Who is Emerson's intended audience in "Self-Reliance"?
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Who is Emerson's intended audience in "Self-Reliance"?
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In his day, Ralph Waldo Emerson was something like a rock star. Crowds...
In his day, Ralph Waldo Emerson was something like a rock star. Crowds came to listen to his lectures. Young people hearkened to his message that American society was on the verge of a new age; intellectuals responded to his philosophical ideas, and society in general responded to his optimism. His essay "Self-Reliance" and its appeal to the young people was effected by his arguments that they were on the verge of a new age. In addition, many...
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Self-reliance in this essay is not about taking care of the externals of...
Self-reliance in this essay is not about taking care of the externals of life, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Instead, it is about the state of one's soul: Emerson strongly advocates for trusting one's inner promptings and following what they say about one's vocation in life. Emerson states that a person should be a non-conformist as he embarks on life, not looking to do what is conventional or expected, but rather following what his...
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The following metaphor appears in "Self-Reliance:""These are the voices...
The following metaphor appears in "Self-Reliance:""These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world." In this metaphor, one's inner voice becomes so soft that we cannot hear it when we are in society. "Voices" stand for our conscience, for what we know is right. When we are swayed by what others think is right, we lose our internal compass. Emerson's essay as a whole is about the...
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His point is that adults, who have been absorbed into the “group...
His point is that adults, who have been absorbed into the “group think” of society, are unable to think for themselves. Emerson says, famously, elsewhere in this essay that “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” What he means, is that the effect of society is to erode one’s ability to think independently – as he puts it, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members,” in that the...
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When Ralph Waldo Emerson uses the phrase "that divine idea each of us...
When Ralph Waldo Emerson uses the phrase "that divine idea each of us represent," he means the uniqueness of each person as conceived by God. In his essay "Self-Reliance," Emerson urges all people to trust in their abilities and express themselves because he finds sanctity in the individual mind. He calls upon individuals to express their feelings and "that divine idea" with vigor rather than with diffidence: The power which resides in him is...
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What does Ralph Waldo Emerson mean when he says "And we are now men, and...
What does Ralph Waldo Emerson mean when he says "And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny?"
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Emerson's essay argues passionately that a person must trust his or her...
Emerson's essay argues passionately that a person must trust his or her inner voice: that we all have a destiny given to us by God, and we all have to find it and cultivate it for ourselves. This is what Emerson means by self-reliance. We can't borrow the knowledge of who God meant us to be by conforming to other people's ideas. Emerson, among many other images, tries to impress on us that we can't really be nourished properly trying to eat...
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To understand this line from "Self-Reliance," we have to put it in...
To understand this line from "Self-Reliance," we have to put it in context. Emerson is urging the reader to listen to his own intuitive insights, and not put them aside because he doubts his ability to discern the truth. "A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is...
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By the word, "palms," Emerson is referring to the palm leaf or laurel...
By the word, "palms," Emerson is referring to the palm leaf or laurel branch, which in ancient times was used by people to celebrate a victory or occasion for rejoicing. One example of this usage well known to Emerson's contemporary readers was the palm-waving welcome that Jesus received when he entered Jerusalem (Palm Sunday). So this is a reference with religious overtones. A person who sets out to "gather immortal palms" is someone who aims...
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This quote from Emerson's "Self-Reliance," and it's about the importance...
This quote from Emerson's "Self-Reliance," and it's about the importance of originality and trusting one's own instinct in the process of becoming educated. The person who truly wants to become educated does not try to imitate others or envy others; instead, as Emerson writes, trying to be like others is ignorant, as it means that the person has not realized that true greatness lies in cultivating what is unique about oneself. Imitating others...
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By the word, "palms," Emerson is referring to the palm leaf or laurel...
By the word, "palms," Emerson is referring to the palm leaf or laurel branch, which in ancient times was used by people to celebrate a victory or occasion for rejoicing. One example of this usage well known to Emerson's contemporary readers was the palm-waving welcome that Jesus received when he entered Jerusalem on what is now celebrated as Palm Sunday. This is a reference with religious overtones. A person who sets out to "gather immortal...
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Penance is an act of contrition — doing something to show you...
Penance is an act of contrition — doing something to show you acknowledge your wrongdoing and are sorry about it. The act of doing penance is ritualized as a sacrament in the Catholic Church, and traditions of the Catholic Church played a key role in Western cultural history. So Emerson's reference to "penance" would have likely been understood by his audience as referring both to the general definition of the word and the additional...
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In this passage, Emerson is using language with religious connotations...
In this passage, Emerson is using language with religious connotations to make the point that everyday people aren't meant to be followers or passive bystanders on the sidelines. Everyone should take up the roles we usually reserve for a few, special leaders — the roles of guides (showing others the way), redeemers (helping themselves and others break free from sins and oppressive moral constraints), and benefactors (doing deeds that benefit...
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The "ever-blessed One" refers to the unity of our souls with the soul of...
The "ever-blessed One" refers to the unity of our souls with the soul of God. It's what Emerson elsewhere calls the "Over-Soul," God's presence in us and all things. Emerson isn't very clear about how it works, not even in his essay "The Over-Soul." And in "Self-Reliance," he makes relatively few explicit statements about the One. But we can glean several pieces of information here. At the beginning of the essay, Emerson alludes to...
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Who is Emerson's intended audience in "Self-Reliance"?
Who is Emerson's intended audience in "Self-Reliance"?
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Emerson: Compare the comments Emerson makes about “Self-Reliance”...
Emerson: Compare the comments Emerson makes about “Self-Reliance” with the comments Crevecoeur made in “What is an American?” How do these views of “Americans” compare/contrast with Americans today?
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Emerson's "Self-Reliance" celebrates originality and nonconformity. He...
Emerson's "Self-Reliance" celebrates originality and nonconformity. He was opposed to people imitating others and famously wrote: "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion." He believed that true genius lay in following one's unique instincts and proclivities and not in copying others. Emerson...
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Compare the comments Emerson makes about “Self-Reliance” with the...
Compare the comments Emerson makes about “Self-Reliance” with the comments Crevecoeur made in “What is an American?” How do these views of “Americans” compare and contrast with Americans today?
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Emerson's "Self-Reliance" celebrates originality and nonconformity. He...
Emerson's "Self-Reliance" celebrates originality and nonconformity. He was opposed to people imitating others and famously wrote: There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion. Emerson believed that true genius lay in following one's unique instincts and proclivities and not in copying others....
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