ipl-logo

Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience In Venezuela

1384 Words6 Pages

Civil disobedience, an action that tends to happen in the world on a daily basis. Henry David Thoreau was one of the pioneers of this action in America. Because he confronted the government while he was alive for their corruption and also for how unfair they were to it citizens. Venezuela is facing a similar position like Henry David Thoreau. Nowadays Venezuela is in a Socialism “dictatorship” where the government has been stealing money, taking people rights, disobeying the laws and many other things that involve corruption and the right of being a citizen. I want to compare Thoreau ideals and his lecture for the reason that it is similar to Venezuelan Current situation.
“The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have …show more content…

Web. 06 July 2016.)
Governments are chosen by the citizens that reside on the certain area. Government are chosen also because people have a relation with the same ideals. People share government ideals and also want to support and ideal that is right for them. But governments tend to lie and be unfair to the people. Thomas , in that moment felt this way that the government was not doing the job good and they were abusing of power. Also, he says that government has more power for the reason that they are a majority not for the legitimate viewpoint. Venezuela , many years ago elected a president called “Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias” a very charismatic man and with ideals that were attractive to the citizens 18 years ago. People trusted him because he seemed fair and a very equal person that will make a government fair and equal for all Venezuelan citizens. He gathered a lot of power and he became a person with a big group that became a majority in 1998. He won the elections of the country and he promised to Venezuela that he will change a lot of things for the improvement of the country. The first years of his position as a president he made some very good changes to the country but also he showed people a side of him that people didn’t actually like. He was a man with a way of thinking that …show more content…

His ideals are similar to Thoreau’s for the reason that people should not accept and deal with ideals that are not helping the citizens also violating their rights. When a government is unjust people should avoid following the laws and separating from the power that is governing. Venezuela in comparison to United States ideals according to Thoreau’s fulfills the definition of an unfair government. Lopez is trying to inform and also to instruct and give knowledge to Venezuelan citizens that they should not accept this how the country is being governed. Similar to Thomas ideals. Lopez the pioneer of revoking Venezuelan government has influenced the people in many ways. First , similar as Thoreau he has been saying to people to wait on the government and actually vote against them. It is a way to be just and honest and also violence will be avoided. Therefore he doesn’t want to play or act like the government is acting with violence. Thoreau believes that people have the obligation to not commit injustice but don’t give injustice to your supporters. In addition Thoreau he wanted to create the possibility that free man had more chances of living and being freer as citizens. We wanted to guide the government to do something for free man. But he said that the problem is in the government because the government will not recognize the power and independence of a free man. He

Show More
Related
540 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the writing “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau spoke often of the idea he supported, which was “That government is best which governs least;” In his text he talked about not paying the government’s poll tax for 6 years, causing him to be thrown in jail. A poll tax is a tax of an equal amount of money for each individual paying it. This poll tax was for waging war on Mexico, which Thoreau disagreed with, therefore he did not pay it. When talking about his time in jail, Thoreau used many different rhetorical strategies, including an intense appeal to Pathos, as well as major uses of imagery and symbolism in order to achieve his purpose of persuading his audience that the best type of government is one one of laissez-faire.

Read More
269 Words | 2 Pages

In the passage from "Civil Disobedience," the author, Thoreau, utilizes rhetorical devices to support his theme. Such devices include tone and diction. The theme expressed in the text is that the government is in need of change and acceptance, not a replacement. The author conveys a serious and professional tone throughout the passage. This helps add more to the seriousness of the subject and theme created which is the government needs change and acceptance, not a replacement.

Read More
653 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau believes that government should be lenient with their people and work with them for their common good, Gale actions as an individual shows that he agrees. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau explains his belief that the government should be tolerant. He explains, “[He] heartily accepts the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’

Read More
1995 Words | 8 Pages

Thoreau gives examples of slavery practice and the Mexican-American war to establish his point further. He asserts that the government itself becomes an obstacle between achieving its purpose, the purpose for which it was created. However, Thoreau makes it clear that he is against abolishing the government,

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

In the speech Chavez says, “We are also convinced that nonviolence is more powerful than violence.” He then goes on to say that violence causes deaths and demoralizes the people, while nonviolence attracts people’s support and is morally just. The use of juxtaposition as a rhetorical device throughout the whole speech shows the pros of nonviolence and the cons of violence. This technique helps Chavez develop his argument because it creates a favorable bias

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

What literary devices did Chavez really use for his argument about nonviolence resistance? Although Chavez uses a variety of literary terms, he uses Logos, the appeal to logic and senses, and aphorism, which is a belief that expresses a truth or principle of life. Chavez uses Logos to bring his point that violent protests not only take away or injure innocent people, but actually may end up hurting your cause in general as it can lower “morale” in those who do support your cause. It can also make those who wish to support your cause not to due to your idea’s violent reactions to your opposition and what they stand for. “If we resort to violence then one of two things will happen: either the violence will be escalated and there will be many

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

By making people ponder on the unjust laws in society Thoreau hopes that it will draw more attention to the matter and convince people to help support the cause. Thoreau utilizes this strategy again to draw people’s attention towards the malfunctioning of the current government. He attended to make people question their attitude towards their government. Thoreau asks “how does it become a man to behave towards this American government today? [He answers], that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.

Read More
422 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout history there have been many political changes that are either supported, or not, by citizens. In the given passage from, "Civil Disobedience," by Thoreau, a perspective of disagreeing with the government ways, is provided. Thoreau explains how a government should be in comparison to how it really is by utilizing his words to set the tone and mode, imagery to achieve his audience's understanding, and diction to make his writing scholarly. Although tone and mode are not directly stated, you can infer that Thoreau meant for his writing to be taken as serious and powerful. His implementation of words such as, "inexpedient," "execute," " integrity," and "command," makes one think about their lawful rights and reflect on what rights are supported or

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

Violence is characterized by the diversion among a group of people and by using Gandhi's teaching, Chavez revealed that unity is the key to overcoming these differences. Overall, history was examined because “...who gets killed in the case of violent revolution… the poor, the workers…” (78-82). Chavez foresees the future by recalling the irony of power that mislead the poor. History is full of loss, but to achieve peace, society must follow the examples of the reformers and learn from their success, as well as their

Read More
494 Words | 2 Pages

Chavez generalizes that masses of people have involved “in their own struggle throughout the movement “and free men and women “instinctively prefer democratic change to any other means,” which is “our best way of avoiding senseless violence.” By doing so, Chavez creates the idea of organized protest as both peaceful and effective, and therefore, makes nonviolence better than violence. To back these generalizations, Chavez uses Gandhi’s credibility. He paraphrases Gandhi in saying that boycott is the “most nearly perfect instrument of change.” Overall, Chavez makes a generalized claim that is easily rational, but locks it down with a quote from the famous nonviolent advocate Gandhi.

Read More
2124 Words | 9 Pages

Thoreau 's views on the government by comparing the government to a machine. He states, ”When the machine was producing injustice, it was the duty of conscientious citizens to be ‘a counter friction’ (i.e., a resistance) "to stop the machine.” The two major issues being debated in the United States during his life was slavery and the Mexican-American War in which were major reasons he wrote his essays. In the mid to late 1840’s slavery has been indoctrinated into American society in which caused rifts between Americans.

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

The key to deconstructing Thoreau's argument is to understand his hierarchy of government and the individual. Thoreau's ideal communion between the individual and the state is manifest by the individual as a "higher and independent power". This relationship is entertained in Civil Disobedience in the analysis of Thoreau's 1846 imprisonment, in which Thoreau demonstrated freedom as an internal and subjective

Read More
1332 Words | 6 Pages

Thoreau’s view on the society as he states, “In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manufactured that will serve the purpose as well” go to show that it was harder to have individuality and to refuse the governments ways. Now-a-days the practice of civil disobedience has allowed citizens to practice non-conformity with the protection of amendments but back then while the nation was just growing they had to have more power and that, “so long as the interest of the whole society requires it, that is, so long as the established government cannot be resisted or changed without public inconveniency, it is the will of God that the established government be obeyed, and no longer" as quoted by Paley. The society was most likely pushed towards acceptance of the government and weren’t as self-reliant to make change in their

Read More
1371 Words | 6 Pages

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (Jefferson, 1776/2014, para. 2). Authority should not reside over individuals, but with them. A heart cannot run a body alone. Likewise, a government does not operate a nation by itself. Individuals help maintain the justice of authority.

Read More
1464 Words | 6 Pages

Thoreau 's “On Civil Disobedience”, published in 1849, promotes the idea that people have an obligation towards their moral values, and thus they must stand up for those values, even if those are opposed to the government. Thoreau emphasizes the significant roles that authenticity and activism play in one’s life, which encourage action and renounce determinism. By presenting the central ideas that arise from this essay, I will argue that Thoreau, supported by Locke’s Treatise of Government, exhibits ideas affiliated with Libertarianism. In contrast to the hypothesis that a priori knowledge is the only kind of knowledge that expresses certainty about ontological truths, independent of external experience, Transcendentalism advances the idea that there is also an internal a priori kind of knowledge which is reliable and expresses each individual’s truth.

Read More

More about Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience In Venezuela

Related Topics

Open Document