Self Reliance Essay, Research Paper

Emerson?s essay ?self reliance? had multiple themes incorporated with artistic perfection focusing on the topic of individualism.

Emerson said that ?suicide is imitation?, he explains that if u are not true in the sense of individualism; you are then committing suicide. As society will look at you with a different perspective than at other people and it will always single you out in a crowd due to this. And that you must take yourself for who & what you are ,you should neither change yourself or imitate other. He further says that ?Envy is ignorance?, this ties up with what you have & how you feel about it; if you look at other?s possessions & are jealous of them. You are not looking at what you yourself have, rather you are imposing that your possessions are inferior to theirs and thus you are being ignorant of your own possessions. Emerson also says ?Express yourself? ,if you believe that you yourself can?t be depended on , than you can?t rely on others, so u become unconfident in what you do & therefore don?t trust the other person, this effect your moral & has a very negative effect on the human psyche. People will try to keep a distance from you because of the behavior that results from this.

He reinforces the concept ?accept your transcendent destiny?, that you must take yourself, who & what you are; especially the events you experienced as they happened in past & there are unchangeable. They make up who you are and you can?t do anything to change what happened, but accept them as they are. In not accepting, you are not moving along, but rather are stuck in past. Emerson sheds light on the most important of the American dreams ?Be a non- conformist? do what you believe is right for you, not what society thinks is right for you. In other words Choosing your own destiny, not following one society pick out for you Society dictates many of the personal choices we make, but this one is supposed to be made by you as this has direct effect(s) on you. Those who don?t do so, are blinded as to what society has placed them in. but this you have control over, maybe not total control, but enough to make a difference towards your desired destiny. He then says that ?to be great is to be misunderstood?, this ties in with being a non-conformist, as most of the greatest people in record part of 19th and 20th century all were on a different level of thinking, from the people in their time. Therefore were misunderstood at that particular time, some even condemned for their talent & thinking. Later in time they were considered as symbols of innovation & theoretical thinking & honored by the society in today?s world.

Bibliography

time , NY times,,,,