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Excerpts from Emerson's "SELF-RELIANCE"
Comprehension
Using your paragraph summaries, explain the main idea of "Self-Reliance."
What does Emerson believe about conformity? Explain using textual evidence.
Analysis
What does Emerson mean by the following quote?
There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance;
that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion...
What does Emerson mean by the following analogy?
Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to
each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater.
What does Emerson mean by the following quote?
It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the
great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of
solitude....
Reflection
Do you agree with Emerson in this text? Why or why not? If you only agree with some of his points,
clarify which ones you agree with and why. What can we learn from reading this text?
