Emerson, Ralph Waldo is an outstanding American writer in the nineteenth century. His work Self-Reliance is an important and influential work which encourages a man to be confident and independent. Through the analysis and research of Emerson and his works, the thesis explores four main ideas in the work, including “The Confidence” , “The Independence” , “The Personality” , “Showing no Sympathy to the Poor”, of which “The Confidence” is the core point in this thesis. Based on the research of the four ideas, the thesis discusses the enlightenments on today’s society, including the enlightenments on the confident and optimistic attitudes towards life, the promotion of female’s self-reliance, the influence on individuals’ success and a country’s prosperity.
Abstract......................................................................I
Key Words.....................................................................I
摘要..........................................................................I
关键词........................................................................I
Introduction..................................................................1
Ⅰ.A Brief Introduction to Emerson, Ralph Waldo and His Self-reliance.........2
A. Emerson, Ralph Waldo ......................................................2
B. Self-reliance..............................................................3
Ⅱ.The Analysis of Emerson, Ralph Waldo’s Thoughts in Self-reliance..........5
A. The Confidence.............................................................5
B. The Independence...........................................................6
C. The Personality............................................................7
D. Showing No Sympathy to the Poor............................................9
Ⅲ.Self-reliance’s Enlightenment on Today’s Society.........................11
A. Attitudes towards Life..................................................11
B. The Female’s Self-reliance.............................................12
C. The Influence on Individual..............................................13
D. The Influence on Countries..............................................14
Conclusion....................................................................15
Acknowledgements..............................................................16
Bibliography..................................................................17
