ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The idea that one can rely on his or her own judgment, choices, and be free from these societal influences is to be self-reliant. As such, according to Transcendentalism and Emerson, it’s better to trust yourself. In some cases, if not most or all cases, to trust yourself over and above what others believe.

Detailed explanation-2: -"Self-Reliance” is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson’s recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his own instincts and ideas.

Detailed explanation-3: -Emerson urges to “trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found you” (Emerson). To trust oneself is a given right and the most important thing to do. This piece was written during the period when Americans were seeking a national identity.

Detailed explanation-4: -In “Self-Reliance”, he writes: “Build your own happiness by cultivating a spirit of independence and a capacity for self-reliance.” Emerson argued that feelings of self-sufficiency are necessary if people are to develop a strong sense of personal identity and resilience against the forces of social conformity.

Detailed explanation-5: -Emerson argues that God and existence happen solely in the present, and that only in nature can the individual see the present in its “richness.” The self-reliant individual, though, attuned to nature and his (or her) inner self, is connected to the present, and therefore to the unity of everything.