Henry David Thoreau's Letter From The Birmingham Jail

In Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, he is writing to the American people. He is trying to spark a desire for change, for people to oppose their government without actions. He uses this work to criticize the American institution of slavery as well as the Mexican-American War. Thoreau is attempting to convey the importance of listening to one’s conscience over the laws, believing that it is more important to do what they feel is right rather than listen to the laws given by the majority. Thoreau feels that people should protest against their government, but not using violent actions. He is trying to persuade the people to voice their opinions and break the chain of majority rule. Thoreau is writing during the time of the war between the United States and Mexico, which took place between 1846 and 1848. He writes to oppose the government’s actions and policies during this time period. He refused to pay a tax that would support the war and was imprisoned for a day. Thoreau uses ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade his audience to agree with his view of the American government and to voice their oppositions.

A similarity that came as a surprise to me is that these two advocators for nonviolent revolt, were willing to break the law if necessary. In “Letter to Birmingham Jail” King quoted St. Augustine “An unjust law is no law at all”. That quote signified to King that if the law was unjust then it should not be followed, because in his eyes it’s not a law at all. Thoreau says in “Civil Disobedience”, “-but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another; then, I say, break the law”. What Thoreau wants to say by that is that if the injustice requires you to be unfair to another

At the time of writing, King wrote this letter because felt disappointed because the men of the cloth were criticizing him on his peaceful protest. King felt as if these men should support him because King’s purpose of trying to defeat segregation was based upon his church background. When writing this King tried to understand as to why the man of faith were going against what he practices. But while trying to understand

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” collectively persuade their audiences to disobey authority when it concerns social injustice. King takes a more assertive yet respectful approach, and makes it a point to explicate the intolerable treatment that the black community had to endure under the encroachment of segregation laws. In addition, Thoreau expounds why it is so important for citizens to object and take action upon the corrupt laws that the government had imposed on the blacks, insisting that civil disobedience is a means of freedom. Both of these influential men successfully utilize occasion, purpose, tone, appeals and rhetorical strategies to

Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail were written approximately 114 years apart. However, both publications share a common theme. Each of these authors express their opinions on government injustices. The political environments in which each author lived provided their inspiration for their writings. Although many years separate these two works, there are similarities as well as differences between Thoreau's and King's written opinions.

11.) Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” is similar to Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” because both pieces address the definition of a just

The articles “Letter to Birmingham jail” and “Civil Obedience” both address the injustices that are being done to people of color. Martin Luther king Jr and Henry David Thoreau speak on the act of civil disobedience being necessary and both believed that the government needs to address the issue and make a change if they truly believe their laws should protect and affect everyone equally. Martin Luther King uses a first person narrative and several types of rhetoric such as Simile, Allusion, Appeal to authority, imagery, personification, and metaphor. He also uses logos Ethos and Pathos from the rhetorical analysis triangle. Henry David Thoreau also uses first person narrative and similar rhetoric such as Appeal to authority, Simile, Imagery, Allusion, Metaphor, Ethos and Pathos from the rhetorical Analysis triangle. They both has similar ideas but had a different target when arguing for equal rights. Dr. King wants to ultimately raise awareness and provide equal rights for black people and Thoreau wanted equal rights for each individual person.

The fight for civil rights and freedom is a reoccurring subject that has appeared throughout American history. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were written over one hundred years apart. Although they are set in different time periods, they discuss the rights the American people should have, while also criticizing the people with superior power in the government. Thoreau’s aggressive writing style and King’s peaceful, calm style help to deliver their messages. Not only their writing style but also their emotional appeals, tone, and other rhetorical strategies help to give their audience a sense of the social issues they are disagreeing strongly with.

The two essays, "Civil Disobedience," by Henry David Thoreau, and "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," by Martin Luther King, Jr., effectively illustrate the authors' opinions of justice. Each author has his main point; Thoreau, in dealing with justice as it relates to government, asks for "not at once no government, but at once a better government. King contends that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Both essays offer a complete argument for justice, but, given the conditions, King's essay remains more effective, in that its persuasive techniques have more practical application. Both essays extensively implement both

Thoreau and King use many similar strategies in their writings. One uses these strategies to make their piece more effective. King 's persuasive letter to the clergyman, Letter from Birmingham Jail was far more effective than Thoreau’s Lecture On the Duty of Civil Disobedience directed towards americans ready to change things, and here is why. King’s article was more effective because he strives towards tugging on the audience 's heartstrings rather than the logical side, his repetition proved to be more effective, he has a unique organizational structure, King stays more on topic, and was more passionate about his disquisition.

King’s position on unjust laws was very close to Thoreau’s position on unjust laws. In his famous letter written when he was in jail, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King wrote to the ministers who did not like his protests to desegregate the city of

One of the most evident differences between the two papers is the way they are written. Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is undoubtedly much easier to follow and understand compared to Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.” King’s tone is very calm and respectful, which is expected as he is a minister and advocate, compared to Thoreau, who sounds disgusted, judgmental, and angry at the government; this is important because if King’s tone was more like Thoreau’s he may have been unable to explain the importance of civil disobedience to his audience. In addition, King alludes to the bible and history and provides examples of events that have occurred in order to get his point across whereas Thoreau only uses his personal experience and forces his ideas on his audience. One such example is when King is explaining the difference between just and unjust laws as he writes, “An unjust law is a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because it did not have the unhampered right to vote. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up the segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout the state of Alabama all types of conniving methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties without a single Negro registered to vote, despite the fact

Both “On the duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King,Jr., respond to the relationship between the government and its people. They both address the same topics, yet they approach it using different methods. Thoreau and King add first-hand experiences from their lives as well as cries for the resolution of nationwide racial discrimination within their writings. They also use their writings to speak their concerns to different audiences.

Charlene Hill Professor Rachel McWhorter English 101 March 29, 2018 Thoreau & King Henry David Thoreau born July 12th, 1817 in Concord Maine, was a Social Reformer, Naturalist, Philosopher, Transcendentalist and Scientist (Walden). He influenced many with his writings about human right and political rights including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was born January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia, Pastor, Civil Rights Leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. (From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1951-1970) Both men lived in different times but spent their lives fighting for social and political injustices in America, but while both were fighting for the same thing they were on two different sides of the story, drawing a great contrast in those stories.