“Self Reliance”

1. “Self Reliance” Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. What do you think? What kind of impact did this essay have on you? • Share reactions

3. Which does Emerson value more – original thought or traditional wisdom? • He values original thought. • “imitation is suicide” • “Whose would be a man, must be a nonconformist”

4. According to Emerson, which virtue does society demand most – truth, conformity, creativity, or self-reliance? • Conformity • “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure”

5. What is the only law that Emerson says can be sacred to him? • His own nature • “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature” • Emerson believed in the basic goodness of humans, that they would do the right thing if given the chance to make their own decisions.

6. Summarize Emerson’s main ideas • Do your own thing • “imitation is suicide” • Trust your own ideas • “Trust thyself” • “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist” • “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature” • “What I must do is all that concerns me”

7. Summarize Emerson’s main ideas (cont.) • It’s hard to be a nonconformist • “For nonconformity the world whips you” • “the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude • Don’t let consistency keep you from trusting yourself • “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”

8. Describe parts of your own life in which Emerson’s ideas might apply • Nonconformity • Disregard for consistency • Peer pressure

9. If you had heard this essay as a public lecture, what questions would you have liked to ask Emerson directly about his philosophy?

10. Bonus: identify at least two aphorisms from this essay.

11. Transcendentalist Literature Chart

12. Self-reliance/intuition • Title: “Self-Reliance” • “Trust thyself” • “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”

13. Importance of nature • Human nature • “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”

14. Free thought and expression • “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist” • “Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again”

15. Importance of individual/nonconformity • “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.” • “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.” • “…the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude….”

16. Confidence • “Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today.”