The Rule of Self-Reliance in the Nineteenth Century Literature - Essay Example

?The Rule of Self-Reliance in the Nineteenth Century Literature In the 19th century, self-reliant individual as a rule has become the most interesting realm in history of literature. Various writers have promoted self-reliance wherein interrelationships of individuals among others are concealed, but still unveiled in an optimistic manner. This paper seeks to analyze three literary works, such as Walden or Life in the Woods, Self-Reliance, and the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, authored by Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederick Douglass, respectively in the nineteenth century. The paper will discuss four points: an emphasis on interrelationships, separation of self-sufficiency from isolation, and solitude from loneliness, and the authors’ implication of preserving individuality. Humanity is said to be interconnected with one another, but in the nineteenth century, many of literary works have secluded this concept and embraced self-reliance. Thoreau, Emerson, and Douglass are some of those who have triggered the mindset of readers that self-reliance is not a hindrance to manhood. Starting with Thoreau, his line, “be sure that you give the poor the aid they most need” (Thoreau 61), suggests that everyone should help those in need. Walden by Thoreau clearly states his life lessons wherein he implies that despite self-reliance, people still need each other (Fletcher-Spear 59). From this point, it can be said that people need each other to survive. Also, a line from Emerson’s Self-Reliance depicts that one “cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature” (Emerson 11). This is one of his most spiritually satisfying lines implicating that everyone is interconnected and interrelated (Gowler 76). With this in mind, Emerson tends to emphasize that happiness is unattainable unless people never understand that life must be lived alone. Furthermore, Douglass also embedded such a notion in a line in his Narrative stating that if only every master would teach his or her slave how to read “he would at once become…no value to his master” (Douglass 107). What Douglass tries to implicate is that education, literacy, and reason are significant for slaves who strive for emancipation and their masters can be the sole provider of such needs (Kohn 499; Radloff 84). From his piece, he emphasizes that even less-fortunate people in this world, such as slaves, and their respective masters have interrelationships, either it may be for the good of both, or for the benefit of only one party. Altogether, the three authors have unique approaches on emphasizing the interrelationships of individuals based on their experiences. Their principles clearly suggest that there is really no man in an island, and everyone needs one another in order to survive. In terms of self-sufficiency and isolation, from this line, “I lived alone…in a house which I had built myself” (Thoreau 5), Thoreau implies self-sufficiency as he can live without the help of anybody, and he separated the idea of isolation from using another line, “...in my neighborhood” (Thoreau 17). Thoreau emphasizes that self-sufficiency can be seen from living in isolation, but he separated the idea of isolation as he depicted that his neighbors live far from his location and the idea of self-sufficiency as he can construct his own house without the help of his neighbors. In this respect, Thoreau’s practical approach clearly separates self-sufficiency from isolation by means of being practical (qtd. in Bodily 213). Also, Emerson’s line, “a man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition” (Emerson 4) depicts a clear division of self-sufficiency from isolation because he depicted nothing about being isolated; instead, he implied an optimistic perception that one can stand alone even if others attempt to oppose (Gowler 76). Emerson tends to imply that self-sufficiency can be referred to standing in one’s own principles even if others oppose--this opposition is an exemplary of isolation, wherein people have always something to say making him feel alone. Moreover, a line from Douglass also delineates that if masters teach their slave how to read, then “he would at once become…no value to his master” (Douglass 49). This line, “…thinking of plans to gain my freedom” (Douglass 103), also clearly suggests that being self-sufficient out of literacy and the moment of darkness when he thought of plans to be liberated are separated well as Douglass believes that literacy can enlighten him to emancipation (Kohn 498). What Douglass wants to say is that slaves can become self-sufficient individuals if they have the capacity to read and write, and he separated the idea of isolation from the moment that slaves begin to live behind bars or under the command of their master. In effect, even in this isolated place, they can still be self-sufficient in fulfilling their dreams of becoming emancipated through literacy. Altogether, three authors have divergent techniques to prod readers that individuality can be separated from isolation. In respect to the three pundits, they relate such a principle into social, subjective, and self-developmental aspects. Furthermore, “I lived alone…in a house which I had built myself” (Thoreau 5) is a line that suggests solitude; however, Thoreau separated the loneliness from it by delineating that “there are none happy in the world but beings that enjoy freely a vast horizon” (Thoreau 71). Thoreau tends to imply that isolation is never a hindrance to live a normal life, but he then depicts that human can be happy even when he or she is alone (Bodily 206). With this in mind, the separation of solitude and loneliness is very apparent. From this point, Emerson also emphasized on his book that “we must go alone” (Emerson 13). Such a line delineates isolation, but nothing has been described about loneliness in the line as he separated loneliness by saying that one “…cannot be happy…until he too lives with nature” (Emerson 11). In these lines, Emerson believes that being alone will not proffer gloomy days (Gowler 76), but people still need to be isolated to get things through by themselves. Moreover, Douglass also delineated that he “was broken in body, soul, and spirit” (Douglass 75) and he felt that “all is gloom” and “the grave is at the door” (Douglass 62). The first line suggests an isolated situation and the second one implies sadness. From this, it would mean that a man has turned into a slave (Kohn 500). Taking such lines from Douglass is a clear depiction of solitude and loneliness. Take it this way, he describes himself as he fears of being a slave--this is a feeling of solitude, but he added that being lonely is being a slave as he describes slavery as grave. In preserving the rule of individuality, each writer poses various depictions. From this line, “…of all the characters I have known…Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity” (Thoreau 153), Thoreau precisely depicts about preserving individuality as he described Walden as an isolated place where it can be the source of unique definition of experiences of human (Bodily 207). Moreover, with this line, “… man puts off all foreign support, and stands alone…to be strong and to prevail” (Emerson 21), Emerson concisely describes that individuality must be sustained. Isolation will never be the reason of failure, so one must preserve individuality as it can be significant in certain situations (Gowler 76). Douglass also said that one must “trust no man!” (Douglass 111). This implies that one must preserve individuality because as Douglass gained his manhood from violence, he chose to rely on himself through literacy and labor in the hope of emancipation (Kohn 500). Therefore, individuality can proffer people a lot of pros if they will use it in good ways as how Douglass described it. This paper sought to analyze how Thoreau, Emerson, and Douglass have inscribed in their literary pieces the dogmatic scale of self-reliance. Each one has delivered a unique plot based on their actual experiences. Aligned with their self-reliance was a moment of isolation, but they did able to separate isolation from self-sufficiency and solitude from loneliness by intertwining events so it would be deemed as optimistic on the side of the readers. Their way of preserving individuality connotes a very impressive expression as they used strong words that can catch the reader's’ attention. However, despite their disposition of self-reliance, they did not forget the interconnection or interrelationships of all human beings as one cannot survive without the help of others, especially the less fortunate ones. Works Cited Bodily, Christopher L. “Henry David Thoreau: The Transcendentalist?” Journal of Economic Issues (Association for Evolutionary Economics) 21.1 (1987): 203-218. Print. Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Boston, USA: Anti-Slavery Office, 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance, 1841. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Fletcher-Spear, Kristin. “If You Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond.” Library Media Connection 31.5 (2013): 59. Print. Gowler, Steve. “Self-Reliance: The Wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson as Inspiration for Daily Living (Book)”. Library Journal 116.15 (1991): 76. Print. Khon, Margaret. “Frederick Douglass’s Master-Slave Dialect.” Journal of Politics 67.2 (2005): 497-514. Print. Radloff, Leslie Greaves. “Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass.” Library Media Connection 31.1 (2012): 84. Print. Thoreau, Henry David. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden or Life in the Woods. Pennsylvania: An Electronic Classics Series Publication, 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. Read More