(no subject)
just cause i like this essay a lot, well, for timed writing bullshit about some literature i hadn't really actually read, let alone "studied".
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both relate to the idea of self discovery in their respective works Self-Reliance and Walden. The authors focus on the subjects of simplicity and individuality as means to self discovery. They believe personal growth is best found by unique individuals who practice simple, honest lives.
In Walden, Thoreau is adamant about simplicity as a necessary of life. As told in the theory of Occam ’s Razor, why use many when one will meet the same ends. Life becomes too muddled with instances of excess. People become too immersed in the materialism and trivialities of day to day life; they leave no room for personal growth and discovery, in the words of author Chuck Palahniuk, “only when we let go of everything are we free to do anything”. By stripping life down to the necessities and living in the woods for two years, he found meaning and substance. Emerson feels the same way, he ascribes to the school of thought that one should play with the cards they were dealt. One should work with what they have to achieve a fulfilling life, comparing life to a corn field that the owner must plow with the tools he naturally procures. He, as did Thoreau, felt that a break from society was integral in finding peace of mind. In nature is God’s truth, and the fruition of self discovery relies on pure truth.
In Self-Reliance, Emerson stresses the importance of embracing one’s individuality; people reach optimum personal growth when they’ve accepted this. Being true to oneself can only produce more truth, and therein lies discovery. It does not matter if people question your actions, dismissing them as different or absurd, because, as he states, “to be great is to be misunderstood”. He also believes that “imitation is suicide”, meaning one is only hindering growth if they’ve become a carbon copy of someone else, even furthering the idea that being different is ideal. Thoreau also believes that the road to self discovery is laden with the presence of unique individuals; if one marches to the beat of their own drummer this does not make them less of a person, more so it enhances their character. He believes in the importance of respecting all individuals on the basis of human to human acceptance. By the same token, one should be open to change, “consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson, Self-Reliance), an ever evolving conscience of what is right and wrong is the hallmark of a true individual.
The concept of personal growth and self discovery is gleaming in the essays Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Individuality and simplicity are the main vessels for this discovery; there is great importance in simple living and being true to one’s own, unique self.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both relate to the idea of self discovery in their respective works Self-Reliance and Walden. The authors focus on the subjects of simplicity and individuality as means to self discovery. They believe personal growth is best found by unique individuals who practice simple, honest lives.
In Walden, Thoreau is adamant about simplicity as a necessary of life. As told in the theory of Occam ’s Razor, why use many when one will meet the same ends. Life becomes too muddled with instances of excess. People become too immersed in the materialism and trivialities of day to day life; they leave no room for personal growth and discovery, in the words of author Chuck Palahniuk, “only when we let go of everything are we free to do anything”. By stripping life down to the necessities and living in the woods for two years, he found meaning and substance. Emerson feels the same way, he ascribes to the school of thought that one should play with the cards they were dealt. One should work with what they have to achieve a fulfilling life, comparing life to a corn field that the owner must plow with the tools he naturally procures. He, as did Thoreau, felt that a break from society was integral in finding peace of mind. In nature is God’s truth, and the fruition of self discovery relies on pure truth.
In Self-Reliance, Emerson stresses the importance of embracing one’s individuality; people reach optimum personal growth when they’ve accepted this. Being true to oneself can only produce more truth, and therein lies discovery. It does not matter if people question your actions, dismissing them as different or absurd, because, as he states, “to be great is to be misunderstood”. He also believes that “imitation is suicide”, meaning one is only hindering growth if they’ve become a carbon copy of someone else, even furthering the idea that being different is ideal. Thoreau also believes that the road to self discovery is laden with the presence of unique individuals; if one marches to the beat of their own drummer this does not make them less of a person, more so it enhances their character. He believes in the importance of respecting all individuals on the basis of human to human acceptance. By the same token, one should be open to change, “consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson, Self-Reliance), an ever evolving conscience of what is right and wrong is the hallmark of a true individual.
The concept of personal growth and self discovery is gleaming in the essays Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Individuality and simplicity are the main vessels for this discovery; there is great importance in simple living and being true to one’s own, unique self.