“Self Reliance”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do you think? What kind of impact did this essay have on you?• Share reactions

Which does Emerson value more – original thought or traditional

wisdom?• He values original thought.

• “imitation is suicide”

• “Whose would be a man, must be a nonconformist”

According to Emerson, which virtue does society demand most – truth,

conformity, creativity, or self-reliance?

• Conformity

• “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure”

What is the only law that Emerson says can be sacred to him?

• His own nature

• “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”

• Emerson believed in the basic goodness of humans, that they would do the right thing if given the chance to make their own decisions.

Summarize Emerson’s main ideas

• Do your own thing – “imitation is suicide”

• Trust your own ideas – “Trust thyself”– “Whoso would be a man must be a

nonconformist”– “No law can be sacred to me but that of my

nature”– “What I must do is all that concerns me”

Summarize Emerson’s main ideas (cont.)

• It’s hard to be a nonconformist– “For nonconformity the world whips you”– “the great man is he who in the midst of the

crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude

• Don’t let consistency keep you from trusting yourself– “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little

minds”

Describe parts of your own life in which Emerson’s ideas might apply• Nonconformity

• Disregard for consistency

• Peer pressure

If you had heard this essay as a public lecture, what questions would you have liked to ask Emerson directly about his

philosophy?

Bonus: identify at least two aphorisms from this essay.

Transcendentalist Literature Chart

Self-reliance/intuition

• Title: “Self-Reliance”

• “Trust thyself”

• “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”

Importance of nature

• Human nature

• “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”

Free thought and expression

• “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist”

• “Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again”

Importance of individual/nonconformity

• “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.”

• “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.”

• “…the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude….”

Confidence

• “Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today.”