[00:00.00]Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a literature class.
[00:10.50]MALE PROFESSOR: Alright, so let me close today's class with some thoughts to keep in mind while you’re doing tonight's assignment. [00:16.60]You'll be reading one of Ralph Waldo Emerson's best-known essays, Self-Reliance, and comparing it with his poems and other works. [00:24.61]I think this essay has the potential to be quite meaningful for all of you—as young people who probably wonder about things like truth, and where your lives are going … all sorts of profound questions.
[00:37.04]Knowing something about Emerson's philosophies will help you when you read Self-Reliance. [00:42.51]And basically, one of the main beliefs that he had, was about truth. [00:46.95]Not that it's something that we can be taught... Emerson says it's found within ourselves.[00:52.33]So this truth... the idea that it's in each one of us... is one of the first points that you'll see Emerson making in this essay. [01:01.62]It's a bit abstract, but he's very into, ah, into each person believing his or her own thought. Believing in yourself, the thought or conviction that's true for you.
[01:13.81]But actually, he ties that in with a sort of universal truth, something that everyone knows but doesn't realize they know.[1:22.44]Most of us aren't in touch with ourselves, in a way, so we just aren't capable of recognizing profound truths. [01:30.18]It takes geniuses... people like, say, Shakespeare, who are unique because when they have a glimpse of this truth—this universal truth—they pay attention to it and express it, and don't just dismiss it like most people do.[01:44.83]So, Emerson is really into each individual believing in, and trusting, him or herself.
[01:51.53]You'll see that he writes about... well, first, conformity. [01:55.99]He criticizes the people of his time, for abandoning their own minds and their own wills for the sake of conformity and consistency. [02:03.88]They try to fit in with the rest of the world, even though it's at odds with their beliefs and their identities. [02:10.50]Therefore, it's best to be a nonconformist—to do your own thing, not worrying about what other people think. [02:17.87]That's an important point—[02:19.95]he really drives this argument home throughout the essay.
[02:22.87]When you're reading I want you to think about that, and why that kind of thought would be relevant to the readers of his time. [02:29.88]Remember, this is 1838. Self-reliance was a novel idea at the time, and United States citizens were less secure about themselves as individuals and as Americans.
[02:41.28]The country as a whole was trying to define itself.[02:44.81]Emerson wanted to give people something to really think about. Help them find their own way and ah, what it meant to be who they were.[02:53.89]So, that's something that I think is definitely as relevant today as it was then... probably, uh... especially among young adults like yourselves. You know, uh, college being a time to sort of really think about who you are and where you're going.
[03:10.49]Now, we already said that Emerson really emphasized nonconformity, right? [03:16.27]As a way to sort of not lose your own self and identity in the world? To have your own truth and not be afraid to listen to it? [03:25.13]Well, he takes it a step further. [03:27.83]Not conforming also means, ah, not conforming with yourself, or your past.
[03:34.29]What does that mean? [03:36.12]Well, if you've always been a certain way, or done a certain thing, but it's not working for you anymore, or you're not content—Emerson says that it'd be foolish to be consistent even with our own past. [03:49.13]Focus on the future, he says: that's what matters more. Inconsistency is good!
[03:55.19]He talks about a ship's voyage—and this is one of the most famous bits of the essay—how the best voyage is made up of zigzag lines. [04:04.58]Up close, it seems a little all over the place, but from farther away the true path shows, and in the end it justifies all the turns along the way.[04:14.34]So, don’t worry if you're not sure where you're headed or what your long term goals are—
[04:20.52]stay true to yourself and it'll make sense in the end. [04:23.73]I mean, I can attest to that. [04:26.26]Before I was a literature professor, I was an accountant. [04:29.99]Before that, I was a newspaper reporter. [04:32.87]My life has taken some pretty interesting turns, and here I am, very happy with my experiences and where they've brought me. [04:39.99]If you rely on yourself and trust your own talents, your own interests, don't worry. Your path will make sense in the end.
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