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Individualism In Society: Walt Whitman And Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Melissa Garcia English 11A Credit 3 Ms. Perkins Individualism in Society Individuality has been a persistent theme in literature for quite some time.The meaning can change depending on the author. Revolutionary Poet Walt Whitman expressed his views on individuality in his poem, “Songs of Myself,” as an identity broken into three parts; inner self, yourself, and the universal soul. Similar to Whitman’s poem, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay from “Self-Reliance” shares the theme of the importance of self growth. In the works of Whitman and Emerson, they demonstrate how individualism is important to maintain within society and should not be conformed by society. It is clear when reading the texts of “Song of Myself’ and “Self-Reliance” …show more content…

Both the themes of Whitman and Emerson revolve around the concept of enhancing one's inner self to contribute for a better society or to better themselves. There are two types of people: (1) those who merely follow the crowd and, (2) those who strive to lead the way never following others. Individuality is vital to society. In a society without individuality, everyone is closed minded to new ideas, they lack development and innovation. People with different innovative ideas create the possibility of change in a community because it gives the opportunity to the individual. According to the essay, “Self-Reliance,” by Emerson, he states, “Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” (Emerson) Emerson expresses how in a community where there is ignorance and prejudice, you have to learn to accept criticism and continue with your mentality. All the people he mentioned were misunderstood, but later became the people who changed their generation’s mindset for the better. Being a distinct individual in a society may be hard in the beginning but that struggle for acceptance eventually becomes a chance for

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