The Celebration of individuality

Individuality is something that we all posses. It is what makes use unique both in mind and body. In Emerson's message of "Self-Reliance", he gives insight into being you and always thinking highly of yourself. There were a lot of passages throughout his message that expressed the idea of power and specialness of individuals. There were two main passages in part 3 that I felt best explained his ideas. In the second passage of part 3 Emerson states, "Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous, half possession". From this statement I felt as though Emerson was explaining how one should look within them to to find what makes them special and different in life.  He explains having your own gift as to be something good that you have been blessed with to make your mark in the world- something that no one else has because it has been given to you. If you walk around trying to be like everyone else then you are not reaping the full benefits of life's rewards. In the first passage of part three he also states, "It was an application of his own thought to the thing to be done and the conditions to be observed. And why need we copy the Doric or the Gothic model? Beauty, convenience, grandeur of thought, and quaint expression are as near to us as to any....". I found this topic to be so interesting because it plays up on making a point about our individual capabilities to do any and everything we want. He explains that beauty and intellect are within us all but in order for these things to shine through you must use your own mind to do so. 
In Whitman's poem "Song of Myself", it was a little harder for me to comprehend exactly what point he was trying to get across but after reading it a couple times I started to understand. I saw him express his own ideas of specialness in individuals in stanza 48. He said, "I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least, / Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself" (1278-1279). It is clear that Whitman truly loved himself and his individuality. He said that he could not comprehend anything being more wonderful than himself which shows that his idea of individuality is having confidence and pride about who you are. These selected passages in my opinion showcase the authors' thoughts and feelings towards individuality and having a sense of pride about yourself. 


Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", was very interesting and it was my favorite out of all of the readings today. I think Mrs. Mallard dies at the end because she is overjoyed that her husband is dead. In the story it said, "There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature". This suggests that Mrs. Mallard was happy that she could be herself again without any one to answer to. She probably felt as though the marriage was confining her and that she was losing her individuality. The text stated, " And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being". Mrs. Mallard had an epiphany and realized that she was back in control of her being...or so she thought. She can't continue living after learning the truth because she has finally exhaled and realized how her life will be by herself but now that her husband really is not dead she cannot come to terms with that. She went from being torn apart that her husband had "died" to being overcome with joy that her life would be hers again, back to shock and disappointment. All of those emotions were too much for her heart to take. I believe that Chopin's story affirms the other authors' notion about individuality because throughout the reading you can see Mrs. Mallard going back in forth over her life in her mind reflecting back on when she was alone, by herself and then imagining into the future where she could once again have that. She was a symbol of the loss of individuality with the desire to find yourself again. All of the readings tie into the same notion of breaking free and coming into your own as an individual. 


One connection I had was with the story "The Story of an Hour". I think that a lot of women in Mrs. Mallard's position especially, around her time felt the same way as she did. Back then women did not have a lot of rights. Most of them were housewives whose main job was to support their husbands and make sure the family was well taken care of. I can see why Mrs. Mallard, or any woman during this time period could have felt the way she did about gaining her individuality back. 


Do you think that sometimes it is harder for others to embrace their individuality because of fear, being timid, or just being afraid to stand out and accept themselves? If so, why?