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Self Reliance Rhetorical Analysis

1428 Words6 Pages

Lauren Hutchinson
LIT 220 Section 1
9/28/2014

“Self-Reliance” by Emerson

An analysis of “Self-Reliance” by Emerson reveals how he uses rhetoric persuasion such as pathos and ethos, as well as metaphors, poetic diction, enthusiastic diction, parallel structure and other literary devices to make it easier for the audience to understand the struggles of individuality but also to understand the importance of being independent from the surrounding society. When Emerson gives his speech on Self Reliance, he states “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” The meaning behind this aphorism and pathos is that Emerson believes that all people must escape from the society and ideas that surround them to have a peaceful and successful …show more content…

A good example of a metaphor that is also another example of pathos that Emerson uses is “Travelling is a fools paradise.” This shows that he sees traveling as a person escaping from who they are and trying to find an easier alternative. He is persuading his readers to feel like they are “fools” when travelling. He believes that one is examining places and ideas that have already been discovered instead of being “self-reliant” and looking into their own mind. Emerson states “They who made England, Italy, or Greece venerable in the imagination, did so by sticking fast where they were, like an axis of the earth.” This quote uses a simile to connect his readers and to support Emerson’s beliefs in that the men who made these wonderful places what they are today did so not by traveling but by sitting where they were and utilizing their own imaginations. Emerson’s use of pathos is present throughout the entire essay but is strongly shown in the form of poetic diction when discussing prayer. Emerson uses this to further promote his ideals of traveling in self-reliance when he speaks about how the “soul is no traveler; the wise man stays at home, and when his necessities, his duties, on any occasion call him from his house, or into foreign lands, his is at home still…” Emerson is saying that he understand ,any people desire to explore faraway places such as Italy and England for amusement …show more content…

By repeating and capitalizing Nature multiple times throughout “Self-Reliance”. Emerson using this capitalization shows how strongly he feels that the most important idea is that the ultimate wrong towards being self-reliant is going against your Nature but also makes the audience look at Nature as a person and not just an element. Emerson’s transcendentalist ideals show his belief that God speaks to people through Nature. By connecting to this belief it appeals to the religious people of that time. Emerson uses Nature in all of his surroundings and especially in young, innocent children to connect innocent things to his beliefs to persuade readers. This is demonstrated in the quote “What pretty oracles Nature yields us on this text in the face and behavior of children, babes and even brutes.” At first glance, this seems to argue that children are so new to everything that they have not been corrupted yet; however it can also be used to connect people by Nature bringing out the child like qualities in people. Emerson wants his audience to reminisce running out into the woods and in Nature and how it makes an individual feel young and carefree

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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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Summers has such an affection for Emerson 's writings because it showed her that writing is a process of creating new ideas, rather than recycling old ones. Summers uses the image

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Throughout the piece, Emerson uses extensive metaphors, making comparisons to things that are important to the audience, which increases their understanding and engages them. To open the third paragraph, Emerson makes this comparison: “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that

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Nature is not simply a setting. In actuality it compares to an average man in many aspects. The long essay employs personification many a time, and that aids the reader in truly comprehending their association with their outdoor surroundings. One usually does not contemplate having a relationship with nature, when being amongst nature. Emerson knew that this was true and that is most likely why he selected to use personify

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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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According to Emerson's essay Nature, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith”(citation). Pocahontas has a love for nature and often goes to nature to get away from reality and think. ().The song “The Colors of the Wind”, from Pocahontas, suggest Emerson’s thought that nature is precious. The lyrics from “Colors of the Wind” suggest how Pocahontas values nature: “You think you own whatever land you land on, the Earth is just a dead thing you can claim, but I know every rock and tree and creature, has a life, has a spirit, has a name”.

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Transcendentalist writers were focused on the belief of the divinity of the individual soul, the inner voice, (Crawford, Kern & Needleman, 1961) to overcome social stereotypes and to avoid conformity. It is highlighted the importance to return to nature to enhance the quality of humans beings by living simply since being apart of common social rules is the only way to be in communion with nature’s wisdom. Those transcendental characteristics could be seen in Emerson’s ¨self-reliance¨ or Thoreau’s ¨Walden ¨ bearing in mind that although, Emerson’s ¨Self-reliance¨ adheres more descriptive examples to illustrate metaphors and Thoreau’s ¨Where I lived and what I lived for¨ introduces metaphors creating much more imagery, both make a critique of the modern individual using

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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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self. In “Self-Reliance,”, Emerson expresses the idea that, “The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried” (Emerson). Emerson is saying that the inner strength contained is unknown to oneself until they have used it, and that people don’t see this strength in you until you prove it to them. This shows that people can be more powerful than they think, and when they believe in themselves their inner strength shows through.

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Without a doubt, Emerson reveres nature and believes that it requires much effort to

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Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both fond nature to be essential to being a whole person: spiritually and emotionally. Emerson saw nature’s effect on people and their thoughts, whereas Thoreau saw the deliberateness of nature and thought that if people could seize the same decisiveness that they would have more to enjoy in life. Both authors believed that humans needed to enjoy nature to be one with the universal being that is the basis of Transcendentalism. Emerson wrote “When we speak of nature in this manner, we have a distinct but most poetical sense in the mind.” (Nature 693) Emerson was saying that nature is similar to poetry for the mind, in that it is relaxing and wholesome.

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Things can be seen different in many perspectives. It can be interpreted in ways others can’t see. But in order to regulate and adjust our lives, to show the meaning of what we see, we need the solitude to consolidate our thoughts and see things that were hidden in the first place. In “Nature,” Ralph Waldo Emerson applies rhetorical strategies for instance the imagery of unity and the allusion of God to experience the nature in solitude. Emerson starts off his piece with imagery of the unity between man and nature.

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Emerson’s writings inspired others with his thoughts and expressions, and strong optimism. One well known essay that Emerson wrote called, “Nature,” directly affirms life and the world around us. He embraces the idea of being secluded in nature, and how much a person would benefit from it. By doing this, it allowed a person to experience even the simplest of things, that they would not ordinarily recognize in the everyday busy life. He talked about separating oneself from the material world, and by doing that allowed a person to become aware of the beauty around them that’s always been there.

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Ralph Emerson’s essay “Nature” tackles the theoretical ideal that every part of nature is beautiful, and that nature is a place to gain valuable insights and valuable lessons; which in turn sets the foundation for the Transcendentalist movement. One major principle the Transcendentalists believed in was that every aspect of nature was beautiful. In order to explain this belief Ralph Emerson wrote, “ first, the simple perception of natural forms is a delight.” ( Emerson pg. 594). This means that the very existence of nature itself is an amazing commodity.

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However there is a deeper connection between romanticism and nature all together. Many poets consider nature as the source of human ideas and emotions. “Henry David Thoreau says a poet who lived in a cabin on Walden Pond for two years, believed that people were meant to live in the world of nature”. Although the work of nature is characterized by search for self or identity, the poet William Wordsworth getting inspiration from Coleridge and nature wrote of the deeper emotions. Romanticism and nature are connected because the artists and philosophers of the romantic period romanticized the beauty of nature, and the power of the natural world.

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