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Ralph Waldo Emerson Research Paper

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Ralph Waldo Emerson was a pioneer for early American literature. Ralph Emerson was one of the first and most influential early American literature authors. Emerson developed a central theme that is found throughout American literature and film. Emerson highly stressed the development of the individual and stressed the shift away from conformity in society. This individualistic theme stresses the need for a man to shift his focus away from what society. Emerson strongly believes that individuality and one’s own morality should be formed to reject society’s opinion on morality and other ideas. Emerson stresses the need for someone to be self-reliant on himself or herself not on society. Emerson thoroughly states that in order to truly develop …show more content…

Emerson then moves on to state that people are lazy and easily give in rather than become self-reliant individuals. Emerson states that people give in to the desires and suggestions of society and fail to be independent. Emerson urges people to break free from this conformity in society. Emerson goes on to state that being an individual means that one will never be defined by any one experience. He shows this by saying “nothing can bring you peace but you. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles”. (135) in this statement Emerson announces that they nothing should define you but your own principles. People should not be influenced by what society offers, if people only accept society they will never have peace. The only way one can become and individual and have peace is to stay strong to ones values and follow the heart. Ralph Waldo Emerson introduced the necessity to become a self-reliant individual and to reject conforming to society. Emerson individualistic ideal and rejection of society becomes even more apparent as American literature progresses as authors continue to build of Emerson’s

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“Outliers”, whereas in Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, being an outlier means not conforming to society's norms. Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and Gladwell’s “Outliers” tend to contrast quite heavily in as in Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, self-reliance is key to achieving peace, whereas Gladwell seems to believe that you need to be successful to achieve peace and happiness, and success doesn’t happen on your own. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”

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I’m gonna do all this stuff because I’m supposed to be alone.” Yet again Emerson has the same idea but he goes about being lonely differently. “I am not solitary while I read and write, but if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars.” They both favor the idea of freedom in nature but know that when being alone, you can become

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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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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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World War 1 is considered to be one of the most brutal and bloodiest wars in history. One of the main contributors to World War 1 being so brutal was the stalemate and the trenches. Although it is said that the warfare in World War 1 was outdated and old, it was the outdated war tactics that caused the stalemate and the millions of lives lost. Throughout World War 1, there were several technological advancements. Technology was the most important characteristic of the WW1 era because Naval advancements, the introduction of air warfare, and advanced ground warfare.

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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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Emerson states one of his maxim as "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind". The following maxim means that one should not succumb to what society wants you to be but instead, one should follow their own path. A universal theme relating to this maxim can be perceived as human beings should follow their own way, mindset, or their sense of intuitive feeling. This maxim and its concept relates to the book,"The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail," by Emerson, which came from the Transcendentalism Era.

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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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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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Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” These words of Emerson perfectly portray individualism. Imagine a world where love is illegal. Imagine a home without privacy.

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In my opinion, Emerson’s quote is the perfect example of the mindset one should live their life with. Concern about other’s opinions or thoughts has been something that I have struggled with in the past, and I just recently started changing my mindset about what others

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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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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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