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Rhetorical Analysis Of Civil Disobedience

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Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience heavily criticizes the government for being too corrupt and also argues that the people have the right to refuse allegiance to the State. Because the government is unjust and corrupt, Thoreau calls for a change in how the government operates rather than abolishing the government entirely. Thoreau’s idea of a better government is a government that governs the least. This claim is elaborated as Thoreau states in his essay that the individuals with consciences should rule instead of the government officials that lack said consciences. For example, in part 1 paragraph 4, he mocks individuals such as soldiers and privates for showing respect to the government through marching admirably because they are going …show more content…

During his time in prison, he mocks the State as he didn’t really feel imprisoned despite being encased in thick walls of solid stone. He also states how the State is as timid “as a lone woman with her silver spoons” (part 2, paragraph 13) since the State is too frightened to actually confront Thoreau, but instead decides to “punish his body” by incarcerating him. This shows Thoreau’s condescending attitude towards the government and how they are just an unintelligent and unjust institution. He continues to taunt the State in paragraph 14 as he states “they only can force me who obey a higher law than I.” In other words, Thoreau will obey the government when their intellect is higher than his intellect. This shows that the State in Thoreau’s eyes is foolish and ignorant. Not only that, it is stated in part 3 paragraph 9 that the reason he was incarcerated is due to his refusal to pay allegiance to the State. By doing so, Thoreau wants to be a role model for the people around him by quietly declaring “war” with the State. The term war used does not refer to an actual war, but an indirect, non-violent conflict with the State in hopes of changing it. This is also evident in paragraph 13 of the same part when he states that he does not “wish to quarrel with any man or nation...I seek rather, I may say, even an excuse for conforming to the laws of the

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Throughout the writing of “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau often referred back to his idea that he supported which was “That government is best which governs not at all.” (Thoreau) In the passage, Thoreau believed that the government does not have a conscience. He talked about not wanting to pay the government poll tax, which in result, caused him to be thrown into jail. A poll tax is just a tax on a person for existing, therefore, everyone had to pay the same amount regardless of the value of their possessions.

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Speaker: The speaker of “Civil Disobedience” is Henry David Thoreau, who was one of the most influential transcendentalists of his time. Thoreau was a inverate abolitionist, as well as a naturalist, which is evident in one of his most widely recognized works Walden. Thoreau believed that all men should be equal, notice I said men, and that we need to go back to our naturalistic roots/ characteristics. Even though he lived in a time we now consider as generally simplistic we also need to take into account that he also was living through the time of mass industrialization. Occasion: “Civil Disobedience” was originally part of a series of lectures that Thoreau gave at the Concord Lyceum in 1848.The lyceum movement was multiple organizations sponsoring communal programs, which thrived before and after the Civil War.

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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

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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.

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Before writing a paragraph like this in his essay “a plea for Captain John Brown” Henry David Thoreau already knows that Government is actually indulging in disciplinary actions that keep the people from behaving badly or doing bad things. So, Captain John Brown was wrong in his actions and the punishment for a crime like what he did, going along with the constitution of United States was to kill or life imprisonment. In "A plea for Captain John Brown" Henry David Thoreau, argues for the morality of murder. While in the “resistance to civil government”, he argues about the civil right of the people. That government should not control the people.

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He suggests that the best solution is “not at once no government, but at once a better government” (Thoreau 1). Instead of condemning government as a whole, Thoreau seeks for it to understand that “there will never be a really free and enlightened state until the state comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived” (Thoreau 4). Rather then stepping away from the affairs of the people, Thoreau simply wants the government to adapt to the power of the people. Through this, he reinstates a sense of democracy. Thoreau’s open mindset to change is proof that conditions will be better for those who are suffering, “for it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever” (Thoreau 7).

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He objected the injustices of war and slavery, and practiced civil disobedience in his daily life. In the time of Thoreau writing Civil Disobedience, many people believed revolution against the government had not been necessary since the time of the American Revolution. However, Thoreau believes that resisting an abusive government is especially important at this point in time considering that, "a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law." According to Thoreau, it is the duty of American citizens to promptly revolutionize against slavery and the Mexican-American War, which have both been supported by the corrupted American

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For Thoreau, the individual should take action against societal problems instead of relying on the government to change them. Although it is not people’s responsibility to completely change the way society runs, they need to make their opinions known in order for change to happen. If they do not agree with an idea, they cannot just vote by “a strip of paper merely, but [their] whole influence” (Thoreau 7). People must actively work to enact change. Voting through a strip of paper will not do anything since the government will continue doing what they choose unless they are met with resistance.

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In the play, "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Henry David Thoreau, the protagonist of the play, is shown to advocate self-awareness and making your own decisions based on your own beliefs. As expressed in the maxim, the ideals of transcendentalism and individuality, regardless of society's expectations, is evidently shown in the text. In the play, Henry David Thoreau is thrown in jail for one night because he refuses to pay taxes that support the Mexican-American War. Although it was considered an American duty to pay taxes to support the country's decisions, Thoreau did not believe that the Mexican-American War was the right direction towards prosperity, so he risked the consequence of prison rather than succumb to the directions given to him which would falsify his own ideals.

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He says that people have a duty to civil disobedience; however, civil disobedience is not always enough to change anything in the government. One of his claims of fact is that he describes the American government as expedient, convenient and practical, but improper or immoral. A government that is okay with slavery is not a government he wants to be a part of. These claims of value are what Thoreau believes are necessary to instill in the American people. In opposition to this Thoreau also claims that people are usually too slow in making changes to the government, they need to act faster before things get worse.

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(Thoreau). One must fight for what they believe and should not kneel to government or tyranny. I look at this man as a leader to a revolution. During this time the British had complete control of the colonies and the British were seen as a global power. The people of the colonies became enraged when taxes went up, they felt like British had far too much control over their life’s.

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The individual's relationship to the state is a concept often entertained abstractly; at variance with this is Civil Disobedience, which analyzes Thoreau's first direct experience with state power in his brief 1846 imprisonment. Thoreau metaphorically detailed his search for virtue in the quote, "The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly." (Thoreau 8) In Civil Disobedience Thoreau as earnest seeker and flawed captive of the conscience concertedly attempts to correct this shortcoming within the context of slavery and the Mexican-American War.

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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

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He wrote “The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, &c.” (Resistance 753). This comes from Thoreau’s thoughts about the government. He feels that one cannot live deliberately while still serving the government, and that those who do serve the government are machines. They don’t make their own decisions because the government makes their choices for them.

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This citation shows that Thoreau did not want to follow the laws. Thoreau also believed in living life by following moral law and not law stated in the constitution. Thoreau also believed that the government does best if it does not rule over the people. In the essay Civil Disobedience it says “That government is best which governs least”. This shows what Thoreau felt the government should not do.

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