PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Self-Reliance
1. "We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents."
Meaning- People only express one side of themselves, and don't show there true self. Because of this, people are lacking confidence.
Self-reliance
2) "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds."
Meaning- People need to stop following everyone else, and become more self-reliant.
Self-reliance
3) “Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today."
Meaning- Speak confidently and true everyday, and not to worry about being wrong.
Self-reliance
4) “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”
Meaning- Trust your own instinct and go with your gut feeling. Don't worry about what other people might think.
Walden
1) “I wish to meet the facts of life,” he wrote in his journal, “the vital facts, which are the phenomena or actuality the gods meant to show us….”
Meaning- He wants to show satisfactory in his life, and he wants to be proud of himself. He doesn't want to let himself down.
Walden
2) “The mass of men,” as one of the most famous sentences in Walden puts it, “lead lives of quiet desperation.”
Meaning- Most people are miserable and depressed their whole lives, they want to change that, but they just don't have to effort to.
Walden
3) "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life."
Meaning- He believed that our lives were too complicated. If life was easier, it would help us understand the true meaning of life. We would also appreciate more too.
Walden
4) "Good boards overhead, good boards all around, and a good window."
Meaning- Even if you don't think something is good, positive things always come around in the end.
