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Self-Reliance
Emerson uses a very interesting analogy to define society, which he described as being opposed to self-reliance. He compares society to a joint-stock company, and as a result, he builds up his...
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Self-Reliance
"Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson is an essay that stresses the importance of knowing who you are and not letting outside sources influence you. Here are its four main ideas: "Trust thyself":...
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Self-Reliance
The entire passage from "Self-Reliance" reads: A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson is saying here that true genius is the conviction and belief that, like everybody else on earth, we have certain truths in our private hearts which are unique to us. It is a confusing...
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Self-Reliance
In lines 12-24, Emerson states that self-reliance starts, as we might imagine, with the individual's decision that he must work hard to develop his talents: "no kernel of nourishing corn can come...
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Self-Reliance
Ralph Waldon Emerson's "Self Reliance" is a pivotal essay, not only in terms of Emerson's output, but in regards to the transcendentalist movement and the foundations of American individualism. In...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson, who wrote this in his essay "Self-reliance," is simply saying the following: be yourself. Don't worry about what other people are doing. Don't conform. Do what is right for you. When he...
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Self-Reliance
In this essay, Emerson is advising young people to follow the deepest spiritual guidance of their own souls in choosing what they will do with their adult lives. He is telling young people to...
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Self-Reliance
As with everything else, Emerson consigns spiritual matters to the heart of the individual rather than solely to organized religion or any church. Emerson believes that just because something has...
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Self-Reliance
A discourse on individualism, Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" extols the creativity of individual thought as well as its importance in society while stressing the need for resistance to...
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Self-Reliance
The two great barriers to self-reliance, according to Emerson, are the chief evils of conformity and consistency. Emerson saw society as a massive barrier to individuals achieving self-reliance...
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Self-Reliance
In Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, "Self-Reliance," I am uncertain if you are referring to organized religion or a belief in God. Emerson mentions God in this outstanding essay. Emerson's mantra in...
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Self-Reliance
It is hard to say for sure than anyone in today's world has been influenced by Emerson, but you can clearly see things today that look like they might be influenced by the sort of ideas he put...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson's essay, "Self-Reliance" expresses the theme of individuality in a society that is in conspiracy against the "manhood of every one of its members." Whoever wishes to truly be a man must be...
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Self-Reliance
The answer to this question can be easily seen in two very famous quotes. When it comes to conformity, Emerson says "whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." When it comes to consistency, he...
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Self-Reliance
Here is the full quote: Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing...
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Self-Reliance
In the part of the paragraph before the line you cite, Emerson is talking about how people need to be themselves. They have to realize that they are different from other people and that they...
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Self-Reliance
*The basic tenets of Transcendentalism are these three: A firm belief that God is present in all aspects of Nature, including every human being (this is the concept of the Over-Soul) A conviction...
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Self-Reliance
Ralph Waldo Emerson published his essay in 1841, and it espouses his philosophy of individualism. Through personal intuition, one gains insight into oneself and the outside world. He argues that...
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Self-Reliance
The relationship of Douglass's Narrative to Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and Thoreau's Walden is compelling and fraught. On the one hand, Emerson and Thoreau are championing the idea that Americans...
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Self-Reliance
In "Self-Reliance", Emerson tells us that consistency is the "hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen, philosophers, and divines". To him, a great soul should have nothing whatsoever...
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Self-Reliance
In paragraph 5 of "Self-Reliance," Emerson talks about the natural state of man as one of independence. He suggests that children are free to make decisions based fully on their will, unaffected by...
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Self-Reliance
At the heart of Emerson's famed essay, "Sel-Reliance," is the line, Every heart vibrates to that iron string. The metaphor of "iron string" is the innate independence of man which Emerson has...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson’s essay, entitled “Self-Reliance,” argues that individuals should think for themselves, rather than allow others to think for them. He entreats the reader to trust his or her own thoughts...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson is critical of conventional prayers. He views them as the enemy of self-reliance when they express regret or beg for some favor from God. Instead of wallowing in regret or begging, Emerson...
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Self-Reliance
To Emerson, nature is the purest form of innocence and truth, in many ways. He implies that humankind should be ashamed to stand in nature because of their OWN corrupt natures. He even goes to...
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Self-Reliance
In “Self-Reliance,” an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he states, “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide. . .”...
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Self-Reliance
The simile to which you refer, "words as hard as cannon balls," was written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his famous essay entitled "Self-Reliance." The theme of this writing, as well as most of...
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Self-Reliance
Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" is a major statement of the beliefs of the Transcendentalist movement. One of these beliefs is that God is present in all things and that all things are...
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Self-Reliance
In this essay, Emerson makes a persuasive argument for nonconformity and self-sufficiency, finds sanctity in the individual mind, and calls upon us to express ourselves strongly rather than meekly....
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Self-Reliance
What is important about the verses written by the painter is that they were original and unconventional. This first sentence thus helps capture a theme of this essay: that the self-reliant...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" is a passionate appeal to radical individualism. People have lost their way, Emerson argues; they pay so much reverence to institutions of Education, Government, and...
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Self-Reliance
Though Emerson espouses self-reliance as the optimal way of living one's life, early in the essay he urges readers to "accept the place the divine providence has found for you, [and] the society of...
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Self-Reliance
A careful analysis of this excellent essay will help you to discover the answers to your question. It is important to realise that he uses imagery in part to convey the force of his message and to...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson addresses this tenet in paragraphs 36-37-38, as the first of his challenges to the numbered “offices and relations of men.” He rails against traditional uses of prayer. Individuals should...
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Self-Reliance
You are probably referring to the following recommendation, which is widely quoted online and attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when...
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Self-Reliance
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...
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Self-Reliance
Much of the main thrust of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" focuses on the importance of staying true to one's inner nature and rejecting societal pressures to conform. It is a radical...
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Self-Reliance
This essay is one of my favorites. Emerson claims that "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members." What he means is that society kills...
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Self-Reliance
Transcendentalism is a belief system whose adherents seek knowledge through intuition rather than rationalism. Transcendentalists think of God as a pantheistic presence: present in all things....
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Self-Reliance
Emerson suggests that nothing is more sacred than "the integrity of our own mind." Emerson believed that people should not allow others to decide things for them. Nothing is at last sacred but the...
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Self-Reliance
According to the father of Transcendentalism, people conform to society and its views instead of trusting themselves and their own ideas. In doing so, they give up their self-reliance and become...
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Self-Reliance
Firstly, I think you will find an anecdote much easier if you understand what exactly that is. An anecdote is usually an interesting short story, sometimes humorous, about a person or incident. It...
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Self-Reliance
In my mind, the most pressing example of Romanticism in Emerson's work is the call to break from the conformist chains that bind and constrict the individual. The Romantic tendency to distrust...
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Self-Reliance
Two things that cause us to doubt ourselves are not being true to the inner voice of our souls and failing in our first endeavor. Emerson contends that we doubt the divine spark that God has placed...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson opens this essay by talking about some original ("unconventional") lines he had read by a painter. It is the sentiment, more than the subject of the lines themselves, that leaves an...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson contends that society is "a joint-stock company" that is in conspiracy against the individual. According to Emerson, society's main purpose is to suppress individuality: Society everywhere...
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Self-Reliance
Emerson is considered one of the big names in Transcendentalism in New England in the mid-19th century. The Transcendentalists were reacting against established religious doctrine (Unitarian...
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Self-Reliance
In his essay "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson repudiates those who desire acceptance and who want consistency of thought and action. Very much the individualist, Emerson holds the mantra of...
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Self-Reliance
The context of Emerson's quote helps to reveal its significance and overall meaning. Consider the full nature of the idea: There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the...
