It only takes one forward thinking mind to inspire change. Over the course of history, change, whether it is political, social, or scientific is often induced by the ability of individuals to think for themselves and challenge the status quo. Instead of falling in line with the masses and basing their beliefs or ideas on the ideas of others, they thought of their own which leads to great discoveries or change. This individual thinking is the pinnacle of what Ralph Waldo Emerson writes on in his essay "Self Reliance". The most basic way to define self reliance is the ability of an individual to rely on his or her own powers or resources to base their life on rather than the ideas and resources of others. In Emerson's perfect world, every human thinks for himself or herself and is indeed an individual, non-reliant on the opinions of others. This concept is also prevalent in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Man of the Crowd". In it, a nameless narrator watches crowds of people walk past his window and he stereotypes them based on their facial expressions and what they were wearing. The exception to his stereotypes is an old man whom the narrator cannot seem to fit in a category. This old man is an example of one of Emerson's self reliant individuals. The concept of self reliance is highlighted by the unknown man. Comparing Emerson's text with the insight of the narrator in "The Man of the Crowd" leads to a deeper understanding of the concept of self reliance. The mysterious man in the crowd shows traits of a self reliant individual while the narrator's toil in stalking him shows the narrator's inability to be self reliant himself.

 The basis of self reliance is centered around living by ones own morals and thinking for oneself. While sitting alone in a coffee shop, the narrator in "The Man of the Crowd" find immense pleasure in just about everything that he does, he reads the newspaper, smokes a cigar, and genuinely enjoys living. Eventually, the narrator turns to observing passers by in the crowded street. The stereotypes that the narrator so easily places on each passer by shows how each one of them fails to be self reliant person that Emerson praises. Emerson describes a self reliant person as someone who "Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him"(Emerson 439), meaning one simple categorization cannot encompass the entirety of a self reliant person's existence. In this way, a self reliant person could not be described or placed in a category of people because they have their own thoughts and ideas that are different from everyone else's. However, Emerson believes society does not function in the way he would like. According to Emerson, the growth of major cities during the industrial revolution contribute to a culture that makes people too reliant on the opinion of others and causes people to fill one role in society. 

All of the people the narrator in Poe's story sees are not self reliant. There are impatient looking men with a "satisfied business-like demeanor"(Poe Par.5) on their faces who, from his description of their clothes and the way they acted, the narrator determines are upper class noblemen.  In addiction there are also those who the narrator recognizes as gamblers, pick-pockets, upper and lower class clerks, and even Jewish peddlers. The ease with which the narrator can put all of these people into categories shows how these people do not fit the self reliant mold as described by Emerson. The narrator's description of these people shows that he interprets them as being settled and conformed to preexisting roles set by society. The elite lead lives of leisure, the store clerks go to and from work every day, the gamblers gamble, the pickpockets steal, and the peddlers peddle. They all live based off of what they believe their role in society is. This role, however, is not set by themselves, but is based on what other people in a similar situation have previously done. The stereotypes described in "The Man in the Crowd" highlight how Emerson believes this type of culture limits the mind, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds ...  With consistency, a great soul has simply nothing to do."(Emerson 443). Conformity is one of the greatest limitations of the human mind according to Emerson and the city rabble described by Poe's narrator gives an example of this. However, there is no way the narrator could be able to accurately group all of these people into stereotypes based of things like their hand gestures and what they wear. Instead of focusing on himself like Emerson would want, he is focusing on the looks of others. His view on society is that every person can be placed in a certain category and this goes along with what Emerson says is wrong with society.  

There is, however, one individual who defies the categories that the narrator sets. And in several ways, the actions and appearance of this individual as described by the narrator exemplify the qualities that make a man self reliant. This one exception to the common mob of people roaming around the city is a man that Poe's narrator notices and is so enticed by that he follows the man around the city to observe him. The narrator is so interested in this mysterious "man of the crowd" because he doesn't seem to fit into any of the categories that he so easily placed other people in the city in. The ambiguous way the narrator describes the man only adds to this. The narrator describes the man as wearing clothes that are filthy and ragged but at the same time had a beautiful texture, and says the man is carrying a diamond and a dagger. All of the ways in which the man's physical appearance is described do not add up to one of the groups of people that the narrator sees before. The filthiness of his clothes is considered lower class, but at the same time those filthy clothes also have a beautiful texture. The beautiful texture causes one to think the man is part of the wealthy elite. There is also the diamond and dagger the narrator believes he sees. The diamond once again could show the man's elite status while the dagger could put him in the gambler or pickpocket category. From this unorthodox physical description, there is no clear cut way to classify this mystery man as the narrator would like. The appearance of this man acts as a metaphor of the self reliant man described by Emerson, who believes a persons appearance to others is valued too highly by society, highlighted by the quote, "The populace think that your rejection of popular standards is a rejection of all standard"(Emerson 449). Emerson is saying that if someone doesn't live up to societies standards of appearance it doesn't matter and doesn't mean that person has no personal standards for him or herself. The man in the crowd is an example of someone who breaks these preset standards that society set and lives by his own standards. What is considered valuable, beautiful, or just normal, is not decided by individuals but by society as a whole. This adds to the mob mentality that he wants to stray away from. The man and his misleading dress goes to show his individuality and nonconformity to the general population, a virtue that Emerson would praise. The man represents an anomaly for the narrator, he is unable to classify this man and it leads to his increased interest in him. The narrator sees everyone in society as part of a group, so the mysterious man's rejection of popular standards befuddles him. It confuses him so much to the point where he has to follow the man to try and find out more about him. This proves the narrator belongs to the dependent culture that Emerson describes.

Emerson criticizes the masses is by claiming that too many people are give up if they fail to fulfill the roll that society expects them to fill. He uses the example of a young merchant being ruined if he fails, and a bright college student being a failure if he cannot get a high paying job somewhere in the city soon after graduating. By failing to match the standards set by society, these men consider themselves failures because they blew their one chance to become successful. Emerson argues that a person who is willing to fail is much more valuable than someone who fails and gives up. "A sturdy lad, who in turn tries all the professions, who teams it, farms it, peddles, keeps a school, preaches ... and so forth, in successive years, and always, like a cat, falls on his feet, is worth a hundred of these city dolls."(Emerson 450). The ability to pick oneself up after failing is largely due to ones ability to not dwell on the past and to move forward with ones life. This ability to move forward and never dwell on past mistakes is present in the man in the crowd. As the narrator is observing him, the man does not look behind him to view what is in his past, but keeps moving forward. This behavior is similar to the ideal behavior of the "sturdy lad" that Emerson praises. The man does not let his past dictate his future just as the "sturdy lad" picks himself up after failing and moves forward with his life.

The man's energetic behavior when in a crowded area compared to when he is in an alley or side street is an example of his ability to blend in a crowd. There is no rhyme or reason to his movements when he is in a crowded area, he just seems to thrive off meandering through crowds. Comparing this crowd behavior to "Self Reliance", one can see that the man still does not have a singular stereotypical identity to latch on to despite being around so many different people. This shows that his identity is his own individual identity. And others do not influence it. Emerson says in his essay, "The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."(Emerson 441). This is what the man is able to do, he is a lone individual in a crowd full of people easily placed into a few categories. However, by following the man through the crowds, the narrator once again shows he is unable to forge his own path and is a part of the society that Emerson warns against. The narrator wanders aimlessly from crowd to crowd behind a mystery man whom it is unclear whether the man even exists or not. What does exist is the narrator. And he becomes the perfect example of what Ralph Waldo Emerson says is wrong with society by stereotyping all people and aimlessly following the crowd. 

When comparing "Self Reliance" with "The Man of the Crowd", one can see the similarities. First the easily stereotyped masses of people walking through London in "The Man of the Crowd" shows as Emerson would put it, a lack of self trust. And the mysterious man wandering through the crowds represents several of the traits of a self reliant individual, his appearance does not place him in a specific stereotype, he does not dwell on past mistakes, and remains an individual in a large crowd of people. While the man in the crowd proves to have self reliant qualities, his follower, the narrator exhibits none of these by going through life assuming all people fit in a certain stereotype and aimlessly following another man from crowd to crowd without a real purpose. Emerson does not want people to have this mob mentality like Poe's narrator. Instead he wants people to act like the man. The self reliant human, who thinks for himself or herself and has self trust is capable of accomplishing much more than the average city dweller described by Emerson. It is the people that have these qualities that inspire change like Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement, or Albert Einstein and his numerous scientific feats. Their success came because they followed what they personally believed in, not what others previously told them. 

