An Eye For An "I"

Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most important thinkers in American History. His theories and doctrines produce far-reaching influence on the birth of American literature. They also play important roles in the establishment of the independent American culture. His essay Self-reliance is one of the major writings that helped carve the ethnic American individualism and form the intellectual basis of today's writers. The essay provides sayings as well as builds up new concepts through which the author paves the path for the readers to follow. Meanwhile, the thought of self- reliance inspires people not to conform to social conventions but to rely on themselves. This theory can be considered as his perspectives about life. This thesis analyzes the active and mental self-reliance and furthermore, explores this thought through the following theories: circle, compensation and vocation. A deeper understanding of self-reliance is therefore deduced through the analysis. Besides, self-reliant individuals are so closely associated with the society that people involved in it must learn how to deal with the relationship with it. What is drawn in the conclusion is how an individual should coexist with others and nations coexist among one another.