Self Reliance Rhetorical Analysis

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Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” promotes honesty to the readers & tries to influence them to be honest in their relationships with others. He even evinces them to follow their own voice or thoughts rather than anyone else's. Also, for them to not compromise into society's rules. The way literary devices were used in this is like you’d think Emerson’s creativity was at it’s peak. Let me go in depth with what has been stated. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” . Here Emerson is saying simply trust yourself, and if you do you can genuinely be pleased in whatever you do or wherever you go. He also tells us that trusting our own instinct can insure it’s not from the devil. Being self reliant means the individual only relies on …show more content…

First a metaphor example; “through the wide universe of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.” He’s displaying how hard a person has to work to savor something small as a corn kernel. Next, the synecdoche example (that was used earlier in the essay); “trust thyself every heart vibrates to the iron string.”. To add an example of parallelism; "Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood-Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood..." he repeats the word “misunderstood” to focus on his beliefs & thoughts are. There is also a piece of repetition in this, from self reliance; "in the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends him; no invention; no hope." he repeated “no” is used a couple times to show how solitary and secluding the trip to unlocking one’s individual voice may be. Emerson’s use of literary devices made him such a great writer, and that is why his work will never be

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