Ralph Emerson Self-Reliance Satire

Ralph Emerson, author of “Self-Reliance”, regards a person’s growth normally as a process of abandoning one’s spirit of nonconformity or moral tendency . Society is considered to have a pessimistic effect on the growth of each individual’s soul, whereas confinement may contribute to it as well. Whichever the case may be, the individual is trapped either by bigotry, from power, or low self-esteem, from group-think. Senseless philanthropy, which encourages dependence on outside help, is thus also thought to be detrimental to the society. Emerson believes life itself is an organic process, inevitably involving contradiction. Acting in accordance with true feeling, he believes, will automatically bring about a sound life. The advertisement being analyzed is political propaganda found in a
newspaper.
This advertisement sparked controversy because it caused society to question status quos. As we delve deeper into the image, we will how Emerson’s ideals still play an important role in society.
Though Emerson respects the government, he understands the disconnect between the powerful (government) and the powerless (society). In this ad there is a physical and psychological disconnect between people and government. Notice how far the speaker is from the crowd. This strategic space between the two can be correlated with the disambiguaty between the rich and the working class. The rich possess all the assets and essentially the power in society, while the working class helps to push the economy yet, stay middle class. Instead of closing this gap, the government exploits the working class’s envy of the rich and thrives off the greed of the rich. Even though, in this case, the government is wrong for not uniting the people, Emerson would blame the society for their short comings. “Let us affront and reprimand the smooth mediocrity and squalid contentment of the times, and hurl in the face of custom, and
trade and office.”(pg. 3). In this quote, Emerson challenges people to question the status quo, and refuse to be categorized by higher authorities. He also urges the society to strive for a better moral foundation, by calling us to “hurl in the face of custom.”(pg 4). This ad adverses its incorporation with physical and psychological disconnect. The disconnect comes from society believing power is in the hands of the government and not vice versa. Emerson argues, people look for solutions to their problems elsewhere when the answer is within themselves. “Has ventured to trust himself for a task maker”, by this quote we see how Emerson argues the idea of self-governing. This concept of “self-governing” has no wrong because the individual that seeks internal solutions is one with their soul, which in return brings the individual closer to God. This idea is further experienced through transcendentalism. According to Emerson, once the individual is one with their spirit, God speaks within them.
In addition to transcendentalism, this political propaganda promotes individualism. In the ad there is a crowd watching a man perform a speech. The crowd seems to be in a zombie like state, meaning they are brainless and incapable of individual contemplation. Though the crowd looks intrigued, one man seems to be in disbelief and walks away. The man not only walks away he turns his back from the crowd, this action would suggest that he turns his back on conforming. Emerson would say this man is the hope of society because he seeks acceptance within himself and not within the society. However, Emerson is not condemning the idea of wanting to belong in a “crowd” or society, rather he is urging for acceptance of thyself. “…Insist on yourself, never imitate…..imitation is suicide” (pg. 5). This concept of self-acceptance, according to Emerson, is crucial because a society built on individuals without self-acceptance will ultimately fail. Self-acceptance comes from acknowledgement and compliance of one’s flaws through deep meditation. Emerson would argue, this man is, “the great man…who in the midst of a crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”(pg. 3). From the imagery we see this individual is sovereign. It is elementary to agree with the crowd, it suggests ignorance and low self-esteem because what is a man without an opinion? Emerson would argue a man without an opinion is nothing more than a “foolish consistency.” Since the man is the only one to rebuttal the idea conforming, we can concur he becomes a pariah in the society.
In addition to urging society to be non-conformists, Emerson urges individual-think. In the ad there is an individual holding a newspaper while listening to the spokesman. The individual looks intrigued by the speaker, even though he is clutching a newspaper he seems to be in a zombie state. We could go as far as to assume this could be society’s’ unwillingness to seek knowledge; rather they prefer being told information. This mindless conformity rots the conscious mind and promotes group-think. Emerson would condemn this; he would urge the individual to seek knowledge instead of being a sheep looking for a Shepard. This mindless conformity causes the society to lack in areas such as, creativeness or uniqueness.
Not only does Emerson condemns group-think he condemns the subjection to “badges” or brands. The positioning in this ad is very important. The spokesman stands on a plank that is held in place by the weight of the crowd on the other end. In other words, if the crowd were to move the speaker would fall into the dark abyss below him. This can be correlated to the speakers’ need for the crowd to affirm his credibility. The only way the speaker stays relevant is by keeping the attention of the crowd, long enough that he could walk back onto the cliff. It seems as though the crowd is fascinated by the speakers positioning because he is in front of them. Naturally this would cause the crowd to either envy or idolize the speaker. According to Emerson, society marvel at people in power, he condemns this behavior. “I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names to large societies and dead institutions.” Emerson believes we all possess power and should not envy another mans “power”. However when Emerson says power he refers to the soul.
Through this political propaganda we see how naive mankind can be. Even in modern times, Emerson’s’ essay continues to play a major role in society. He uses the terms "men" and "mankind" to address all humanity, and the multitude of examples he gives of individuals who exhibited self-reliance and became great are all men.