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Ralph Waldo Emerson Research Paper

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Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most influential writers who brought a new sense of ideas that easily grabbed the attention of many people during the 19th century. His philosophy was focused on American individualism, seeing oneself as the creator. He believed that each one of us holds the ultimate authority. We have the ability to seeking a prosperous life for ourselves. “To believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men,-that is genius” (269). Emerson believed that each person has a personal divinity. They are able to listen to their own voice and know what is best for them. Ralph Waldo Emerson writings in Self-Reliance, encourages an individual to follow their own path to a good life, one where they can discover their own moral truth and virtues. However, his philosophy of nonconformity can be a danger to society. Though Emerson believes he has the best of intentions for all humanity he has not recognized how divided the society has become when everyone is acting upon their own truths rather than the ones society has set. …show more content…

What is appealing about his philosophy is that he writes in a way that helps to empower an individual to find the strength and ability to be their own person. “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself” (286). He wants them to find happiness through their own decisions. His writings can truly help someone find their authority and recognize that they are able to accomplish great things. He writes as an encouragement for individuals to speak in boldness about their thoughts and opinions. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine Providence has found for you” (270). We should trust our own instincts and listen to what our mind is telling us to do. He encourages the people to step into a act of

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Emerson also wrote about change. He believed that if one wanted to change they could, all they had to do was change their thoughts, attitude, and perspective. Emerson wrote, “If we live truly, we

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Ralph Waldo Emerson’s view of the individual was greatly affected by his life experiences. He grew up and even became a pastor in a Unitarian church, but was skeptical

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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

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Exercising your own ideals can be perceived as being rebellious in every society at time. People are expected to act, think, and behave in a way that safeguards everyone’s contentment. Ralph Waldo Emerson has a different view on this matter, in his essay Self-Reliance, he urges every individual to believe in their divine ideal and not to conform to society and its projections. In Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance”, he urges for every human being to rely on their own intelligence and the genius within to make decision for themselves and to be their true selves.

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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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Ralph Waldo Emerson, a renowned transcendentalist, shared many universal truths during the period of Transcendentalism, which further advocated the ideals of the period. This maxim in particular expresses that your own identity and perspective of the world is what is most important in the end. Emerson states that nothing is as important as you, regarding the path you choose and the ideals you create for yourself. In other words, Emerson encourages people to not succumb to society's expectations of who a person should be, but instead live a lifestyle you desire to live.

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In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance, he passionately expresses his views on individualism. Emerson’s views on individuality are views of following oneself’s own thoughts and passions, rather than fearing men and following the world. The speaker is successful in getting his point across with the use of allusions, anaphora, and thought triggering metaphors. As discussed previously, Emerson employs strong allusions of well known people to get his claim across, which is how important individuality is.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Self-Reliance during the time period when transcendentalism emerged, thus based his essay off of this ideology. Transcendentalism is known as the philosophy that divine truth is present in all created things and that truth is known through intuition, not through the rational mind. This principle seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout many of Emerson’s essays. In fact, he is known as a transcendentalist philosopher. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance, Emerson is convincing his readers that self-reliance is more important than being dependent on others by using metaphors and pathos.

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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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Philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay "Self-Reliance", examines that people should follow their instincts and ideas. Emerson's purpose is to tell people to trust themselves and their ideas. He adopts a didactic Tone in order to convey his transcendental thinking to the reader for what is happening during this time which is the Mexican war and slavery. Emerson achieves his purpose through the use of explosive diction. Emerson starts off immediately by introducing metaphors, paradox, and personification.

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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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Emerson emphasizes, “what I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think... It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion... but the great man is he who

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“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”. these were the words of author Ralph Waldo Emerson, do you agree and if so then what makes you believe this bold statement. This indeed is the greatest accomplishment anyone could ever achieve, to be able to avoid temptations and new trends set by those around you and to be able to walk down your own individual path is worth much more than any worldly possession. Think about a world in which everyone looked exactly the same everything on everyone’s face and body was exactly the same, the only thing that you could use to differentiate is the clothes on their bodies and their personalities. Now think back to how the world is now if the world were like the one just envisioned would most individuals be able to tell each other apart?

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