Group+Essay+(Emerson)

November 28 Homework - due tomorrow.

Below is a link to your essay. In case it fails to open I have copy and pasted a version below. Please print out the word document if possible so we all have the same document.

Please make sure you print out a copy and edit carefully. Please spend as much time as you would on a peer-evaluation during class.

Please do not limit your edits to issues of clarity and comprehension. Remember, we need to challenge ourselves to write in a sophisticated way. Change words, enhance ideas with better quotes form the literature, etc.



Ralph Waldo Emerson thoroughly believed that society limits people’s potential due to the unavoidable conformity it inflicts. Emerson’s faith in the institutions began to crumble when Ellen, his wife, died. Her death caused him to question his loyalty to the Unitarian Church, and resign his pastorate. Due to this tragic event, Emerson was truly alone in the world, thus attributing to his individualistic way of life. As a transcendentalist, Emerson portrayed his individualistic beliefs through his ideas about achieving intellectual potential, being self-reliant, and finding one’s self through nature, as proposed in his various literary works.

In American Scholar, Emerson boldly displays his ideas of being an individual through knowledge. One of the main ideas discussed throughout the speech is man thinking. Emerson believes a man who takes his knowledge and applies it to his life will be an active scholar. People should use their knowledge, not to rely on ideas of the past, but to build on them. Emerson states most people “look backward and not forward. But genius always looks forward. The eyes of man are set in his forehead, not in his hindhead. Man hopes. Genius creates” (523). In order to be an individual, one must formulate their own ideas and move beyond those of the people before them. Emerson states “Meek young men…books” (523). Many people believe they will acquire all of the knowledge they need through reading the words of others; however, Emerson believes one must take what one read and use it to formulate one’s one ideas, just as those did before. If men think on their own and apply their knowledge to their life they become an individual and reach their academic potential.

Emerson views society as confusing and distracting, drawing peoples’ attention away from themselves. He perceives nature as simple and clear, allowing the person to focus on inner peace. According to Emerson, nature provides the self-awareness that individuals need in order to look inside themselves and grow. He believes that “in the tranquil landscape… man beholds some[thing] as beautiful as his own nature” (494). While the tranquil landscape does not physically need to be outside, the peace and solitude helps the individuals look inside themselves and find their inner person. The reflection that the person is able to achieve helps them identify who they truly are. Nature is useful to the individual because it reflects the sentiments of the person. According to Emerson “nature always wears the colors of the spirit,” (495). Through nature, the individual is able to see their own thoughts and feelings clearly. Nature becomes a reflection of the individual, and he is able to assess themselves through their perception of nature.

Emerson promotes self-reliance and individualism as a means of avoiding the negative effects of conformity within society. He suggests, “Society is a joint-stock company […] to surrender the liberty and culture […] The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs” (535). The individual and his uniqueness are not endorsed by society. Ordinary men succumb to conformity, while great men are self-sufficient enough to break away from the societal expectations and retain their own identities. Theses men rely neither on society itself nor any of its members, with the exception of themselves. Emerson stresses support for individual decisions and self-confidence which together contribute to self-reliance. He highlights specific individuals who chose no to conform, but created or invented new sciences, technologies, or ideas. These individuals include Galileo, Martin Luther, and Isaac Newton who have all gone down in history for their extraordinary ideas. Emerson questions, “Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” (538). Emerson implies that going against conformity and the accepted way of life by society brings individuals the opportunity to show and enlighten others on their new discoveries and beliefs. Galileo, Martin Luther, and Isaac Newton went against all offs to share their ideas, and eventually were marked down in history as geniuses for their creative discoveries. Shown through the ideas presented in his work “Self Reliance,” Emerson concludes the best way to live is to believe in oneself and one’s individual ideas.

Emerson as a transcendentalist was above all a social reformer and individualist, being most critical of conformity within society. The idea of conformity contrasts his beliefs of reaching academic potential individually and intellectually, and utilizing nature as an environment to achieve thus. His beliefs of intellectual individualism inspired the efforts of other scholars and transcendental thinkers, those who felt they could transcend the artificial barriers of society. In believing this however, he was not fully invested into the belief of a completely non-conformist society of rebels, but rather the balance of the two. Although some aspects of conformity are necessary and essential within society, Emerson proposed that the ideal citizen was one who lives in a harmonious coexistence of both conformity and transcendental ideals to form a self-reliant and well-rounded individual.