Throughout the last five pages of Emerson's speech entitled "Self Reliance", Emerson writes on a "a greater self-reliance must work a revolution in all the offices and relations of men; in their religion; in their education; in their pursuits; their modes of living; their association; in their property; in their speculative views." First, Emerson writes to scrutinize prayers, writing that "Prayer looks abroad and asks for some foreign addition to come through some foreign virtue, and loses itself in endless mazes of natural and supernatural, and mediatorial and miraculous." He says that true prayer is "the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul." Second, Emerson writes discouraging traveling. He writes saying, that "the wise man stays at home, and when his necessities, his duties, on any occasion call him from his house, or into foreign lands, he is at home still, and shall make men sensible by the expression of his countenance, that he goes the missionary of wisdom and virtue, and visits cities and men like a sovereign, and not like an interloper or a valet." He later continues to scrutinize people who decorate in styles of other countries or eras, calling it imitation. "And why need we copy the Doric or the Gothic model? Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as near to us as to any, and if the American artist will study with hope and love the precise thing to be done by him, considering the climate, the soil, the length of the day, the wants of the people, the habit and form of the government, he will create a house in which all these will find themselves fitted, and taste and sentiment will be satisfied also." It can be noticed that Emerson writes with high praises of American people and objects. Emerson continues on by writing that society does not advance humans but rather just changes them. He writes saying. "society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. It undergoes continual changes; it is barbarous, it is civilized, it is christianized, it is rich, it is scientific; but this change is not amelioration. For every thing that is given, something is taken. Society acquires new arts, and loses old instincts." Emerson finishes off his essay calling for people to listen to their inner voice by saying, "nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."
Page 4: Themes: • Transcending societal norms and expectations • Each person is self-possessed, unique, individual and requires space and freedom to reach their full potential Page 5: Themes: • Ridding of labels as all people, despite their uniqueness, follow similar principles over the course of their lives • People often reinvent themselves and it is their right to do so • The value of people’s actions does not depend on their standings within the social hierarchy “Kingdom and lordship, power and estate, are a gaudier vocabulary than private John and Edward in a small house and common day's work; but the things of life are the same to both; the sum total of both is the same.” (Emerson 4) • Individuality is more important than the position within a nation, a religion or a society “The world has been instructed by its kings, who have so magnetized the eyes of nations. It has been taught by this colossal symbol the mutual reverence that is due from man to man.” (5) Page 6: Themes: • All knowledge can be traced back to nature (Transcendentalist belief) • Originality, unique ideas are the only new ideas • Focus on the present rather than the past, relates to the concept of creation and new thought rather than recreating the past • People are no longer able to express their own ideas but rather follow the ideas of others before them • Nature is not limited by the restrictions of man Page 7: Themes: • People only listen to the voices of the past, but if they focused in on the new ideas of the present they would find direction “When we have new perception, we shall gladly disburden the memory of its hoarded treasures as old rubbish. When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn.” (7) Page 8: Themes: • People no longer turn to each other for answers but instead turn to established, outdated ideas of the past • The only applicable laws are those that all people inherently know Page 9: Themes: • Nonconformity is often seen as a fault and a potential excuse for defiance of basic laws and crime • Each person has a different definition of personal success because each person has a different direction in life
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Thanks to Reid, Maddie, and Cameron - Per 5
Throughout the last five pages of Emerson's speech entitled "Self Reliance", Emerson writes on a "a greater self-reliance must work a revolution in all the offices and relations
of men; in their religion; in their education; in their pursuits; their modes of living; their
association; in their property; in their speculative views." First, Emerson writes to scrutinize prayers, writing that "Prayer looks abroad and asks for some foreign addition to come through some
foreign virtue, and loses itself in endless mazes of natural and supernatural, and mediatorial and
miraculous." He says that true prayer is "the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the
soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul." Second, Emerson writes discouraging traveling. He writes saying, that "the wise man stays at home, and when his necessities, his duties, on any occasion call him from his house, or into foreign lands, he is at home still, and shall make men sensible by the expression of his
countenance, that he goes the missionary of wisdom and virtue, and visits cities and men like a
sovereign, and not like an interloper or a valet." He later continues to scrutinize people who decorate in styles of other countries or eras, calling it imitation. "And why need we copy the Doric or the Gothic model? Beauty,
convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as near to us as to any, and if the American artist will study with hope and love the precise thing to be done by him, considering
the climate, the soil, the length of the day, the wants of the people, the habit and form of the
government, he will create a house in which all these will find themselves fitted, and taste and
sentiment will be satisfied also." It can be noticed that Emerson writes with high praises of American people and objects. Emerson continues on by writing that society does not advance humans but rather just changes them. He writes saying. "society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. It undergoes continual changes; it is barbarous, it is civilized, it is christianized, it is rich, it is scientific; but
this change is not amelioration. For every thing that is given, something is taken. Society
acquires new arts, and loses old instincts." Emerson finishes off his essay calling for people to listen to their inner voice by saying, "nothing can bring
you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."
Self Reliance
Pages 5-9 (Night 2 reading):
Page 4:
Themes:
• Transcending societal norms and expectations
• Each person is self-possessed, unique, individual and requires space and freedom to reach their full potential
Page 5:
Themes:
• Ridding of labels as all people, despite their uniqueness, follow similar principles over the course of their lives
• People often reinvent themselves and it is their right to do so
• The value of people’s actions does not depend on their standings within the social hierarchy
“Kingdom and lordship, power and estate, are a gaudier vocabulary than private John and Edward in a small house and common day's work; but the things of life are the same to both; the sum total of both is the same.” (Emerson 4)
• Individuality is more important than the position within a nation, a religion or a society
“The world has been instructed by its kings, who have so magnetized the eyes of nations. It has been taught by this colossal symbol the mutual reverence that is due from man to man.” (5)
Page 6:
Themes:
• All knowledge can be traced back to nature (Transcendentalist belief)
• Originality, unique ideas are the only new ideas
• Focus on the present rather than the past, relates to the concept of creation and new thought rather than recreating the past
• People are no longer able to express their own ideas but rather follow the ideas of others before them
• Nature is not limited by the restrictions of man
Page 7:
Themes:
• People only listen to the voices of the past, but if they focused in on the new ideas of the present they would find direction
“When we have new perception, we shall gladly disburden the memory of its hoarded treasures as old rubbish. When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn.” (7)
Page 8:
Themes:
• People no longer turn to each other for answers but instead turn to established, outdated ideas of the past
• The only applicable laws are those that all people inherently know
Page 9:
Themes:
• Nonconformity is often seen as a fault and a potential excuse for defiance of basic laws and crime
• Each person has a different definition of personal success because each person has a different direction in life
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