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Self Reliance

            "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson has changed the way I view and make my decisions. Self reliant means you do not need to depend on anyone. Emerson writes "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men- is genius." This quote is very simply put. To me the quote means believe in yourself and your decisions and not worry about what others may think. Emerson also writes "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." This quote as well as the first try to depict the point of self reliance and individualism. When Emerson says nothing can bring peace but yourself, means to be self reliant and not rely on other to do things for you. Although when thinking, how self reliant can one be?.
             Emerson believes man should not be what he is not. "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance, and the imitation is suicide." If a man is envious of other people he will ignore all merits of himself. If a man tries to imitate someone he loses all self identity and individualism, like suicide. It is very common to find people envious of others. If I were to make the assumption, everyone is envious of someone or another, I would not be far from the truth. For example people always want what they don't have. Rich people who can afford anything want simple lives, and not so rich people want to live the rich life. I myself have been found to be jealous of others. When i see some of my friends getting new cars from their parents I get jealous because i do not have one. It is a hard thing to overcome and most do not. As Emerson would say "they imitate" which if I am correct in his terms is "suicide". I have been found to do this as well. When you imitate or try to be what you are not you can find yourself feeling as soulless as a dead man. .
            


Essays Related to Self Reliance

1. Self reliance

Self-Reliance, standing up for your beliefs and to be willing to fight for what you believe in. Ralph Waldo Emerson's main idea in "Self-Reliance" is to show the importance of depending and relying on yourself. Emerson's essay self reliance is something we should follow our lives by. ... Emerson, when he speaks about self reliance, he means that if we want to make it, and if we want to succeed, it must come from inside of us. ... For Emerson, self reliance was more than the image of a family living out a life on the frontier. ...

  • Word Count: 321
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Self Reliance

After reading Emerson's "Self Reliance" I have discovered that self-reliance is the most significant aspect in my life. ... For one to accomplish their goals and meet their destiny, they must choose self-reliance as the answer. Self-reliance lets one know that it is essential to realize that all choices in life come down to what they think; "nothing can bring you peace but yourself." ... "Self-Reliance" is an essay that I will keep in mind forever. ... "Self-Reliance" is the key to make great people achieve their goals and to become individuals....

  • Word Count: 550
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Self-Reliance

In my opinion, this trope exponds emerson's pointview of self-reliance perfectly. ... yes, in self-reliance or self-trust, most of us even worse than the infants. In ermerson's self-reliance,he talked lot about self-trust or self-convinced, he appealed to the earthlings that they should pay much more attention to theirselves and dropped all the consistency and conformity. ... The self-reliant individual should be able to live in the world and improve it, not be just another product of it. Therefore, in my eyes, though emerson wrote the essay nearly 2 hundreds years before, but...

  • Word Count: 469
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Self Reliance

(Self Reliance, Waldo Emerson) Emerson, along with the Transcendental Movement, believed in the vitality of self-reliance. ... (Self Reliance, Waldo Emerson) Once one has reliance upon oneself, he can generate his own set of ideals and morals, not just the ideals bestowed upon him by society. ... Some may argue that the hole idea of self reliance is arrogant and conceded, or they may list people such as Hitler, Stalin, or even Osama Bin Laden as characters who are anything but innately good. ... (Self Reliance, Waldo Emerson) This statement reflects the trite politeness and predictability of ...

  • Word Count: 991
  • Approx Pages: 4

5. Self-Reliance

In Self-Reliance, Emerson states that when we "Accept the place the diving Providence has found for you; the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. ... Emerson states his theme early on in Self-Reliance when he states that "envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide". ... Self-Reliance can be summed up in two words "Trust thyself". ...

  • Word Count: 584
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

6. self reliance

The piece of literature that I picked to do my essay on was "Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. ... I believe that Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" was trying to tell you that everyone has to realize in their lives God has given you the ability to be an individual and lead your own lives, but God will always be there guiding you on the right path. ... A quote from "Self-Relience" shows that point Emerson is trying to convey. ...

  • Word Count: 454
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Self-Reliance and the American Family

We Always Stood on Our Own Two Feet: Self-reliance and the American Family" In the chapter entitled "We Always Stood on Our Own Two Feet: Self-reliance and the American Family", Stephanie Coontz is asserting that "depending on support beyond the family has been the rule rather than the exception in American history, despite recurring myths about individual achievement and family enterprise.... Self-reliance is one of the basic principles of family values and the family unit. Even though many families believe that they are self reliant, they probably don't realize the help and support...

  • Word Count: 483
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Self-Reliance

After reading Self-Reliance by Emerson, the most compelling statement was "imitation is suicide". Emerson is stating that by taking on someone else's identity we are killing our own. I believe it is important to be true to myself. I cannot live contently in someone else's shadow. Finally, I will not...

  • Word Count: 373
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

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