Preview

Character Analysis: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
354 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Character Analysis: Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” This quote means that society is going to try and change you, but sometimes change isn't always a horrible thing. You should always try and be yourself, but it's easier to fit in. Emerson's statement is false because of teamwork, acceptance, and survival.
First and foremost, there is teamwork in conformity. In other words, it means working together. For example, the school's football team. They fit in and they work together to win the game. If one play stands out, he could ruin it for the whole team. If the player fits in, then he can help his teammates win the game.
Moreover, it means acceptance

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Nichols and May’s skills as storytellers lie in their understanding of human relationships, a mastery that is expressed in the sketch through their delivery of character. The improvisational nature of Nichols and May’s dynamic is apparent in the conversational tone of this sketch. Nichols and May play off each other well and develop the relationship between the mother and son in a short amount of time. The dysfunction of this relationship drives the scene by creating conflict, which the characters exploit to the fullest extent. For instance, the mother in the sketch begins the call normally and proceeds to guilt trip her son with hyperbolized ¬¬reactions. May’s delivery emphasizes the nagging, worrisome traits of the character. The exaggeration of her character’s dysfunction is the focus of humor in the skit. However, once the sketch breaks down to reveal the emotional truth of the characters, the growing distance in the relationship between mother and son, a sense of gravitas hits the audience and asks us to consider our the…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    B. What characteristics from Emerson’s "Heroism" are most necessary for defeating a monster like Grendel?…

    • 316 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of the novel, Barlowe has alway been an outsider, not really fitting in with anyone at Old Fourth Ward. He did not hang out much, he had not figured out how to live yet. Although Barlowe was not associated with a group such as the drunks or the elders, “these were his people. They were all he had,”(17) but nevertheless they were the people of Old Fourth Ward. Barlowe has always had issues with accepting himself but the citizens of the neighborhood help him realize that they have accepted him into their society and lives.…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph Waldo Emerson effectively constructs the idea that the intended audience is teaching/being taught the most ineffective way through the use of his didactic diction, sincere tone, and parallel syntax. The didactic diction within Emerson’s essay, manipulates the intended audience by appearing as a person of authority, a teacher. An example of this authority would be “...irreconcilable hater of his vice and the imperturbable slighter of his trifling.” This use of scholastic word choice confirms that he is a credible source of information; which then helps his purpose of exposing the ineffectiveness of the traditional education system.…

    • 172 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive (Dalai Lama.) Grant has a battle between love and hate. Having to go back to something that he isn’t, being treated somewhat like a slave, and making the ones around him happy. He must overcome his ego and fight for something he believes in. This is a difficult task because he isn’t completely sure what he believes, or who he is yet. His mission, to affirm that Jefferson is not a hog, but a man, and this milieu, manhood, is not only subversive but also fought over throughout the book A Lesson Before Dying.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People and society don’t make you, they don’t decide who you are or what you become, YOU create yourself. Society is cruel in many ways than one, when it comes to who we become. Society creates these images that we see. We see it and we know we can’t be that! That we can never, ever achieve this goal society has planted on us.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck. “I feel like an outsider, and I always will feel like one. I’ve always felt that I wasn’t a member of any particular group.” (Anne Rice). This quote imparts to Lennie and Candy because they’re both different and handicapped. Lennie and Candy are nice people who are powerless, dreamers, and social outcasts.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The memoir Night by Elie Wiesel contains the stories and haunting memories of a Holocaust survivor named Elie Wiesel. Because Wiesel was a young Jew boy during the reign of Adolf Hitler, he and his family along with other Jews were brought to concentration, death and labor camps. As a result of his experiences during the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel changes from a religious, sensitive little boy to a spiritually dead, unemotional man.…

    • 1164 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prompts 2014 1

    • 792 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To be true to yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the…

    • 792 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another important message is that you shouldn't have to change yourself to fit in and be…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Steinbeck paints a haunting portrait of the American Dream. In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, many of the characters have dreams they want to pursue. Most of these dreams are unrealistic and will never come true. Within the book, you see that people’s dreams get blindsided by their actions. Sometimes, their actions outweigh the good that has been done. Lenny is a victim because his actions exceeds how nice he is.…

    • 73 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on the 25th of May, 1803 to his mother, Ruth Haskins, and his father Rev. William Emerson. Emerson’s father died at an early age, and he was raised by his mother as well as his Aunt Mary Emerson, who became a big influence in his life. In his younger years, Emerson attended the Boston Latin School at the age of nine, and then Harvard College at the early age of fourteen. After graduating from Harvard in 1821 at eighteen, Emerson started a school for young women with his brother, and he made his living as a school teacher for the next several years. Emerson’s brother, William, originally attended Divinity School to become a minister like their father, but abandoned that route and decided to study law instead. It was at this time that Emerson’s Aunt Mary Emerson came to him and convinced him to attend Divinity School saying, “There was always meant to be a Reverend Emerson in Boston” (Seavey 3).…

    • 1790 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    What does it mean to “be yourself”? What does it mean to conform to comply with others standards or opinions? Do you ever change your appearance, behaviors, or actions based on what you believe others will think? When venturing into the topic of conformity vs individuality, I strongly believe that you should strive to both exercise conformity and individuality in your life. It feels great to be part of a group, to fit in, but in doing so DO NOT lose sense of who you truly are. If in social situations you find yourself being steered to talk differently, act differently, or simply do things differently from the way you truly are, then you may be conforming in order to fit in. Be who you genuinely are, not who people want you to be. Ultimately,…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone is different in their own way and you shouldn't be afraid of who you really are. People shouldn't judge each other for being the person they really are because at least they have the courage to be themselves and not try to be like everyone around them. Emerson wrote "Self-Reliance". Self-Reliance is about being able to rely on yourself and you have to be yourself to do that. Self-Reliance says, "To be great is to be misunderstood." This quote means that the great people are the people that stay themselves. The people that stay themselves are referred to as the misunderstood. Thoreau showed an example of being himself by isolating himself in the woods to write the journal entry of "Investigation at Walden". This story is about his experiences in nature and the sights and beauty he saw. He stayed himself by going to live in nature, which is what he loved. This belief of self-reliance is shown in many modern day songs. The idea of self-reliance is an important belief that everyone should believe because staying yourself is good for you and everyone around…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As I have gotten older I feel as though I established a rapport with my peers and people within the communities I have lived. With this understanding I find myself basing some parts of who I want to be and how I want to act on how others interact. When I notice someone do something I don’t agree with or that makes others uncomfortable, I make a mental note on the effect it had and do my best to avoid that. There are countless times people will be rude, inconsiderate or selfish and when you take a step back to think about other people I truly believe it makes you change the way you act. I strive to break out of my comfort zone every day and I hope that as I grow and figure things out about myself I can help others do the same along way. Socrates…

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays