Ralph Waldo Emerson My Wood

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote “Men have looked at themselves and at things so long that they come to esteem the religious, learned and civil institution as guards of property, and they deprecate assaults on these, because they feel them to be assaults on property.” The concept of people judging their own esteem over ownership of property and possessions is very true, and only leads to greed, self-judgment, and the unhappiness of the owner. The main problem that ownership leads to the want for more possessions and property. In My Wood by E. M. Forster, a man finally buys a piece of property that he can call his own, only to realise that it is far too small and empty compared to the property of his neighbors. This habit of judging one’s esteem over the possessions of others instead of enjoying what they have is what leads to greed. If people didn't measure their own esteem by what they have, then people wouldn’t feel the need to expand and buy out every piece of property just to gloat to others about everything they possess. Additionally, the ownership of property and possessions leads to self judgment by the owner. The fact that people pride themselves so hard over their …show more content…
This can again be seen in My Wood, for example “... But these immensities ended by saddening me. I could not suppose that my wood was the destined nucleus of universal dominion - it is so small and contains no mineral wealth.” The man in My Wood becomes unhappy over how small and empty it is compared to the property of his neighbors; his unhappiness stems from the fact that he cannot enjoy the possession that he has. This same situation happens all the time to real people. Everyone judging themselves over the things they own is the reason that ownership leads to unhappiness, everyone feels bad when they have less than others and only focus on how little they have instead of enjoying the possessions that they