Walden Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Thoreau is a self centered man who thinks he is above all of mankind and mocks other people’s opinions. In Walden, he compares the battle of ants to that of men. He says “there is not a fight in history that can bear a moment's comparison to the battle of the ants”. Thoreau is implying that the war efforts and reasons people fight wars are stupid and pointless, even if it’s about freedom and justice. He is bashing on other people's opinions just because they are different than his. In Thoreau’s biography, it talks about how he would not wear black in church simply because that was the rule. Thoreau thinks that he is above that rules of society even though he is being disrespectful to others. He is crying for attention by trying to be different and to stand out. Also, in Resistance to Civil Government, he said “I saw that, if there

In Self-Reliance, he talks about how people benefit from their hard work and enjoy it a lot more when they don’t accept help. Emerson is very straight forward with his opinion but does not try to blantely offend the audience like Thoreau does. He gives his audience an option to think about what he has said, rather than force it down their throats. Also, in Self-Reliance, he talks about how being different and misunderstood can be a good thing at times because many past geniuses were. Emerson gives examples to support his opinions and tries to convince the audience rather than trying to force the audience to see things from one viewpoint. Lastly, in Nature, he said “few adults can see nature. They have a very superficial seeing of nature. Only children really see nature”. Emerson is very respectful to his audience when he says that they can not actually see nature. He tells them how they could see nature better, rather than saying that everyone is stupid for not being able to it how he does. Emerson is a very respectful person and doesn't try to insult his