Rhetorical Analysis Of Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau refused to pay the poll ax because the money was being used to finance a war he was against. This war was over Texas, which was to enter the Union as a slave state. He wrote Civil Disobedience while in the Walden jail. Thoreau wrote how disappointed he was with the government by forcing him to pay a poll tax that supported a war and slavery. King would later go to jail acting on his beliefs. Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau used civil disobedience to change people’s ideas and beliefs to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation.

Thoreau's Civil Disobedience talks about politics, government and the issues concerning these areas today. "Government is best which governs least." This motto means that the government should not have complete power over the people. The people's opinion is what matters the most. Individualism is stressed throughout his writing. To stand up for what you believe in and not bend backwards for the government is necessary. He speaks of Slavery and the war in Mexico and how is must be put to a stop. The people are responsible for this happening. Many people opposed these things yet did nothing to change it. Allowing yourself to be a part of injustice makes you a part of the negativity. Paying taxes to a corrupt government makes you

Directions: Read “Civil Disobedience.” As you read, underline examples of Thoreau using rhetorical devices and identify and explain the devices via annotation. Answer questions 1-4 to prepare for further work with a small group. The group will work together on questions 5 through 8. Be ready to explain your answers to the whole class. Even when you’re working as a group you should be writing the answers.

I believe Thoreau presents an effective argument against the government because he disobeyed laws that he felt were unjust, faced the consequences of those actions, and challenged others to do so as well.

Henry David Thoreau’s essay basically begins by stating that the government is of no good for the American people. Thoreau’s essay talks about occasions in which the government has done bad instead of doing things to help out the people, for example the Mexican-American War. Also, the essay informs that the people give a lot of credit to the government for things they believe it has achieved when in reality those achievements have happened thanks to the people and he also states that better things would come out of those achievements if the government was less involved. Overall, Henry David Thoreau’s essay tries to inform or persuade people to understand that the country would be better if the government was less involved and allow the people to have more say in what is happening to the country as a whole. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” is rhetorically effective because of his attention to pathos and logos.

Henry David Thoreau was an American philosopher known for his interest in politics; specifically raising awareness about the injustice committed by the American government. He’s the author of prominent works like Civil Disobedience and Slavery in Massachusetts, which set the setting for the United States at the time. Both of these works follow a common theme of perseverance through difficult times and the role of the self when choosing right from wrong. Thus, he was deeply engaged in the idea of individualism, suggesting that we are “men first and subject after”. His beliefs led him to refuse to pay taxes as an act of protest against the Mexican War; he was imprisoned for a night and this sparked in him the inspiration to write Civil

Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience, which is about him trying to persuade citizens that their obligation is to contravene and correct the unfair laws of the government. Thoreau begins Civil Disobedience with the view point “That government is best which governs least”

Throughout the duration of the Mexican American war, beginning in 1846, many attempts were made to gather support for the conflict. One citizen, who resided in Connecticut, showed much more drastic distest to this war than many others. Henry David Thoreau took both passive and active efforts to voice his antagonism to the conflict by refusing to pay a tax that he believed supported the ideology behind the war that the United States was partaking in at the time. Later, he contrived an essay that outlined his philosophies of resistance, and created a basis for his means of protest that he believed should be placed in the mindset of the general public. Throughout Thoreau's essay, he illustrates his vast opposition to the involvement in the

To show his credibility, Thoreau, uses his personal experiences and asserting his personal beliefs in the most respectful yet confident ways. When he was pressed by the poll taxes, he wholeheartedly declined the payment. He was sent to jail, “I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through before they could get to be as free as I was. I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar. I felt as if I alone of all my

He refused to pay his taxes because he saw it as a way of denying his support of our nation’s government, in a time which the institution of slavery was still occurring. A government that did not support his fundamental beliefs of equality and stance of the Mexican war is one which he would not support finically or by any other means. Thoreau stated, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison” (142). Although it may seem extremist to some, the basis of his argument is one in which I desire his bravery. His point being that if you are imprisoned for what you know in your heart is right then so be it, everyone who believes in individual rights should

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.

Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience) is an essay written based on his disproval’s and arguments about mistreatment from the government. Within Henry David Thoreau essay, he points out his views on how he sees people getting treated for being different. Henry David Thoreau believed that people should fight for their rights like everyone other citizens has. Henry David Thoreau illustrates in his essay, “But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it” . Henry David Thoreau sees and knows that the government has no justice towards the people, those who get their rights see it as

In “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau begins the essay using logos and ends the essay using pathos by giving personal examples of why men should follow their consciences rather than laws that do not support their moral beliefs. In the second part of this essay, Thoreau states “I have paid no poll-tax for six years. I was put into a jail once on this account”(Thoreau). After establishing with reason and logic that government should support citizens, rather than citizens supporting the government, Thoreau gives an example of how he refused to pay taxes to a government that allowed slavery. By showing that he was willing to go to jail, Thoreau builds his credibility because he takes action in accordance with his beliefs instead of just writing them.

Thoreau’s essay represents his beliefs about the government in 1849. He uses several logos with credible examples, and uses the emotions of the audience to support his argument. The first example of logos he uses is when he says, “The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government.” His claim is that it is unconstitutional to have an army standing or ready when everything is peaceful. The government should act under this same rule; if there is peace then the government should not be standing so to speak. Throughout the essay he continues to provide credible examples of why the government abuses its power and is useless; such as when he says “Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its

ginally titled "Resistance to Civil Government", has had a wide influence on many later practitioners of civil disobedience. The driving idea behind the essay is that citizens are morally responsible for their support of aggressors, even when such support is required by law. In the essay, Thoreau explained his reasons for having refused to pay taxes as an act of protest against slavery and against the Mexican–American War. He writes,