Journal #28

Michelle Romero
English 48A
Final Question #1

Thoreau and Emerson both also emphasized the individual over the collective in their works:

Emerson:
"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members" (Self-Reliance 1165).

Thoreau:
"Why has every man a conscience then? I think that we should be men first, subjects afterward" (Resistance to Civil Government 1858).

It amazes me how closely these two passages are to each other. Obviously, Emerson was a great influence on Thoreau, but their views oftentimes appear to be this similar. In the first quote, Emerson criticizes society as having a conspiracy or vendetta against all men. He makes it seem like society is out to get you. This type of language creates a sense of hyper-awareness; he is trying to get his readers or audience to become aware of their own self. In fact, he even talks about the voices of conscience that individuals can hear on their own, but not when they are in the world. In a sense, he is creating a feeling that individuals have power, but that they lose power when they are with others. If you think about it, his accusations are pretty radical. It's Big Brother kind of stuff....he makes it seem like someone or something is planning the conspiracy, not just that conformity tends to happen in groups.

Thoreau also talks about the conscience of man. By asking the question, Why man has a conscience, he is meaning to say that men should use their consciences since they have them. Their conscience is intended to be used. Like Thoreau, he thinks men should be men first; before all else they should be individuals.

(Side note: As a woman, I have to point out that their language does not include women, so I don't know what they expect of us. It is okay for us to be part of society? Are we part of this whole conspiracy against men? Ironic that Emerson was a woman's rights advocate.)