Douglass and King: Advice They Might Have Accepted from Thoreau

Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest speakers for the Black civil rights movement, had written many great works in his time. Two of his pieces stand out as his greatest works, Letter from Birmingham City Jail; a letter written from a jail in Birmingham where he was arrested for demonstrating peacefully, to clergymen who didn't agree with his views, and I Have a Dream; a speech given by King in front of the Washington Memorial at a huge civil rights tea party. Both…

Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass When comparing two essays, there are many different aspects that the reader can look at to make judgments and opinions. In the two essays that I choose, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', and FREDERICK DOUGLAS'S 'From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,' there were many similarities, but also many differences. Some of them being, the context, style, structure and tone. Many times when readings…

enduring impact of Machiavelli on society, psychologists have identified a distinct personality style that is characterized by manipulativeness, cynicism about human nature, and shrewdness in interpersonal behavior, and named this syndrome after Machiavelli (“48”). Machiavellianism is described as a manipulative strategy of social interaction and personality style that uses other people as tools of personal gain (“48”). In this excerpt from The Prince, Machiavelli’s most recognized and popular discourse…

The essays, "Civil Disobedience," by Henry David Thoreau, and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," by Martin Luther King, Jr., incorporate the authors’ opinions of justice. Each author efficiently shows their main point; Thoreau deals with justice as it relates to government, he asks for,”not at one no government, but at once a better government.”(Paragraph 3). King believed,” injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." (Paragraph 4). Each essay shows a valid argument for justice, but King's…

King Oedipus, mindful that a dreadful spell has fallen in Thebes, directs his brother-in-law, Creon, to pursue the advice of Apollo, the sun god. Creon tells Oedipus that the spell will vanish if the murderer of Laius, the previous king, is found and prosecuted. Laius was murdered several years ago at a crossroads. Oedipus devotes himself to finding and prosecution of Laius’s murderer. Oedipus questions a variety of reluctant citizens, including a blind prophet named Teiresias. The blind prophet…

Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, in "Civil Disobedience" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail," respectively, both conjure a definitive argument on the rights of insubordination during specified epochs of societal injustice. Thoreau, in his enduring contemplation of life and its purpose, insightfully analyzes the conflicting relationship between the government and the people it governs. He considerately evokes the notion that the majority of people are restrained by the government and society…

seek. There is often much adventure and drama along they way, leading to their ultimate test. The three works discussed in this essay embody these themes. Voltaire's Candide, A Narrative of a Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, and Terry Gilliam's masterpiece The Fisher King present very different journeys using vastly different characters and time periods. Each, however, examines the human spirit as each main character navigates both grizzly and joyous circumstances. End in the end…

Frederick Douglass was an American slave. Henry David Thoreau was a writer from the 17th century. The narrative read about Frederick Douglass was about his life as a slave, and how it changed as time went on, including his eventual release from enslavement. The article about Henry Thoreau was in regards to the theory of Civil Disobedience, and his role in the creation of that theory. Frederick Douglass lived from 1817 until 1895. He was a slave in Maryland, and was under…

Great Leaders of the past, present, and the future Countless have said that all men were created equal, but what about the prodigious black men of all time. Were King, Douglass, and Obama all created equal, or were these men chosen to be predestined for greatness? What constitutes "greatness" in politics? Names that come readily to mind, like Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and Barack Obama, are those who rose to inspire their countries in times of turmoil and change; so it seems that…

I strongly believe that just as Henry David Thoreau was greatly influenced by the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, (who introduced Thoreau to the ideas of transcendentalism) Martin Luther King, Jr.'s thinking was greatly influenced by that of Thoreau's. He was most probably influenced more by India's Mahatma Gandhi; however, Gandhi's principles were mainly based on those of Thoreau. Though Thoreau lived more than 100 years before the time of King, his thinking remained an influential legacy. They each…