Self Reliance Rhetorical Analysis

Although most wish that they could grab Peter Pan’s hand and fly away to Neverland with Tinkerbell, Wendy and the Lost Boys, they cannot stop the inevitable reality of adulthood. Before they know it, they will also let go their parents’ hand, walk across the street alone, and learn to become independent. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, Self-Reliance, attempts to persuade individuals to steer away from society and reflect on their own identity and values. Unless individuals stop conforming to the expectations emplaced by society, insecurities and fears will impede them from being themselves and approaching opportunities. In the essay, Ralph Waldo Emerson argues that society has a tremendous effect on one’s personal goals and it can disable their

In order to achieve one’s personal goals, one must not become brainwashed by society and limited by their fears. According to Emerson, society restricts people from discovering their identity and wishes. He writes, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, —that is genius. Speak you latent conviction and it shall be the universal sense…” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1). Emerson suggests that it is significant that his audience follows their own conscience rather than rely on everyone else’s opinions and ideas. In the end, individuals want to feel self-fulfilled, which can only be possible by being themselves and trusting their own gut. For someone to flourish as a individual, they must believe in themselves as it will allow one to find their own identity. To continue, it is also clear that society has the ability to create fears and insecurities. Emerson also writes, “Friend, client, child, sickness,

I grew fascinated by this idea of having infinite time to jump on bouncy houses and play hide & seek. I remember constantly shaking my tiny head, crossing my short chubby arms, stomping my foot and yelling: “I’m never growing up!”. Before I knew it, I went from identifying colors to finding the values of inverse trigonometry functions. In fact, friends and family would say that I grew up much earlier than the rest of my peers. For example, I worked on the weekends and helped my mother with my siblings. I spent countless hours bickering with my loving mother about bills and school work and boiling dozens of boxes of Kraft’s macaroni and cheese for my siblings. I told myself: “My family needs me”. The reality was that I was afraid of becoming an adult and leaving my family. I could not imagine myself walking into college, preparing myself to take exams and make new friends. For years, this fear had impeding me to be my best self and seek the opportunities that are at my fingertips. Emerson writes, “ Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles,” (Emerson 16). I cannot help, but agree with Emerson because you are the only one in control of your own happiness; it should not depend on others and their beliefs. Depending on others creates the fears and insecurities that restrict us from