This quote by Emerson talks about individuality and self-
reliance. In the line "that he must take himself for better, for
worse, as his portion" refers to living how you morally believe you should
and not following the ideas of other. He promotes the importance of
individuality in choices and decisions. He also talks about
"imitation is suicide" which means that he believes being a follower
is a good as killing yourself. He even goes as far as saying that
"envy is ignorance" so one should not even compare themselves to
another. Emerson is strong in his belief of the importance of
individuality over acting as a group. His convictions heavily influenced
this piece of writing. The extent of his beliefs in being an individual
is quiet amazing.
Self- reliance is
another thing that Emerson stressed in this story. The entire quote reads
“There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction
that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself
for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full 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” stated by
Emerson in his essay titled Self Reliance.
The last part refers most directly to his stress on self- reliance. The line talking about nourishing corn and
toil illustrates that humans should be eager and willing to work for their own
food. This also ties back into the first
part of the quote. Emerson’s ties to Transcendentalism are apparent in this quote because of his
philosophy of peace and individuality.
He leaves a lasting impression on the reader by striking at the core
beliefs and tendencies of human nature.
Emerson encourages avoiding the pull of acceptance into a group that you
do not really belong to in favor of being an individual.
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