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Divine Figurative Language In Self-Reliance, By Ralph Waldo Emerson

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In the Piece “Self-reliance” written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the most influential writers in America, speaking to the individual about being true to who people are, and not who society expects people to be. He explores the concept that greatness is achieved by rising above the average person; making one’s thoughts extraordinary, instead of just ordinary. He uses strategies such as metaphors, personification, syntax, and more, to shine a light on his purposeful perspective. Emerson applies divine figurative language to express the importance of being who people are when he remarks, “Always the soul hears an admonition in such lines […]” (1) Here he is depicting the image that people are supposed to listen to their hearts and souls, because that is their direction. Warning and counsel comes from within, and listening to that voice is what distinguishes an ordinary person, from an extraordinary one, taking that leap from society, and into the life of the individual, where people listen to …show more content…

He demonstrates diction when he relays words like “providence” (3), “soul” (1), and “majesty” (1), to substantiate the idea that everyone has a destiny to become a better person, and that god is the ultimate protector. This enables people to be fierce as a lion in making their thoughts, beliefs, and actions their own. In Waldo Emerson’s essays titled “self-evidence”, he uses many rhetorical strategies and sentence structure to allow his readers to understand the importance of being true to who you are, not who others want you to be. One can only achieve the act of greatness, if they rise above the average thinking, and make their thoughts extraordinary. His tone is confident yet urgent, to press the importance. Overall the audience feels like they can achieve greatness, being who they truly are on the

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Emerson believed that one can’t be themselves if they did conform, as conforming was almost like copying another person’s image in Emerson’s eyes. In this essay, he states that it’s important to believe in your own ideas in order to be a genius. “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) Nonconformity continues to be a very common theme, as Emerson relates nonconformity to infants. “Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that the babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it” (Emerson,

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They will follow the steps of Emerson in “Self-Reliance”, Thoreau in “Civil Disobedience”, and the theme of the film Dead Poets Society. Within the writings of these authors there are both benefits and consequences of living self-reliant and “sucking the marrow out of life”. One of the main ideas for Transcendentalism is “Self-Reliance” a step by step writing by Ralph Emerson. Emerson explains having trust and confidence in yourself, he explains controlling your emotions and speaking your voice.

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One of such maxims is “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” This maxim, while ironically mocking the hold of religion upon the society of the time, also serves to display Emerson’s values on the originality of one’s thoughts. In literal translation, the maxim states, “The only sacred thing

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In the texts “Declaration of Independence”, “Civil Disobedience”, and “Self Reliance”, the authors show that individuals shape the society, just as the society shapes the individuals. Individuals often stray away from society’s norms. In “Self Reliance”, Emerson writes about the primacy of the individual, and the importance of the individual, disregarding the expectations of society. He states, “What I must do is all that concerns

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Sharing similar passions and philosophical ideas, it seemed only fitting that Ralph Waldo Emerson would deliver a eulogy for his deceased friend and former student Henry David Thoreau. Throughout his speech, Emerson is able to capture the essence of Thoreau’s life by sharing personal moments and stories that demonstrate what he stood for and believed in. Riddled with powerful words and phrases, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s eulogy of the late Henry David Thoreau effectively brings to light his dear friend’s transcendentalist views and values, leaving his audience with the impression of Thoreau as a strong minded individual who lived his life in the moment. According to Emerson, “No truer American existed than Thoreau,” and while this

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The quote “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, can be lived by many people in the world. For example Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr. and Haley Schmutz all live by this quote. Albert Einstein lived by the quote “ To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment” by Ralph Waldo Emerson because was a different thinker. Einstein was a different kind of thinker than others because thinking outside the box was one of him many differences than others.(Anderson 23).

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Ralph Waldo Emerson, a philosopher during the early 1800’s in America, wrote Self-Reliance, an essay about the importance of the individual, and relying one’s own thoughts and impressions. He emphasizes the importance of thinking for yourself, not relying on others to think for you. Rhetorical strategies, like figurative language, allusions, and elaborate syntax and parallelism, allow Emerson

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Emerson ends off this essay with a strong quote that leaves you to think even after the essay is read and analyzed. He writes “To be great, is

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The theme of the essay “Self Reliance” written by Emerson is for beings to not focus on those of others or subside his/her values to fit in with our society, for true geniuses comes from within and are made with their own heart and mind. His idea of self-reliance differs from that of the norm in that he doesn’t encourage those to mix into selfish ways but to be open and proud of their own individuality for that is the true key to life itself. Emerson’s idea is similar to the common use in that he encourages those to not depend on others to define his/her identity. 2. Emerson’s use of figurative language encourages his readers to view his ideas in a clearer and more emphasized perspective.

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In Emerson's views, people should “not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”(citation). Based on Emerson’s thoughts, people should not follow the crowd, but instead live their lives and leave their mark on the Earth. Emerson thoughts come from a philosophical movement of the nineteenth century called transcendentalism. Transcendentalism focuses on religious renewal, literary innovation, and social transformation (encyclopedia.com). Because of their belief that God exists in everyone and nature, and that knowledge comes from individual intuition, led to the highlight of individualism, self-reliance, and breaking free from traditions(citation).

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In the piece “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of Americas most influential thinkers, Emerson talks about the subject of individuality. Using many different rhetorical strategies, he makes his perspective on the subject loud and clear by using personification, alliteration and analogy. “The eye was placed where one ray shall fall, that it might testify ray shall fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. Bravely let him speak the utmost syllable of his confession” (Emerson). Emerson uses personification, giving “the eye” the ability to talk and confess such as a human would.

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This essay, Self-Reliance, is very insightful for its time, and many of the themes written are still relevant today. These allusions used here were put together to further explain his main point on trusting one’s genius. This ignites people to become brave, and trust themselves more, rather than being afraid of their own thoughts and mind. After reading, people may even embrace their thoughts and run with their genius. Emerson again backs up his original statement, but instead uses analogy to express how society rejects individuality, but you must be brave enough to be your own part of this group.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman emphasize the importance of living true to yourself and developing complete self-acceptance. To live true to yourself and completely accept who you are, you must understand your identity and your sense of self. In Self-Reliance, Emerson explains that your identity and your sense of self is spiritual. Whitman argues, in Song of Myself, that your identity and sense of self is based on both your soul and your body. While both Emerson and Whitman allow for intimate connections and friendships, Emerson encourages people to have relationships with a select few, whereas Whitman encourages people to connect with everyone and anyone, due to their different views of self.

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You should live life the way you will be happiest. Ralph Waldo Emerson shows courage and confidence in his short story ¨Self-Reliance¨. Confidence and inner strength is shown in Katherine Sarafian´s movie Brave though Merida’s actions. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,”and Katherine Sarafian´s Brave both prove that relying on oneself to be confident against conformity leads to inner strength. In both pieces, this theme is supported by confidence, independence, and self love.

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American Transcendentalism was highly inspired by Romanticism, and therefore they have many similarities. However, there are some differences, especially in their ideas of religion and God. The American Transcendentalist period took place in the mid 19th century. It began around 1836 and lasted to roughly 1860. Romanticism occurred much earlier, around the end of the 18th century, but was mostly dominant around 1840.

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