In Emerson's book "Self-Reliance", he argues about mankind and self reliance. That every man should be self-reliant, and that society of that time did not allow those to be an individual. That he cannot be self-reliant if he depends on others, and must find his own path without society's boundaries in the way, and that he must take himself for better or worse and accept it, to be self-reliant. Just this opening speaks best of the entire article as it states that every man is of his own devices, and should not relay on society to guide him but himself, which was a big transcendentalist view, to go to nature and find who you are, and not let society form you into a mold but you make your own mold.
"To be great is to be misunderstood...."
Emerson says this quote at the end of the passage to give a strong lasting effect on the reader, saying huge religious and scientific figures like Jesus, Luther, and Galileo, who are remembered in history for being strong contributes to religion or science, but all were misunderstood in their goals in life. For example, Luther wanted to make religious reforms in the Holy Roman Empire, as he was disgusted by people taking advantage of religion, so people rioted and revolted against the HRE in Luthers name, but Luther did not want them to revolt but to only seek reform. This speaks greatly as he was misunderstood, and the peasants remembered him as a great man who wanted to rise against the HRE, but he just wanted a little reform in religion, not to up throw the entire system. To be great is to be misunderstood. Although we cannot understand what all these prodigies truly meant, we still hold their names high in history as examples because most people cannot be self-reliant, so depend on the examples of others to aim for. Some people aim to be as intelligent as Newton, others as faithful as they can be to Jesus, while few like Emerson seek something deeper in life: Self-reliance. He does not have to depend on these great figures. He can create his own faith, can become the next great intelligent figure without having to look up to the others, because he is self-reliant, and does not let the boundaries of society enclose on him. In today's world, everyone aims to be the smartest they can be, or at least their parents help them aim to reach that level. We look up to these great figures in awe, trying to become like the one day, or trying to become like our parents, or other famous people, ranging from pop stars to movie actors. "that imitation is suicide" Emerson states. We are trying to imitate these great figures in life and aim to be like them, trying to be them. Sure if I became a pop star I would release different songs, would do different things with today's newest technology and be in different events, but it would just be a parallel to my heroes in life, as they influenced me so greatly that I don't just aspire to be like them, I aspire to BE them. I think that is what Emerson is against. Our society has progressed so far that we do not have any form of self-reliance, as our family, friends and everyone in our lives wants to be like someone someday. While Emerson wants us to find ourselves without these influences of society. To go live in the woods, and experience what kind of human we really are, instead of being another one of the trash of society, like pigs. Waiting for the next meal, or opportunity, and eating it up without any thought about those around you, unless it is beneficial to you. This is where our society has reached, because we are not self-reliant, and I think that Emerson would be scared by today. Not because of the technology, or the events over the past 130 years, but because of how evolved our society has shaped and how sickly some of us are, and how none of us are self-reliant in anyway, and we just wait for the next opportunity to arrive and grab it, embrace it, never let go, and make it a part of our lives instead of pushing society away and living peacefully in quiet, truly finding out what kind of human we are.
"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members."
Society controls who we are. It shapes us, and tells us what to do. It creates order, but in doing so creates rules. And those rules make it so some people are cast out of society. Those people cast out either stay an outcast, or embraces society after becoming self-reliant, and accepts society as existing but is still against it, like Emerson Because whatever is accepted by society, everyone else accepts, but the Transcendentalists go beyond that by accepting reality and pushing for change.
