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.
The author descriptive use of his lexicon helps develop his argument. The language uses simple words to support the idea that people should minimize the task they manage. Thoreau writes “… I say let your affairs be as two or three and not a hundred or a thousand.” The author language is descriptive to provide the reader with images of his feelings and argument by using “merely” “not finished” “defense”. The author provides vivid description of simplistic life-style of where he is located.
Thoreau starts his essay by condemning his fellow countrymen’s actions, or rather, inaction. They and Thoreau share similar moral beliefs, but they refuse to take any action towards them. “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or
This exemplifies Thoreau's ideology through metaphor. Parallelism is made use of as well in Thoreau's discourse. Thoreau states, "It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West.
In paragraph four, Thoreau discusses how most people are living an illusion. People don’t look past what is in front of them. This is pertinent to Thoreau’s time because people were only focused on the Transcontinental Railroad. They were being selfish in knowing that it will benefit them but they will be rushing everyone’s lives. This relates to today’s society except instead of the transcontinental railroad, we have smart phones, computers, cars, etc.
Each generation is unique and has different perceptions, ideas, and people. Thoreau wants us to make the most of what is given to us and put aside all societal expectations. The biblical allusion of the dog and the lion indicates that a living dog is better than a dead lion because a dead lion can’t do anything since it’s dead. It doesn’t matter if we are dogs, we are at least alive and have possibility to be the best we can in the generation we are meant to be
Near the beginning of his renowned essay, "Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau appeals to his fellow citizens when he says, "...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. " This request serves as a starting point from which the rest of "Civil Disobedience" emerges. Thoreau 's essay is particularly compelling because of its incorporation of rhetorical strategies, including the use of logos, ethos, pathos, purposive discourse, rhetorical competence and identification. I will demonstrate how each of these rhetorical techniques benefit Thoreau 's persuasive argument. Thoreau uses logos throughout his essay to strengthen his argument with reasoning.
David Thoreau uses many different rhetorical strategies in his essay to make different connections to the reader's mind and imagination to get a clear point across. In his narrative, Walden, Thoreau uses many displays of figurative language and imagery to set the scene up for what he is trying to explain. Thoreau uses many different examples of figurative language, the biggest reason why I think he does this is because he wants to make his writing a little bit more expressive, and be able to make claims that will be interesting. “The hollow and lichen-covered apple trees, nawed by rabbits, showing what kind of neighbors I should have,” here Thoreau is explaining what his surroundings are like while he is in nature.
He suggests that you might look around yourself and really take into consideration as to how you are spending your short time you’re given in this life. Much like Chris McCandless, Henry David Thoreau looks around him and finds himself to be displeased. To quote Thoreau, “ I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Much like McCandless, Thoreau thought very little of money, jobs and other things of the civilized world. Henry Thoreau concluded that to live, not much is needed.
(389) Immediately, any American citizen is directly touched by this statement, and it gives a sense of truth and realization. Thoreau is aiming to challenge the status quo; the understanding that the government is responsible for any success of the country. For several people, he actually seemed to draw a sense of anger and resentment toward the government, which was exactly his goal. Emotional appeal is a major factor in making Civil Disobedience a timeless literary
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
He instills imagery that elicits feelings that may not have already resided in the reader. Quite disturbing by 1840’s standards, his vivid and descriptive language could be from 20th century modernism: “The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies…they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones” By subjecting the audience to the forms of discomfort associated with dehumanization, they may feel like an outside observer of their own thoughts or body, and will realize what is really in control over their thoughts and actions. Readers become be more open to recognize that perhaps not all their decisions are freely willed, especially those related to civil responsibility. The author uses this as an opportunity to delve deeper into the possibilities of free will under nationalism. Thoreau makes the claim that virtuous actions are only made through free choice.
In my personal perspective, Henry Thoreau makes several valid points within his essay. The government gets its power from the people yet lately it goes above and beyond to control these same people. It invades our privacy, reading our emails and text messages, listening to our conversations, tracking our transactions, and placing cameras where they see fit. It taxes everything from their hard earned money to the property they own. It is even creating and manipulating laws solely for its own benefit.
In reading Henry David Thoreau, I was halted by the views he shared. Thoreau was a suspicious man that felt there is not a reason to be taxed if person did not agree with usage of funds or need government protection. Thoreau lived in the woods, mostly self sustainable. He came into town to have a shoe mended and found himself confronted by a city official to pay a poll tax. He refused and the sheriff put him in Jail.
In Walden, written by Henry David Thoreau, the author expresses the immense longing that we, as human beings, need to give up our connection to our ever-growing materialism in order to revert back to self-sufficient happiness. In Walden, the reader is able to infer that Thoreau feels as if we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions, as well as believes that the study of nature should replace and oppose our enslavement, and that we are to “open new channels of thought” by turning our eyes inward and studying ourselves. Thoreau feels that we are becoming enslaved by our material possessions. As stated in the chapter “In the Where I Lived, and What I Lived For”, Thoreau states that “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” (972).
