Comparing Emerson's Self Reliance And On Top Of The World, By

Nowadays, many people are told that they should have a person that they can rely on, and trust blindly. However, in older pieces of literature, authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous transcendentalist, who advocated many of his ideas through powerful books from the experiences from his past, promoted the theory that the only person that one should rely on is themselves, as there is no reason to trust others. This theory of trusting one’s self has also made it to some well known songs in the twenty first century, as artists want to promote self reliance as well. In both “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “On top of the World” by the popular band Imagine Dragons, there is a prevalent theme of believing in one’s self. In the immensely popular short story, “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson
tells the readers that the only way to enjoy a prosperous life is to only trust on and rely one one’s self.
The inspiration for Emerson to write this story was when he was a rather elderly man, living in a one-bedroom house during the American expansionary period of the west. During his rather long stay with no one, he realized that there is no need to have to company of others and therefore unnecessary to rely and trust others. One example of Emerson stating this was when he told the readers that they should not believe in the unfulfilled promises of the government. And through the government policy of purchasing land, people become too caught up in the size and value of property instead of the character of the person that owns it. To emphasize this point, in “Self Reliance”, Emerson states “And so the reliance on Property, including the reliance on governments which protect it, … But a cultivated man becomes ashamed of his property, out of new respect for his nature. Especially he hates what he has,” (Emerson). This quote highlights the fact that man relies on the government to maintain their property, a materialistic thing that people are putting in
front of character and in order to remove this, citizens should not rely on the government. Emerson also says “They measure their esteem of each other by what each has” (Emerson), once again reiterating the fact that people are undervaluing character. In the song “On Top of The World” by Imagine Dragons, the same idea is portrayed in their catchy lyrics, as the song says “I’ve had the highest mountains, i’ve had the deepest rivers” (Imagine Dragons 7-8). Through this statement, they show that they had to overcome many different challenges throughout their lives, but they were able to do it by believing in themselves even though they were not as successful, just like Emerson wants his readers to be inspired to believe in them self. Throughout the story, Emerson maintains the belief that people lose faith too quickly and after their first attempt, they usually end up quitting that task. He says, “If our young men miscarry in their first enterprises, they lose all heart” (Emerson). This essentially states that if a person were to attempt something, and it is unsuccessful, they lose all will to try again. Emerson is inferring that people must find a sense of motivation to try once again; just like one of the men that he mentions that has succeeded through this process. “A sturdy lad from New Hampshire or Vermont, who in turn tries all the professions, who teams it, farms it, peddles, keeps a school, preaches, edits a newspaper, goes to Congress, buys a township, and so forth, in successive years, and always, like a cat, falls on his feet, is worth a hundred of these city dolls. He walks abreast with his days, and feels no shame in not 'studying a profession” (Emerson). This was an example of a man who built himself up to a rich Congressman, from a small farm in New Hampshire, emphasizing the fact that handwork can go a long way. “On Top of The World” also shares this idea of hard work in order to reach and achieve goals. There are many verses in the song that refer to the prospect of working hard. One of the motivational phrases were “I coulda gave up then but, then again I couldn’t have ‘cause I’ve traveled all this way for something” (Imagine Dragons 33-35). “Self Reliance” and “On Top of The World” both show use the message of sticking to one’s life plan and working hard in order to make that dream become a true reality. Similar ideas are portrayed in the short story “Self Reliance” and “On top of the World”, as they both promote a sense of believing in one’s self in order to maintain a peaceful and successful life. They use different examples, both from their own respectively challenging lives in order to add meaning to their work and to motivate others that the path towards a better life is believing in the skills and talents that a person has and through hard work, they can truly help one’s life.