Thesis in Self-Reliance

This alludes to Newton’s Third Law that claims “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In this context, Emerson argues that people can look only within themselves to improve their own lives. No amount of money, machinery, or work can achieve progress, only the fact of knowing and being your most accurate, individual self. The passage makes use of parallelism, a rhetorical device in which multiple phrases are expressed in the same manner, even if they are contrary.

Here Emerson introduces individualism, the most enduring theme of the essay. He uses historical figures to exemplify how some of the greatest philosophers, scientists, diplomats, and artists all created, apparently, brand new branches or aspects of their respective fields. With his repetition of “to believe,” Emerson makes use of anaphora, a rhetorical device that emphasizes through repeated phrasings.

Emerson gives the reader a sort of reality check here. He makes the point that people cannot accurately measure themselves by the success of their society. The true measure is one’s ability to grow, learn, and follow personal virtue.

Emerson argues that regrets come from a lack of willpower and straying from one’s purpose. Throughout the essay, Emerson reinforces the notion that one’s most important resource is one’s self; here Emerson explains that “discontent” comes from somebody not trusting their most useful resource.

This can be paraphrased to mean that your life is seeking you, so you don’t have to seek after it. Again notice how Emerson ties his ideas and references back to one’s self. Here, Emerson tell us that we don’t have to look into ourselves for answers and for our meaning in life because if we simply live our lives and follow our paths those answers will be given.

David, Jeremiah, and Paul are all biblical figures. This line indicates that Emerson believes people should not only listen to and trust in the words of the Bible, but also to God’s presence within themselves.

All of the references in the following list are movements or religions started by one man alone. The “lengthened shadow of one man” is a figure of speech that means one person’s ideas can start a movement that spreads over a large group of people.

Emerson uses the aforementioned list of historical figures as support for this point because they were all men of virtue who looked for moral guidance within themselves rather than from a religion or previously stated philosophy.

This alludes to Newton’s Third Law that claims “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In this context, Emerson argues that people can look only within themselves to improve their own lives. No amount of money, machinery, or work can achieve progress, only the fact of knowing and being your most accurate, individual self.

This embodies a major theme and is perhaps one of the most famous quotes from the essay. Emerson tells us that if we get into a day-to-day routine that does not help us grow, no matter who we are, rich or poor, our minds will be ruined by the constraints we make for ourselves.