Self-relianceRalphWaldoEmerson.doc
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1、Self-relianceRalphWaldoEmersonSelf-relianceType Work and Year of Publication.。.。Self-Reliance is anessaythat urges readers to trust their own intuition and common sense rather than automatically following popular opinion and conforming to the will of the majority. SelfReliance” was published in 1841
2、 in a collection entitledEssays。 In 1844, Emerson published a second collection,Essays: Second Series。 Consequently, in 1847, he changed the title of the first collection toEssays: First Series.ThemesTrust Your Own Inner Voice.。.。.。Emerson urges his readers to retain the outspokenness of a small chi
3、ld who freely speaks his mind. A child he has not yet been corrupted by adults who tell him to do otherwise。 He also urges readers to avoid envying or imitating others viewed as models of perfection; instead, he says, readersshould take pride in their own individuality and never be afraid to express
4、 their own original ideas. In addition, he says, they should refuse to conform to the ways of the popular culture and its shallow ideals; rather they should live upto theirown ideals, even if doing so reaps themcriticism and denunciation。Avoid Consistency as an End in ItselfBeing consistent is not a
5、lways wise。 An idea or regimen to which you stubbornly cling can become outmoded tomorrow.Point of ViewEmerson uses first, second, and thirdperson point of view. In the opening paragraph of theessay, he firstwritesin the first person, telling readers about an experience of his。 Then, after only thre
6、e sentences, he switches to second person, as if he is advising a listener sitting acrossthe table from him。 Later, in the paragraph, he switches to third person as he presents an exhortation about humankind in general. Following is the first part of theessay, in which Emerson uses all three points
7、of viewfirst person in black, second person in red, and third person in blue:I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional.The soulalways hears an admonition in such lines, let the subject be what it may。 The sentiment they instilEmersons spe
8、lling ofinstillis of more value than any thought they may contain。To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,-that is genius。 Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the out
9、most,and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment。Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato, and Milton is, that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men but what they thought.A man should le
10、arn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages。 Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his。Style Among the most notable characteristics of Emersons writing style are these: (1) thorou
11、gh development of his thesis through examples, repetition, and reinforcement; (2) coinage of memorablestatementsof principle, or aphorisms; (3) frequent references (allusions) to historical and literaryfigures, such asSocrates, Galileo, Copernicus, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Franklin, Dante, and Scipio
12、(ancient Roman general who defeated Hannibal), who embody qualities Emerson discusses; (4) frequent use of figurative language to make a point, such as “An institution is the lengthened shadow ofone man” (metaphor) and “They who made England, Italy, or Greece venerable in the imagination did so by s
13、ticking fast where they were, like an axis of the earth” (simile)。Promotion of American CreativityBecause Emerson eschewed imitation (as noted underTheme), he urged Americans to avoid mimicking art and ideas from abroad. Hewrites: Our houses are built with foreign taste; our shelves are garnished wi
14、th foreign ornaments; our opinions, our tastes, our faculties, lean, and follow the Past and the Distant。Why need we copy the Doric or the Gothic model? Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought,and quaint expression are as near to us as to any, and if the American artist will study with hope and lov
15、e the precise thing to be done by him, considering the climate, the soil, the length of the day, the wants of the people, the habit and form of the government, he will create a house inwhich all these will find themselves fitted, and taste and sentiment will be satisfied also。Emerson and Transcenden
16、talism。.。.Emerson believed every human being has inborn knowledge that enables him to recognize and understand moral truth without benefit of knowledge obtained through the physicalsenses. Using this inborn knowledge, a gift of God, an individual can make a moral decision without relying on informat
17、iongained through everyday living, education, and experimentation。 One may liken this inborn knowledge to conscience or intuition。.。.。Emerson and others who believed that this inborn knowledge served as a moral guiding force were known as transcendentaliststhat is, they believed that this inner know
18、ledge was a higher, transcendent form of knowledge than that which came through thesenses。 Because Emerson and his fellow transcendentalists trusted their own inner light as a moral guiding force, they were possessed of a fierce spirit ofselfreliance。 They were individualists; they liked to make dec
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