Emerson: Self Reliance

In Emerson's essay, "Self Reliance," he talks about how people should decide for and rely on themselves. He believed that people should form their lives, beliefs, and values on what they think. what they know, and what they want. A person should be responsible for their place in the world, because they have to put themselves in the spot that they want to be in. Emerson's opinion of society is that it is "in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members" and it is a "joint-stock company." Emerson viewed society as something to harm the people within it. Society can be used against the people that belonged to it, so Emerson believed that in order for people to be where they want to be, they have to put themselves there on their own terms. The entire concept of "self reliance" is based on people looking to themselves rather than looking to those around them. So, the entire point of Emerson's essay can be used to answer this question. People need to view themselves as what they want to be, and what they believe that they are in society.