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In the second paragraph, Emerson is discussing how man is ashamed of their ideas, but he believes that it is important to accept yourself and your ideas. He also talks about how God wants us to express the thoughts we were given. Emerson declares, "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better or for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till" (Emerson116). This quote is saying that when someone becomes self-reliant, they realize that it is better to be an individual than someone who is jealous and imitates another. Nothing productive or positive can come to someone unless it comes from their "plot of ground" or themselves.

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In paragraph 9, Emerson is saying he will do what he needs to, regardless of what people think. He says it is difficult because there will always be people who think they know more about you and your goals than you do. He later proposes, "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion, it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude" (Emerson118). Essentially, this quote is saying that it is easy to conform to what others do, and it is also easy to follow our own beliefs when we're alone, but a truly great man is one who is able to stay true to the same things that he believes when he is alone when he is in public or amongst other people.

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In paragraph 10, Emerson is writing about the dangers of conformity, and how it skews who you really are by not allowing you to be original or true to yourself. Emerson suggests, "And of course so much force is withdrawn from you proper life. But do your thing, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself"(Emerson119). This quote is explaining that when you don't conform and you are yourself, it shows who you are as a person and allows you to be a self-reliant individual that is not worried about what other people think they need to do.

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In paragraph 14, Emerson talks about how habitual behavior causes man to be pedestrian and bored, and also discusses if being misunderstood or unique is truly bad. Emerson asserts, "Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood" (Emerson120). Here, Emerson uses examples 'misunderstood' figures, or people who had original and new thoughts that others could not yet comprehend. Since they were not afraid to speak those ideas, they then became famous for those ideas. He believes that good comes from speaking your truth, regardless of others' confusion or doubt.

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In paragraph 22, Emerson writes how everything is, at its base, from one singular cause (God). He encourages the reader to think about perception, and to not be tempted to resort to things of the past, but to be an individual and think of things in new ways.
Emerson declares, "Time and space are but physiological colors which the eye maketh, but the soul is light; where it is, is day; where is was, is night; and history is an impertinence and an injury if it be any thing more than a cheerful apologue or parable of my being and becoming" (Emerson123). In this quote, he shows how our perceptions are able to be flexible; time, space, and the concept/meaning behind history are just meaningless concepts that humans have made up. Our soul, on the other hand, is something he believes to be real and meaningful.

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In paragraph 23, Emerson suggests that it is better for us to look through nature to see self reliance and God's work fulfilled. Nature does not compare, nature exists in harmony with God, and nature is satisfied with itself. Emerson expands on this and claims, "He cannnot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time" (Emerson123). In this sentence, he states his belief that one can only be happy when it lives similarly to nature (as explained above), above constructs such as time and space (detailed in the last quote write-up). Living above the constructs of society and living as one with God and the basic nature of life allows you to be one with the world and one with yourself. Only then can you fulfill the your duty in life.

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In paragraph 24, Emerson continues to discuss people that are following religion by the book instead of incorporating their own thoughts and ideas. He is waiting for the time when we all have a new perception and relieve ourselves of old ideas and live in harmony with God without the extra beliefs of others. Emerson states, "If we live truly, we shall see truly. It is as easy for the strong man to be strong, as it is for the weak to be weak" (Emerson123). He wants us to live true to our ideals, and compares the ideas of strength and weakness; it is as easy for you to be an individual as it is for you to conform with the world.

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In paragraph 43, Emerson talks about the individual and what each has to offer. He says that everyone was given a talent and is unique, and it is your duty to do what God has given you. Emerson declares, "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" (Emerson128). This quote clarifies that using your talent or skill that is unique to you can be used to its fullest extent, but if you try and imitate another and are not original about it, you will only be able to fulfill it halfway or halfheartedly, as it is not what you were born to do.

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In the very short paragraph 48 and the paragraphs surrounding it, Emerson makes claims about individuality and self reliance in relation to its place in society. He believes that society is not progressing, though it is continually changing. He proclaims, "Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water of which it is composed does not" (Emerson130). Right after, he clarifies that the people who make up the earth currently will die and take their experience and ideas with them. It really just means that the people of society continue to exist and be born, yet the people themselves do not advance. This thought relates to his beliefs of the concepts of time and history, and his statements about gaining one trait only to lose another.

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In the last paragraph, Emerson closes out his essay with a discussion of the gambling of fortune. He talks about how people may think that because a good thing has happened to them, that there is more to come-but there is not.  Emerson asserts, "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles" (Emerson131). In this quote, he is giving one last statement in hopes of persuading people to be an individual and to be self-reliant. He does this my saying the only way to have peace or satisfaction in life is being a self-reliant individual, and through the act of nonconformity.