Tag Archives: Ralph Waldo Emerson

by

Nature

“Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson expresses what Emerson feels about the relationship between nature and mankind. He says that one can only see what nature truly is after being in complete isolation with nature. In nature, things can be perceived as spiritual such as the stars, which represent God or heavenly bodies. In addition, nature is not easily grasped and can’t be grasped through parts of it. People who can see nature as a whole are the poets in the world. Another point Emerson brings up is that if people allow themselves to be part of nature, they will feel peace with it and their inner selves, despite any conflicts they have been dealing with.

An interesting aspect of this piece is when Emerson says, “ The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child” in the second paragraph or the mention of the word “children.” He doesn’t explicitly say why he believes children truly know the meaning of nature and why adults have to have a child-like mind to know what nature profoundly means. I interpreted the view of children to mean the view of nature with a simple mind. Children usually live their lives spontaneously and look at things for how they simply appear to be. Maybe the author is trying to say that people have to view nature simply for what it is and not think too abstractly about it. This aspect makes readers wonder how profound is the difference between an adult’s mind and a child’s mind. Because of this aspect, everything I read after this quote related back to children and how nature is not easily perceived.

by

Nature

“To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society.” Ralph Waldo Emerson starts off this chapter by telling us how one can go into complete solitude. To Ralph Waldo Emerson, true solitude can be achieved when one goes out into nature and leaves behind all of his thoughts along with society. He also starts the chapter off by telling us of stars and how great they appear to the eyes of men. The stars are able to separate a man from “what he is touching,” which is the ground of the Earth. These stars should appear as great as they appear even a thousand years later according to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Ralph Waldo Emerson describes stars as present but inaccessible because in order to see stars, one needs to see it with the his/her “inward and outward senses” when they are “still truly adjusted to each other.” Nature needs to be seen with the simplicity of childhood. Therefore, most adults are unable to see nature in this way. But when nature is seen with the correct balance between senses, it offers youth and joy.

by

Self-Reliance

What defines a man? What is it that we call “strength” or “superiority” or “advancement”?

In today’s culture it would surely be the one who is most successful in an area of work which has plenty of people competing against one other. The one who emerges victorious from this crowd is “successful”. And we say that “advancement” is the technological prowess we have which benefits society as a whole. The way we band together and collectively “move forward” as a species.

However, Ralph Waldo Emerson seems to disagree with these definitions. He postulates that being a conformist in a single group is the opposite of being a man! You must “absolve you to yourself” and preserve the “integrity of your mind” in order to be a true man, even if the world will not be pleased with you.

Now, while Emerson carries on this vein for a long while, I am most drawn to the end of his essay where he gives 4 examples towards a need for greater self-reliance. Firstly how prayer is simply calling out for foreign assistance due to a lack of individual will. This is a premise that I have always believed in, yet it is one which today’s society would scold you for saying aloud. His second and third point about traveling actually don’t speak to me that much, but his fourth point regarding societal advancement is what really captivated me.

“All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves. Society never advances.”

Yes! Finally the problem plaguing our society put into words! There is a pervasive notion in our culture that all we must do is help one another, and that by doing this society will spring forward. That by being fair and just to everyone and working on our “political correctness” and our “cultural interactions” will somehow make our world leap forward. But that is absurd! Society is not an entity in of itself! Society is the amalgamation of every individual that exists within it! Society as a whole will never spring forward unless each individual advances. It is not enough to build new devices and hope that our culture and tolerance will advance along with it. Nor is it enough for us to put boundaries on our society as a whole by limiting what can and cannot be said. Instead we must stop focusing on the concept of society as a whole, and we must first have individual advancement. Man must stop relying on personal “Property”, rather we must have self-reliance! For as Emerson says, “Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”