The Integrity of the Intellect
The integrity of the intellect, according to Ralph Waldo Immersion in his essay Self-reliance, is the most sacred value. This demonstrates how much human beings can gain from using their intelligence in the right ways. Emersion encourages people to embrace their fate, but his main concern is self-destruction rather than perfection. (Emerson 240). He contends that being polite stunts one's personal development while freedom and self-discovery are aided by self-sufficiency.
Individualism
He employs the idea of individualism, according to which a person is superior to society, a country, a religion, or any other framework or institution based on the ideas of people. He encourages individuals to place great value in their thoughts, experiences, and opinions and consider them more important than those of other people. He names great people who decided not to conform to the societies requirements such a Socrates, Martin Luther, Jesus, Galileo, and Isaac Newton. The theme asserts that every person is divinely unique and expresses a special expression of God's creativity and will. If one uses his/her wisdom and intellect properly, there is a possibility of achieving independence. Another theme that stresses on self-reliance is nonconformity in which Emersion insists on private opinions and ideas rather than agreeing on other people's points.
Rational Argument
The author also uses a unique literary style of rational argument aiming at persuading readers to be self-reliant. This convinces individuals to avoid conforming to pressure from external norms such as those from prominent people, the society, and institutions. He encourages people to listen to their inner voice since he figures that it is better for one to follow his/her desires than to behave correctly due to the demands of the society (245). Acting independently is better than doing things that other people want since it translates to living others' lives. Another example of his rational argument is the assertion that spending time trying to maintain allegiances to opinions from the community is wastage of energy since those that follow public opinion are considered hypocrites. He claims, "men have looked away from themselves" (252). This shows that humans do not like to be self-reliant and depend on bodies such as the church and government for protection.
Symbols and Metaphors
Emersion uses symbols and metaphors in encouraging people to become independent and express their natural nature. One of the metaphors is the corpse, which he associates with old beliefs that some people keep holding onto instead of focusing on their future. To him, this drains a person's energy and recommends maturity that entails moving forward. Being mature involves coming up with newer ideas, which brings about creativity. He also uses the word hobgoblin to symbolize the fear of the unknown that forces people to conform to the demands of society as he argues society never advances (251). He uses Jesus Christ to symbolize historical figures that were corned for standing by their personal values. The struggle to conform to the social norms hinders full expression of a person's nature especially holding onto old beliefs yet the society cannot be the measure everything.
Avoiding Societal Norms
Emersion's work tries to advise people to avoid conforming to societal norms blindly. Instead, they should be self-reliant instead of depending on the society and institution that tend to dictate human behavior. Individuals should be great thinkers instead of adopting old beliefs that bind them to behave in certain ways. He advises people to resist pressure and avoid getting concerned with reputation and opinions of others. Instead, everybody should be independent and concentrate on things that are of great benefit.
Work Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance. Dodge Publishing Company, 1989. Print.
