Emerson Self Reliance Essay

Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" evokes the independent American spirit, defining itself as the personal power of individuality through simplicity and hard work. Emerson espouses, "Whoso would be a man must also be a non-conformist." (Emerson 1165) And again he avows, "insist on yourself, never imitate." (1177) Emerson's version of self-reliance depicts one's freedom to exercise his will without the pressures of social or economic influence. The self-reliant individual is not accountable to no one but himself. This principle is demonstrated by Reverend Parson Hooper in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Minister's Black Veil, whose eponymous crape "throws its influence over the his whole person [...]" (Hawthorne 1814), his individuality confronting the parishioner's sin and complacency. His expression of self-reliance is a mirror of nonconformity that both entices and alienates —his greatest peril— those who face his black veil and look at their personal want.

For instance, Emerson points that man's dependence on property shows a lack of self-reliance (1179). Another metaphor compares the "thinking American" with the "naked [Maori] New Zealander", and concludes that the latter —despite his few possessions and savagery— is stronger than the American (1178). Emerson equates self-reliant simplicity with prudence, which Longfellow attributes to youth in A Psalm of Life: "Be not like dumb, driven cattle!/Be a hero in the strife!" (Longfellow 1498, lines 19, 20) Like Emerson, simplicity motivates and empowers the self-reliant man to action. The simple becomes heroic in his eyes— if it avoids the "dumbness" of