson, I just don’t think it is going to be possible for many people to have honest truths.
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