The Theme of Self-Reliance in Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The Theme of Self-Reliance in Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

I will, in the following, discuss the theme of self-reliance in the above-mentioned texts. But what exactly is self-reliance? In his 1841 publication called Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson includes an essay simply entitled Self-Reliance in which he states "Trust thyself…Great men have always done so and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age…" . Self-reliance is thus defined as the ability to be your own master and to seek your own fortune free from influences from your surroundings.

Hawthorne wrote Young Goodman Brown in 1835, some 6 years before Emerson's Self-Reliance. Still it is obvious from the text that the notion of self-reliance was, if not named, very much alive. In the text we encounter Goodman Brown -- a pious puritan settler - as he embarks on a strange and perilous journey into the woods surrounding the settlement. Hawthorne, being a harsh critic of the puritan society from which he himself derived, uses the story as an allegory, a metaphor, for the necessity of facing your internal demons and doing it alone. The Puritans believed that the wilderness was the home of the devil and his minions (Indians, wild beasts and the like) and

as such was a place to be shunned. Still, Goodman Brown leaves behind his devoted and maiden-

like wife (appropriately named Faith) and walks off. In the woods he encounters a man with features remarkably like his own (it is himself, his demon within) that guides him to a place of evil worship. Goodman Brown has visions of unthinkable evil that leaves him paranoid and unable to feel happiness for the remainder of his life. Because he has succumbed to fear of failure, he fails. But why does he f...

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...in mind goes to show that this philosophy did not arise from one day to the other. It slowly formed itself at the base of the American culture and literature in particular played a key part in this manifestation. Self-reliance defined the thought of American exceptionalism to the point where it gave birth to the American dream. Literature was itself influenced by these developments, but it also helped further them by spreading the above-mentioned notions to the common people. In any case the 2 texts are among the best American literature I have ever read.

1061 words

William Bjarnø

Bibliography:

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Young Goodman Brown

Norton Anthology of American Literature, 5th edition

Page 613 to 623

Clemens, Samuel J.

The adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Norton Anthology of American Literature, 5th edition

Page 1265 to 1453

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