Comparing Emerson's Self Reliance And On Top Of The World, By

Nowadays, many people are told that they should have a person that they can rely on, and trust blindly. However, in older pieces of literature, authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, a famous transcendentalist, who advocated many of his ideas through powerful books from the experiences from his past, promoted the theory that the only person that one should rely on is themselves, as there is no reason to trust others. This theory of trusting one’s self has also made it to some well known songs in the twenty first century, as artists want to promote self reliance as well. In both “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “On top of the World” by the popular band Imagine Dragons, there is a prevalent theme of believing in one’s self. In the immensely popular short story, “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson
The inspiration for Emerson to write this story was when he was a rather elderly man, living in a one-bedroom house during the American expansionary period of the west. During his rather long stay with no one, he realized that there is no need to have to company of others and therefore unnecessary to rely and trust others. One example of Emerson stating this was when he told the readers that they should not believe in the unfulfilled promises of the government. And through the government policy of purchasing land, people become too caught up in the size and value of property instead of the character of the person that owns it. To emphasize this point, in “Self Reliance”, Emerson states “And so the reliance on Property, including the reliance on governments which protect it, … But a cultivated man becomes ashamed of his property, out of new respect for his nature. Especially he hates what he has,” (Emerson). This quote highlights the fact that man relies on the government to maintain their property, a materialistic thing that people are putting in