from Self-Reliance
REVIEW SKILLS
As you read this
excerpt from “SelfReliance,” look for
clues to its theme.
THEME
The main idea about
life that a literary work
reveals.
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
LITERARY FOCUS: FIGURES OF SPEECH
“Self-Reliance” is an essay that includes some striking figures of speech.
Figures of speech are based on unusual comparisons; they are not meant to
be taken literally. For example, when Emerson says “Society is a joint-stock
company,” he is comparing society to a business. In a joint-stock company,
all of the owners share the company’s profits and losses equally. Emerson’s
comparison points out that society is interested in money and success.
Figures of speech include similes, metaphors, and personification.
READING SKILLS: RECOGNIZING FIGURES OF SPEECH
A figure of speech can help us see something in a new, imaginative way.
When you come across a figure of speech, ask yourself these questions:
• What two things are being compared?
• What do these two things have in common?
Literary Skills
Understand
figures of
speech,
including
similes,
metaphors, and
personification.
Reading
Skills
Interpret
difficult figures
of speech.
Caricature of Emerson by Christopher
Pearce Cranch from Illustrations
of the New Philosophy.
Review Skills
Understand
theme.
76
Part 1
Collection 2: American Romanticism
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Use the Skill As you read the
selection, pause whenever you
notice an unusual comparison.
Such comparisons may be figures
of speech. Underline each figure of
speech you find. Ask the questions
above to help you understand each
comparison.
By permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University.
• Why does the writer create this comparison? How does it affect the text?
from
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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; that
though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourish-
Re-read lines 1-6, and underline the four things that
Emerson says everyone learns
eventually.
ing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that
plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which
resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what
that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.
Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact makes much
10
What does Emerson mean by
the metaphor “kernel of
nourishing corn” (lines 4-5)?
impression on him, and another none. This sculpture in the
memory is not without preestablished harmony. The eye was
placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of
that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely
trusted as proportionate1 and of good issues, so it be faithfully
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest by
cowards. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart
into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done
20
conviction (k¥n · vik√◊¥n) n.:
fixed or strong belief.
imparted (im · pärt√id) v.:
revealed.
otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does
manifest (man√¥ · fest≈) adj.:
plain; clear.
not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse
transcendent (tran · sen√d¥nt)
adj.: excelling; surpassing.
befriends; no invention, no hope.
Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept
the place the divine Providence has found for you; the society of
your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have
always done so and confided themselves childlike to the genius
According to Emerson, when
is a person relieved and
happy (lines 17-19)?
of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands,
predominating2 in all their being. And we are now men, and
must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny;
1. proportionate adj.: having a correct relationship between parts;
balanced.
2. predominating v. used as adj.: having influence or power.
from Self-Reliance
77
30
and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards
fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and
Re-read lines 40-41. What is
the opposite of or the
“aversion to” self-reliance?
the Dark. . . .
These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they
grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society
everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one
of its members. 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.
40
The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion.3 It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.
integrity (in · teg√r¥ · t≤) n.:
sound moral principles;
honesty.
Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist. He who
would gather immortal palms4 must not be hindered by the
name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing
is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve5
What is “sacred” to Emerson
(lines 44-45)?
you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. . . .
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,
adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With
consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as
well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what
you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything
you said today—“Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood”—
Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras
was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther,
and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton,6 and every pure
What is the theme, or
message of this essay?
(Review Skill)
and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be
misunderstood. . . .
3. aversion n.: object of intense dislike or opposition.
4. He who . . . immortal palms: he who would win fame. In ancient
times, palm leaves were carried as a symbol of victory or triumph.
5. absolve v.: pronounce free from guilt or blame.
6. Pythagoras . . . Newton: people whose contributions to scientific,
philosophical, and religious thought were ignored or suppressed
during their lifetimes.
78
Part 1
Collection 2: American Romanticism
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
50
from Self-Reliance
Reading Skills: Understanding Figures of Speech
The following chart lists
passages from “Self-Reliance.” Within each passage are boldface words and
phrases that are figures of speech. Interpret and explain each figure of speech in
the space provided to the right.
Figure of Speech
Interpretation
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
“Trust thyself: Every heart vibrates to
that iron string.” (line 22)
“[We are] guides, redeemers, and
benefactors, obeying the Almighty
effort, and advancing on chaos and
the Dark . . . .“ (lines 31-33)
“A foolish consistency is the
hobgoblin of little minds.”
(lines 47-48)
from Self-Reliance
79
from Self-Reliance
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT
DIRECTIONS: Write words from the Word Box to complete the paragraph below.
Word Box
Emerson held the strong (1)
that ideas
conviction
should be shared and discussed in public. In addition to this belief, he felt
imparted
that a speaker showed (2)
manifest
straight-forward with an audience. Emerson was well-known for his truthful
transcendent
by being honest and
speeches, which made his ideas (3)
integrity
and easy to
understand. His fascinating thoughts were (4)
in
the elegant language of his lectures. Some readers found Emerson’s words
(5)
, taking them out of their own world and
beyond to a new and better one.
In an analogy the words in one pair should relate to each other in the same
way as the words in a second pair. The colon (:) should be read as “is to”;
the double colon (::) should be read as “as.”
ENGINE : AUTOMOBILE :: propeller : airplane
To understand an analogy, think of the relationships between the words.
This analogy is accurate because both sets of words have the same
relationship. An engine is part of an automobile just as a propeller is
part of an airplane.
DIRECTIONS: Complete each analogy below by circling the letter of the correct entry.
1. BOOK : SCHOLAR :: tool : ______
Vocabulary
Skills
Use vocabulary
in context.
Complete word
analogies.
80
Part 1
3. ACORN : TREE :: infant :______
A mechanic
C
teacher
A baby
C
B metal
D implement
B adult
D offspring
2. HONESTY : DECEIT :: courage : ______
F
conviction
G loyalty
4. HOPE : DESIRE :: plead : ______
H cowardice
F
J
G divide
intelligence
Collection 2: American Romanticism
crying
braid
H yell
J
beg
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
ANALOGIES: USING SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
Name
Class
Selection:
Date
Author:
Figures of Speech
A figure of speech is a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and
that is not meant to be taken literally.
DIRECTIONS: The chart below describes the most common figures of speech. Fill in the
chart with examples from the selection. (Not all selections will include all types of figures
of speech.)
Figure of Speech
Example from the Selection
Simile: a comparison between two unlike
things, using a word such as like, than, as,
or resembles—for example: She was as
graceful as a gazelle.
unlike things in which one thing is said to
be another thing—for example: She was a
gazelle leaping across the stage.
Personification: a figure of speech in
which an object or animal is given human
feelings or thoughts—for example: The
stage refused all comfort to the dancers.
Symbol: a person, place, thing, or event
that has meaning in itself and that also
stands for something more than itself—for
example: A dove is a symbol of peace.
200
Graphic Organizers
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Metaphor: a comparison between two
Name
Selection:
Class
Date
Author:
Imagery
Imagery is the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a
thing, a place, or an experience. Images appeal to one or more of the five senses—sight,
hearing, smell, touch, and taste.
DIRECTIONS: Fill in the chart below with examples of images that appeal to the senses.
(Not all selections will have images that appeal to all senses.)
Imagery that appeals to . . .
Sight
Smell
Touch
Taste
202
Graphic Organizers
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Hearing