Self-Reliance

Let's take a closer look at the full quotation from Emerson: Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string Emerson explains fairly explicitly what he means by this comment. In writing...

A hobgoblin is a small, mischief-making imp from folklore and fairytales whose intentions are usually evil. In this statement, Emerson uses hobgoblin as a metaphor, comparing the abstract term...

Emerson helps to explain this quotation in the sentences which follow it. He says, "He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be...

The idea of paying mind to the subjective notion of self is a powerfully compelling idea that is featured in Emerson's work. The notion of envy is the desire to focus the subjective on another...

This passage from the essay Self-Reliance follows Ralph Waldo Emerson's remarks about people's reluctance to change their opinions that have already been approved by others. That is, people are...

Emerson is trying to point out the challenges with remaining as a non- conformist. At the time in which he is writing, America began to embrace a model of industrialization and the notion of...

In this essay, Emerson encourages each person to live by their own principles. He exhorts the readers to rely on themselves for their ideas and values and goals, rather than listening to what other...

In Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance," the main idea is that the individual should exist apart from society. In other words, people should be themselves completely and not seek to conform to...

This quote is from Emerson's "Self-Reliance," and it's about the importance of originality and trusting one's own instincts in the process of becoming educated. The person who truly wants to become...

As a Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson believed strongly in individualism; it is important, Emerson held, for each individual to follow whatever his conscience dictated at any particular time....

By the word, "palms," Emerson is referring to the palm leaf or laurel branch, which in ancient times was used by people to celebrate a victory or occasion for rejoicing. One example of this usage...

Emerson believed that individuals should think for themselves, not simply conform to popular ideas because they are the most popular and not simply stick with one opinion so as to avoid appearing...

Emerson's essay is aimed at young men--and we must emphasize men--graduating from college or in other ways about to embark on a life of opportunity. In other words, he writes to persuade privileged...

Emerson essentially believes that traveling is overrated. He supports this perspective through an initial focus on "the idea" of places like Italy, England, and Egypt, and the fascination of...

I think this segment of Emerson's Self-Reliance focuses on the theme of confidence. If we cannot believe in ourselves, we have already defeated the purposes and aims we set out to achieve. In...

Society is the force one must push back against to achieve self-reliance and learn to understand one's individual destiny, according to Emerson. Society is the collective force of conformity that...

When Ralph Waldo Emerson uses the phrase "that divine idea each of us represent," he means the uniqueness of each person as conceived by God. In his essay "Self-Reliance," Emerson urges all people...

To understand this line from "Self-Reliance," we have to put it in context. Emerson is urging the reader to listen to his own intuitive insights, and not put them aside because he doubts his...

"Planting corn" is a metaphor (a comparison that does not use the words "like" or "as") for making the most of one's own abilities so that one bears a good harvest (i.e., so that they do good in...

Emerson is using a metaphor. He is figuratively speaking of all the bards and sages, that is, all the poets and philosophers, as if they are stars lighting up the entire sky like our Milky Way...

As was mentioned in the previous post, society's main purpose is to suppress individuality, force people to conform to the status quo, and encourage citizens to behavior consistently. Emerson...

In his essay on “self-reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson emphasizes the importance of trusting one’s own conscience; only by doing so can one realistically expect to maintaining one’s personal...

Emerson believed in two kinds of "learning" --- tuition and intuition. Tuition is the kind of learning we generally associate with school. It comes from effort, from absorbing knowledge...

Emerson's essay "Nature" is an explanation of how humans and animals and plants are all part of the natural world, and within Nature is contained a beauty that also comes from people's response to...

In this passage, Emerson is using language with religious connotations to make the point that everyday people aren't meant to be followers or passive bystanders on the sidelines. Everyone should...

Tone is the attitude or mood a writer conveys. In "Self-Reliance," Emerson conveys a tone of complete confidence and unwavering conviction in what he has to say. He is serious and never hesitant—he...

As a transcendentalist, Emerson belived that peopl must live their own lives and not worry themselves with that other people do of what other people think. In "Self-Reliance" he discusses this...

The implication within the quote is the idea of focusing on the individual's actions. The individual is in the position of power to be able to impact their world with a sense of action and...

Self-reliance in this essay is not about taking care of the externals of life, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Instead, it is about the state of one's soul: Emerson strongly advocates for...

In "Self-Reliance," as the title indicates, Emerson tries to persuade young people just graduating from college to follow their own hearts and souls in seeking their paths through life. He is...

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. This observation stands at the heart of Transcendental thought and is...

This quote is from a paragraph that really explains the meat of Emerson's essay and one of the most important tenets of transcendentalism. It is from the paragraph that starts "whoso would be a...

Both texts, Nature and "Self-Reliance," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, illuminate a few of the main tenets of Transcendentalism. First, the tenet of individualism is present in both texts. In Nature,...

As a Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson firmly believed in the merits of individualism and the power of intuition. In his essay, "Self-Reliance," he explains, To believe your own thought, to...

This is an opinion question, and could really be answered either way. The prior expert's answer focuses on how marketing drives much of what we desire—or think we desire—in life, and how this...

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist meaning that he believed humans were inherently good, and that society and its institutions corrupted this purity. By nonconformity, Emerson meant to...

Emerson is not trying to advise everybody to be a nonconformist. He is addressing his remarks to intelligent individuals who are capable of understanding him. No doubt a lot of these individuals...

In "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the author encourages people to be self-reliant in seeking their future, as the title suggests. Each person is distinct and individual and must follow his...

In his essay "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson champions individualism, spontaneity, nature, and intuition. Emerson subscribes to the belief that individuals should trust themselves and not seek...

The main theme of "Self-Reliance" is that individuals should trust their own judgment and inner conscience rather than rely on the past, tradition, or what others tell them as they seek how to live...

Early in "Self-Reliance," Emerson says all people eventually learn four basic truths: envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide, all must take themselves for who they are, and though the universe of...

Emerson believes that society affects what people value because it removes the individual's uniqueness by encouraging conformity. In "Self-Reliance," Emerson argues that society wants people to...

An aphorism is a short memorable saying that states a truth. My personal favorite aphorism in "Self-Reliance" is the following: Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. The...

Absolutely, Emerson values original thought much more highly than traditional wisdom. In this essay, he says, without qualification, "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist [....]. Nothing...

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, there is a close interrelationship among individuals, nature, and God. In "Self-Reliance," Emerson reiterates some of his ideas from Nature such as the belief that...

The 1988 movie, Tucker: The Man and His Dream is a biographical film about the avant gardeinventor, a maverick of his time who possessed such an independent spirit that he refused to forgoe or sell...

Emerson wrote that "[s]ociety everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members" and that a man is "clapped into jail by his consciousness." By this, he meant that the...

Emerson feels passionate about his topic in his essay "Self-Reliance." He wants us as readers to be persuaded by his argument, which states that we should follow the dictates of our own souls...

The individual's responsibility to society is to remain the individual. The individual must be a nonconformist and take care of himself. Although in society it is easy to conform, and in fact...

This quotation comes from the early part of Emerson's "Self Reliance," which focuses on the importance of individualism and the self. What Emerson is saying is that for every person, eventually...