Nonconformity by Ralph Emerson - Term Paper Example

Nonconformity by Ralph Emerson Introduction Romantism is an artistic and intellectual movement that originated from Europe in the 18th century, but it fully emerged in America during Waldo Emerson’s theory of nature in the middle of the 18th century. Romantism enhanced the interest in nature, emotion, expression and imagination. During the era, vast authors were exploring revolutionary ideas that aimed at informing their readers about alternate perspective on the society state (Prickett, Stephen, and Simon62). The exploration gave birth to vast literary works that included “Self-reliance” and “nonconformity” by Ralph Emerson. The aim of this paper is to analyse nonconformity by Ralph Emerson in a deeper perspective by digging up vast ideas from different Romantism authors who contributed to the subject. Analysis Different dictionary versions define nonconformity as refusal to conform or the act of relenting to behave the way other people behave. Emerson did not agree with the version of behaving like everyone in the society and claimed that nonconformity represented the idea that an individual listens to his inner voice instead of following the usual ways. This was the case because Emerson believed that conformity prevented people from trusting and relying on their own judgment, which in turn shuns them from pursuing their dreams. This meant that all human beings needed a break from overbearing commands of the society; hence, should have a space to think on their own (Emerson 69). In other words, the author advocated for self-reliance that shunned people from being puppets of other peoples thinking because nonconformity allowed individuals to seek the truth other than adhering to the strict creed offered by the modern society that was mostly predicted through the magazines. The author tried to explain that it was essential to listen to people’s opinion but not adhering to it because for an individual to realize his true potential, he had to ignore them (Emerson 69). Emerson’s idea on how to think and act greatly helped people change their perspective on politics, government and the world’s general infrastructure, which pushed the slaves, feminists, abolitionists and native Americans to fight for equality and other rights. Other authors like Roger Williams In his letter “A Letter to the Town of Providence”, emerged to support the new theory of nonconformity in a religious perspective, where through his letter expressed the reason why individuals should not be forced to attend the usual prayers, but rather these individuals should do so on their own will. Williams supported liberty of practicing Christianity by claiming that conscience should determine the will of individuals to attend prayers or not, but the set Christianity laws and creeds should not be the forcing concept. This concept also applies to the society which should not force its governance and principles to its citizens but should rather allow them to exercise freedom. In this case, the author advocated for conscience liberty where individuals should not be pushed around to follow laws, but rather should follow what their conscience direct them to because at the end of it the nonconformity act would either lead to positive empowerment or end up in consequences. More so, Williams argued that such individuals who act depending on their own will should not be condemned or punished but rather should be left to learn and realize their mistakes, which would eventually happen once they open their eyes. Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson supported Emerson’s theory of conformity through poetry. Their poetry created images that allowed readers to comprehend and digest Emerson’s perspective ideas of nonconformity on their own. For instance, Whitman’s poem “when I heard the learn’d Astronomer” expresses the ideals of independence, a concept contributed by Emerson’s idea of nonconformity because the poem reflects on how the author once attended a lecture offered by a smart astrologer but the lecture turned out to be boring, forcing the author to learn astronomy on his own way by going out and looking at the stars because in this way, the author could understand astrology in a better way. In this case, the author did not find the lecture convincing and informative enough and that is why the poet decided to discover more about astronomy in his own. In other words Whitman tries to portray the importance of freedom of choice where an individual could exercise nonconformity without any restrictions because its helps individuals to learn on a faster pace. Similarly, Dickenson portrayed Emerson beliefs of nonconformity through many of her poems among which depicted that “majority” is insane. This meant that sanity can be found through individualism because the majority perceived that they conform to what is normal and anyone relenting from it was abnormal. Amazingly, Dickenson was not only expressing nonconformity through poetry but also through practice because unlike the “majority”, she never attended church because she believed in elevating human being status above God. All the named authors vividly supported nonconformity because they believed that the idea was inspired by exposing people to self-discovery. However, none of the artists or scholars depicted the negative side of the theory except Roger Williams who touched a little bit of the end results of liberty, but Nathaniel Hawthorne through his book “The birth mark” emerged with the real picture of the negative implications of nonconformity. Hawthorne’s tries to emphasize on repercussions or consequences experienced after exercising freedom in terms of nonconformity by introducing a character named Georgiana who had a birthmark on her face, but her efforts of remodeling her face through a scientific laboratory ends up ending her life (Shmoop 2). This means that the act of exercising nonconformity does not always yield to positivity like the previous authors argued but rather could end up in regrettable consequences. Therefore, in spite of the positive attitude an individual feels while exercising freedom, he should weigh the situation and possible consequences that might come along the act. Conclusion This paper has analysed nonconformity as presented by Ralph Emerson by presenting Romantism ideas by other authors. In doing so, it has become evident that the emergence of Romantism in America changed people’s perceptions and inspired them especially when considered that individuals in this era underwent vast discriminations and oppressions. Though Emerson introduces the idea, the analysis shows that many other authors and poets embraced the idea, which they used in their literature works. The fact that many authors accepted the theory meant that they knew about the oppressions and intended to eradicate it by empowering the readers towards self-discovery. However, Hawthorne’s introduction brought in a different perspective on the idea that showed that nonconformity did not only promote freedom as many people perceive because at some point it brought in suffering and even death. Nevertheless, non-conformity surpassed its negative aspect of becoming the inspiration for inventing a literary movement that enhanced progress. Works cited Emerson, Ralph. Essays and English Traits by Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Cosimo, Inc, 2010. Print. Shmoop. When I Heard the Learnd Astronomer: Shmoop Poetry Guide. Shmoop University Inc, 2010. Print. Prickett, Stephen, and Simon Haines. European Romanticism: A Reader. London: Continuum, 2010. Print. Read More