Emerson Melville And Whitman Essay Research Paper

Emerson, Melville, And Whitman Essay, Research Paper

The way I view the world has been greatly affected by my reading this semester. Thought I had read Emerson and Melville before, I never before was able to sound the depths of their work and fully appreciate it. This semester was my first real exposure to Whitman, as well. The best analogy for my new outlook is an image of the universe as a yin-yang; it is a complete, unbroken whole within which two polar opposites are constantly in conflict. But more significantly I have taken to heart the doctrine of “Self-Reliance,” which is one shared by all three authors.

Emerson presents a different system of learning than I had ever encountered. Throughout my previous education, I was taught to learn whatever was in the book. The only place original thought was accepted was in occasional creative writing assignments, and even then a stylistic formula was required. The sentence from “Self-Reliance,” “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages.” (263) was a completely new idea to me. My mind originally dismissed the concept from his journals that “The dead sleep in their moonless night; my business is with the living. . . .” (40). But on further reflection, it made sense. Self-reliance is an intimidating concept. Students are taught to externally justify any position we take. If we make a thesis statement we must find support for it in the crumbling stacks of the library. Yet in the end I have found that self-reliance is the most satisfying way to grapple with life.

Melville frequently supports these ideas in his writing. When Ishmael encounters the whale skeleton that a tribe of islanders have elevated to the status of a god, he demonstrates the gravity one should grant to others’ ideas of religion:

“Cutting me a green measuring-rod, I once more dived within the skeleton. From their arrow-slit in the skull, the priests perceived me taking the altitude of the final rib. ‘How now!’ they shouted; ‘Dar’st thou measure this our god! That’s for us.’ ‘Aye, priests.well, how long do ye make him, then.’ But hereupon a fierce contest rose among them, concerning feet and inches; they cracked each other’s sconces with their yard-sticks.the great skull echoed.and seizing that lucky chance, I quickly concluded my own admeasurements.” (375)

Melville also asserts his own metaphor for self-reliance, embodied in the form of a whale. “Oh, man! admire and model thyself after the whale! Do thou, too, remain warm among ice. Do thou, too, live in this world without being of it. Be cool at the equator; keep thy blood fluid at the Pole. . . retain, O man! in all seasons a temperature of thine own.” (261)

In view of trying to balance conflicting philosophies in one’s head, he declares that “some minds forever keep trimming boat. Oh, ye foolish! throw all these thunderheads overboard, and then you will float light and right.” (277) In regard to the idea of expanding one’s mind, Melville remarks:

“Is it not curious, that so vast a being as the whale should see the world through so small an eye, and hear the thunder through an ear which is smaller than a hare’s. but if his eyes were broad as the lens of Herschel’s great telescope; and his ears capacious as the porches of cathedrals; would that make him any longer of sight, or sharper of hearing. Not at all..Why then do you try to “enlarge” your mind. Subtilize it.” (280)

This passage directly relates to Ahab’s directive to “Hark ye the little lower layer,” rather than take everything at face value.

Whitman also favored a philosophy of self-reliance. In “Song of Myself” he claims:

“I know I am august.,

I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood,

. . .

I exist as I am, that is enough,

If no other in the world be aware I sit content,

And if each and all be aware I sit content.” (48)

Ergo, he declares a doctrine of internal direction. He requires no external validation; Whitman is a complete being in and of himself, with no need for outside support.

The second impression Emerson imparted to me was the vision of the universe as a single entity, stemming largely from his idea of the “Oversoul.” According to this concept, all life, indeed all physical reality, possesses only one, all-encompassing, collective soul. This Oversoul is shared by all people, all animals, all plants, and all objects, including even God. In Emerson’s journals, he mentions that, “Blessed is the day when the youth discovers that Within and Above are synonyms.” (53) He also states: “Don’t you see you are the Universe to yourself. You carry your fortunes in your own hand. . .” (44) The phrase, “Universe to yourself,” embodies the Oversoul concept, since if one’s soul encompasses all reality, then the entire universe is contained within oneself.

Emerson even put this concept in to practice as much as he could. Gilman says in his forward that one of Emerson’s essential writing techniques was to “eliminate the personal or transform the personal into the universal, Emerson the person into Emerson the speaker for all men.” (xx) This idea appeals to me through its inclusiveness, and also because it conveniently dovetails with my occasional, personal episodes of s

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