Self Reliance Rhetorical Analysis

Self-Reliance is a series of loosely related thoughts and extracts from lectures and journals that Ralph Wald Emerson has written in the past. Through the use of the classical argument, imagery, and m whatever other rhetorical devices, Emerson makes such a convincing case that a individual from almost any background would find it difficult to disagree with him. Emerson wrote this experiment is to get wind a lesson. He argues to the reader to trust themselves and to not conform to the standards of others. Emerson tells his audience, liberate you to yourself, and you shall fuddle the suffrage of the earthly concern.This means that you must first have plaudit and support of yourself, and and so you will gain approval of the world. The purpose of this essay, pertaining to any audience, is to show that a person needs to find his own truth, and have confidence or self-reliance in themselves. The author adds pathos to his essay by evoking the personal prejudices and biases of the audience. Pathos stands out most in his essay, as it contains a lot of emotional conflicts that we all face at around point or other in our lives. Self- Reliance is sprinkled with memorable sayings know as aphorisms.These are brief statements that express a general normal or truth somewhat life. A foolish consistency is the goblin of the little looks is a very popular aphorism Emerson uses in his essay. He adds logos, or reason, to his essay by giving examples of arguments that people face with themselves and others, and rationally explaining how we should deal with these struggles. Emerson adds ethos to his essay by referencing to well known people in history. He states that Luther, Socrates, Galileo, Newton, Pythagoras, Copernicus, andJesus were all great minds that were misunderstood. By referencing to these people, he established credibility, as his audience is most likely familiar with the struggles and triumphs of a few or more of these people in history. Emerson uses a u nique style of choice of words in this essay. He uses words such as thyself, bestowed, and arduous. To us his word choice seems to be very formal. We may even handle it archaic, or out dated. But we must keep in mind that he was a 1 9th century writer, and this choice of words was belike ore common at the time he wrote this essay.Emerson uses a multitude of tropes in his essay. For example, he uses the metaphors envy is ignorance and imitation is suicide to explain what every manhood feels at some point in his life. As stated earlier, Emerson uses seven-fold aphorisms in this essay. His aphorisms proclaim his radical ideas in clear, concise sentences. His idea about consistency, for example, is distilled into one easy-to-remember aphorism, and is thereby amortized. In his essay, the author also says that, For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure. This is personification. What Emerson is trying to say is that there is common belief that if you are a nonconformis t, meaning you do not follow generally accepted beliefs, then everyone in the world will think badly of you. Emerson does not guess this to be so. Emerson uses symbols and imagery of nature to support his claim of individuality. The over spirit is one key element that Emerson illustrates in his essay, meaning that a person should look deep inside his heart and find his own truth.