Seeking Independence in Essay Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

996 Words2 Pages

It is impossible to live a whole life without the help of others. Everyone starts out relying on their parents to feed them, take care of them, and teach them. However, as people grow older, they learn to look after themselves and be independent of others. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance”, he tells us that once people are able to be independent, they should be an individual who believes in themselves and does not conform to society. In American culture today, there are people who go with the flow and do what everyone else does. On the other hand, there are people who are unique and self reliant, and they are the ones who “set the trends”. American culture values self-reliance to the extent that although the majority of people conform to society, there are a few people who are self reliant and individualistic, which leads to their success and greatness.
Emerson’s essay is based on being an individual, non conformity, and self trust. These traits can be seen in the life of Chris Gardner in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. Chris Gardner is a salesman who goes through constant hardships on selling his x-ray machines. Even though he kept getting rejected by potential buyers, he did not give up. He thinks about quitting, but then he came to the realization that his son needs him. As an independent father living in San Francisco, he needs to find a job quick. He receives an 6 month internship competing with 19 other people for 1 spot. Their job is to call people and try to convince them to fund the company. As he gets constantly gets denied over the phone, Chris realizes that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson, par 5). This means that repeating your mistakes will get you nowhere. So Chris s...

... middle of paper ...

...ng independent and confident in himself. Now Eric Thomas is preaching words of motivation and inspiration to people across America.
In American culture today, self reliance is just as valuable as Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests. Without self reliance, people would not independent. They would be followers, and not leaders. No one would dare to step outside the box and be an individual. They would conform to society and nothing would change. With self reliance, however, certain people would use their skills and develop a certain uniqueness.Think of it as a tailor made suit. A tailored suit was made specifically for that person and fits differently than a regular suit. The message from this metaphor is that people should have a tailor made life. They should plan their life according to their needs and skills, instead of trying to fit into the one-size-fits-all lifestyle.

Open Document