While Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” was very confusing for me at some points, his overall message is meaningful and a relevant message for today. Before reading this, the word “society” always made me think of positive aspects such as community, togetherness, and building off each other’s ideas. However, Emerson’s perspective of how society changes us is much different. Emerson argues that society makes us conform to social expectations and destroys one’s true self. In other words, instead of focusing on how your community can grow together, focus on yourself and your own goals. Self-reliance and independence from one’s community will make one feel confident and complete.

            Through metaphors and references to admired individuals, Emerson effectively argues that conforming to society is self-damaging. To Emerson, giving in to society is the equivalent to death because if you are not being yourself, you’re not actually living. He also personifies society as an evil that “loves not realities and creators, but names and customs,” (47). Emerson proves that being different is key to living a meaningful life by referencing known individuals: “Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood,” (49). At this point in Emerson’s argument, I fully understood and supported his message because I related it to all the individuals he mentions. All of them made history and are still admired because they were different and introduced a new idea to society. I love Emerson’s perspective on the importance of self-reliance, but he fails to mention how this benefits society. If everyone were just focused on themselves, how would the community grow as a whole? Instead of focusing on how one should reach their own goals, they should focus on how they can help their community such as the individuals like Luther and Socrates. Being independent and believing your own ideas is important, but belonging to a supportive community is also important.