Within “Self-Reliance,” Emerson says, “I am ashamed to think how easily we surrender to badges and names, to great corporations and dead institutions. Every decent, well-spoken individual influences and influences me more than is right. Bakewell confirms Emerson's cogent beliefs by saying, "Most of our institutions and conventions seem expressly designed to make men insincere, to crush individuality, and reduce all to the same mold." Emerson suggests that a point has been reached where institutions have convinced us to lose all individual thought and creativity. It has been suggested that “even individual instincts are held back” (O'Neill) and that “all societies needlessly stifle creativity instead of encouraging it” (Caplan). Rejecting common or socially “respected” institutions does not necessarily have to lead to social chaos. Most individuals have the capacity and emotional ability necessary to lead responsible lives while exhibiting the familiar characteristics of Emerson's Transcendentalism, such as good morals and ethics. The idea of ​​rejecting conformity only leads back to the idea of ​​developing a strong and independent thought process. A liberated thought process can be entirely beneficial to the individual and