In his essay “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson often radiates an arrogant and self-important tone, writing, for example, “A great man will come to eat at my house .I don't want to please him; by Alan Moore Watchmen, Rorschach's character development reveals important points of Emersonian philosophy in terms of individualism, truth, conformity, and integrity, making him a character Emerson would admire in some respects. Say no to plagiarism. Why should violent video games not be banned"? Get an original essay The overall belief of Emerson's philosophy in "Self-Reliance" is the importance of individualism. As Emerson wrote: “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true of you in your private heart is true of all men, that is genius.” Appreciating this idea above all, including love, society and religion, Emerson believed that the ideal man must "truly live" to "truly see", that is, achieve transcendence and gain self-confidence. , a man's goal must be to seek the truth and "trust thyself." Rather than conforming to social norms, “a man must behave in the presence of all opposition, as if everything were titular and ephemeral except him.” And it's not just some people, Emerson argues. All men have the opportunity to transcend, including the cynical antihero Rorschach, in his search for the brutal truth. Walter Kovacs' transformation into Rorschach implies that the character arrives at his personal truth. which Emerson so desperately urges men to discover. As Emerson writes, “It is your interest, mine, and all men, however long we have dwelt in lies, to live in the truth.” Prior to the main events of Watchmen, Rorschach develops an individualistic temperament, as revealed by his prison sessions with psychologist Dr. Malcolm Long. In these meetings the difference between Walter Kovacs and Rorschach is explained, although they are the same physical person Rorschach also passes on his philosophy to Dr. Long, obtained through his search for the truth. It is Rorschach's conclusion, however, that Emerson might disagree with. follow the truth" and come out happier. Rorschach is the exact opposite, but as Emerson writes, "if you are noble, I will love you." Whatever conclusion Rorschach reaches, the fact that he reached it through the truth justifies it to the eyes of Emerson invoking the case of Kitty Genovese to illustrate the development of Kovacs New York philosophy. Outside his apartment building, nearly forty neighbors heard screams. “Disgusted with humanity, Kovacs came to believe that all humanity was rotten, including himself. Thus Kovacs adorned “a face that I could bear to look at in the mirror,” thus seemingly rising above morality and human nature he recognized: “I was simply Kovacs pretending to be Rorschach.” Kovacs had not yet fully transcended. To do this, he had to become fully Rorschach by assuming a “certain type of intuition.” Emerson would reject Walter Kovacs, calling his ideology “a foolish coherence” and a “leprechaun of little minds.” As Rorschach explained, "all Kovacs ever was: man in costume. Not Rorschach. Not Rorschach at all." Imitation is inherently shameful, Emerson argues, saying that “envy is ignorance and imitation is suicide.” Simply dressing as Rorschach does not make Kovac ahero. Rorschach, on the other hand, has a transcendent understanding of the world. It is a fully realized conclusion reached in pursuit of the truth, something Emerson would surely admire. This ultimate truth that Rorschach understands is that there is no inherent positive morality in human nature at all, nor is there a moral gray area. Therefore, criminals deserve no mercy. Rorschach complains to Dr. Long about how he was too "soft on the scum... Let them live." Again, Emerson's views on human nature are much more optimistic than Rorschach's. However, the truth is still valued above all, as he writes, "the truth is more beautiful than the affectation of love." Nowhere does Emerson state exactly what conclusion the individualist should reach. But Emerson emphasizes the importance of morality, writing, “nothing is finally sacred except the integrity of your mind.” All Rorschach decisions follow a strict moral code, using truth as a guiding principle. The trigger for the transformation between Kovacs and Rorschach was the brutal killing of a criminal who kidnapped, abused, butchered and then fed a six-year-old girl to his dogs. After Kovacs burned him alive, he was “reborn, free to scribble his own design on this morally empty world. It was Rorschach.” By becoming fully Rorschach, he transcended the rest of humanity and its flaws. Just like his mask, there was no gray area in morality; only black and white. In the years following Rorschach's character's full moral realization, he rejects conformity and authority by enforcing justice through the often brutal murders of criminals. Rorschach might as well be the poster child for this Emerson quote: “Your goodness must have some edge, or else it is not.” When the Keene Act, an ordinance outlawing superheroes, is passed in the novel, Rorschach continues to fight crime anyway. Doctor Manhattan details the effects of the superhero law, describing how Rorschach "expresses his feelings toward mandatory retirement in a note left outside police headquarters along with a dead multiple rapist." The panel depicts the note taped to the rapist's chest, scrawled, bold and underlined: "Never!" Emerson might also understand this middle finger to authority, as he writes in “Self-Reliance,” “I am ashamed to think how easily we surrender to badges and names, to great corporations and dead institutions.” As Rorschach explains: “We don't do this because it's allowed. We do it because we have to. We do it because we are forced." Justice must be served in Rorschach's eyes, and following Emerson's philosophy, “your genuine action will explain itself and explain your other genuine actions. Your conformism explains nothing. This avoidance of conformity to the rest of human morality and adherence to truth drives all of Rorschach's decisions, regardless of the stakes or cost. In the climax of Watchmen, Rorschach's moral integrity leads to his death, effectively making him a martyr for the truth. The ending sees Ozymandias, the novel's antagonist, save the world by killing three million people. On the brink of nuclear war between America and Russia, Ozymandias created a fake alien threat to destroy major cities around the world, thus unifying the warring countries. As Doctor Manhattan says, “by exposing this conspiracy, we destroy any chance for peace, condemning the earth to worse destruction… If we want to preserve life here, we must remain silent.” For any normal man, this moral dilemma is devastating, as Nite Owl rightly asks, “how can the.