Self-Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a famous transcendentalist that enlightened many of his readers. He wrote many stories, poems, and essays to share his opinion with the world. He lived during the 19th century and did all his writings during that time. Many of his famous works include “Self-Reliance,” and “The Oval Soul.” His most influential writing was “Self-Reliance” that talks about non-conformism. He says in “Self-Reliance” “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (Emerson) which shows his opinion of non-conformism that states that people should trust in themselves. Being a non-conformist has its advantages, and disadvantages. The advantage is that people will become independent and won’t depend on people to their work. The disadvantage is that it would make peoples’ lives tougher and cause issues in relations. There are many advantages to being a non-conformist is that people do not have a limit to think outside of the box and can believe in whatever they want. When people are non-conformist they are allowed to think and use their intelligence and reach their own conclusions and not be judged about it. Emerson says in “Self-Reliance” “whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist” (Emerson) which means that if you are a human, you must be a non-conformist. He declares that the most sacred and trustable person in the world is yourself and that you should only believe in yourself and nobody else. He believes that a person must live by their instincts and consciousness even if it goes against everything that you said before. He spreads the meaning that imitation is suicide and that if you are a follower of somebody, you are killing your own individuality. There are many advantages to being a non-conformist, but everything has its downside. Being a non-conformist might have its perks but everything has its disadvantages. If a person always goes against the majority it might cause them to get in trouble. Another disadvantage is that being a