If the response has to be constructed based on the quote
above, there is much there to discuss regarding individuality and the need to break free
from a social order. The full quote is, "The power which resides in him is new in
nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he
has tried."
The notion of a "power" lying within the
individual brings back the idea that a conformist social order does much in taking away
from the individual being able to "know thyself." At the same time, there is a reality
present in the quote that individuals must act upon that force which lies dormant at the
beckoning of society. In this light, there is a demand and call to individuals to
recognize who they are in light of their own sense of self, away from a social order. I
think that focusing on this dichotomy between individual and society is a major element
of Emerson's work and might be something that you could use to construct your response
to the work.
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