Tyrone Schiff English 319Lucy Hartley5 February 2007To Progress a NationAny and all nations are comprised of a hodge-podge of individuals with differenttalents and abilities. In order to further the nation, each individual has to be devoted tofurthering themselves; their character and self. When this occurs, the whole nation becomes greater than the sum of its parts, meaning that the contributions of the manyyield an overall national identity. In the novel,

Self-Help

, by Samuel Smiles, the theme of the nation is explored throughout. Smiles develops the idea of the nation over the entirecourse of the novel, continually adding to the list of desirable traits and characteristicsthat each individual should seek to attain. He sees a great deal of merit in beingdetermined, industrious, energetic, and charitable. These qualities all contribute to anEnglish identity that Smiles applauds. Furthermore, Smiles recognizes that all of theseefforts, if done on an individual level, will lead to great success on a national level.Therefore, the concept of the nation plays an integral part in the progress of any givenindividual’s character and identity because of the core English ideals that Smilesadvocates.Smiles, in his understanding of the nation, is cognizant of the deep-rootedconnection that exists between the individual and the overall nation, “The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national vigour and strength” (19). This statement

occurs in one of the very first passages that Smiles conveys. He makes it clear to thereader from this point that an individual’s growth and that of a nation are not mutuallyexclusive of one another. However, part of understanding what a nation is in Smiles perspective is understanding what it is to be English.Smiles, although not an English man himself, has a great deal of respect for theEnglish and he pronounces it here by saying, “One of the most strongly-marked featuresof the English people is their spirit of industry, standing out prominent and distinct intheir past history, and as strikingly characteristic of them now as at any former period”(39). Smiles calls English people industrious, which is an aspect of individual progressionthat he champions throughout the novel. Industry is the ability to figure out problems andfind solutions no matter what the task at hand may be. It encompasses persistence anddetermination as well. Additionally, this excerpt is significant because Smiles admits thatthis quality of industry has long lived in English genes and is more prominent now thanever. At the same time however, being English limits some of Smiles scope as to thedifferent routes one may want to take in their own personal progress. Being successfuland being a good English man is composed of a beginning, middle, and end for Smiles,which is somewhat of a narrow view on individual progress. However, Smiles feels veryadamantly about the fact that this English ideal ought to be intertwined with anindividual’s progress in order to further the nation as a whole.Smiles understood national progress as the following, “National progress is thesum of individual industry, energy, and uprightness, as national decay is of individualidleness, selfishness, and vice” (20). These good qualities, namely industry, energy, anduprightness are all components of one’s character. Smiles wanted people to reform their

character and their outlook on life in order to accomplish great feats that would benefitmany and thus contribute to the overall glory of England. Smiles provides the reader withthis analysis:Even the humblest person, who sets before his fellows an example of industry,sobriety, and upright honesty of purpose in life, has a present as well as a futureinfluence upon the well-being of his country; for his life and character passunconsciously into the lives of others, and propagate good example for all time tocome. (22)This is at the core of what Smiles is hoping to gain from an individual’s contribution tothe nation. Smiles believes that in order to contribute successfully to one’s nation, anindividual’s own progress must be a shared benefit that society can prosper from.Sir Richard Arkwright is a good example to exemplify this very concept of asingular goal that an individual works and strives towards, but at the same time has far reaching effects on the nation as a whole. He is credited with inventing the spinningframe and opening the first cotton-mill. These things took him a great deal of time toachieve and he had to work very hard to reach these milestones that brought him muchfame and fortune. However, what makes Arkwright’s story a significant one to Smiles isthe fact that this one individual had a huge impact on the nation, “[…] Arkwright was thefounder in England of the modern factory system, a branch of industry which hasunquestionably proved a source of immense wealth to individuals and to the nation” (45).As a consequence of Arkwright’s industry and fortitude to never give up along his quest,he was able to contribute something greater than himself to the nation.