Impeding the Imagination

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the father of transcendentalism, in Self-Reliance clearly outlines the importance of remaining true to oneself. He believes the greatest flaw of human kind is the need to conform and be accepted, and that desire for approval limits the bounds of creativity and self-trust. Modern society shows that the unique talents of each member of a community are the prime factors for progress, and without individual freedom and human insight, any form of development would stagnate. Emerson clearly portrays that individualism should be the basic tenet of human life, yet propriety, fear of hypocrisy, and cowardice impede those who wish to break free of social restraints. Yet Emerson’s ideology clearly disregards the benefits of and grounds on which conformity has survived through the centuries.…