Figurative Language In Ralph Waldo Emerson's From Nature

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A wise man once said, "to go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society." This wise man was Ralph Waldo Emerson for which he stated this in one of his works, From Nature. Through out Emerson 's writing, one can notice his passion for writing in figurative language. In fact, he loved it so much that he used it to address the moral or the theme. Cracking down onto the real question, what is Emerson attempting to tell us? Emerson himself will answer this question. As one reads through From Nature, Emerson uses figurative language to portray the theme of the story. Emerson speaks on one 's chamber, our society, as well as how to reach solitude. Emerson states that "the rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and vulgar things," which, in translation, defines that the heavenly rays are a representative of solitude and "vulgar things" are a representative of one 's chamber. The reason for this is that the chamber is the area for oneself to be oneself. For example, my chamber is my house for which I live in. Within my chamber I feel the freedom to express …show more content…

As Emerson states the moral of the story, he also states that "the sun illuminates only the eye of man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child." Deciphering this quote, Emerson is discussing the attachment differences between individuals and society. When Emerson speaks of sun that illuminates man, he speaks of society. Mankind roams this Earth with a spotlight shinning on them and this spotlight is society which holds high standards. When Emerson mentions the eye and heart of a child, he is stating the ones that managed to maintain or receive simple understanding and free from their chamber. For example, a man has responsibilities and thus has many attachments to society such as family, friends, and even career. A child has yet to be corrupted with society 's seed and cannot understand it. Thus, a child has an easier chance to separate from