Emerson's Self-Reliance Rhetorical Analysis

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” This quote stated by Joseph Campbell, an American author and lecturer, expresses a similar idea to the theme portrayed in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance. Throughout Emerson’s essay, he consistently uses aphorisms to express the need to follow the path God has paved out for each of us, instead of trying to seek our own way of life. Therefore, he encourages us to avoid the beliefs that society holds and become our own unique self. I agree with the overall message that Emerson portrays in Self-Reliance about how everyone needs to seek out the purpose God has for us, but disagree with his interpretation of conforming to society.
Throughout the essay, Emerson’s main message to the audience is that the reason for living is to pursue God’s plan for us and to avoid conforming to the pressures in society. At the beginning of the essay, Emerson starts off by talking about how we are all given specific talents by God. He goes on by saying how “a man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best.” He states this to summarize the idea that in the end we will feel a greater sense of worth if we put forth our best effort in everything we do. Therefore, he continues by saying how we should “trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” when deciding the path of life that we feel God intended for us to travel on. In order to do this, Emerson expresses …show more content…
This essay provides a unique perspective on how we should live life as God’s people. Emerson makes it clear that we need to approach life by seeking our talents and not conforming to the opinion and pressures in society. This essay is valuable because it forces us to question our approach to life and allows us to think about what changes we can make to become better