Effective Argument In Henry David Thoreau's Resistance To Civil Government

Thoreau An Effective Argument Thoreau presents and effective argument in his work Resistance to Civil Government. Evidence of this is provided by use of reasoning to explain whether these events deserve support of defiance, use of specific detail about the issues, and use of strategies to appeal to the reader's emotion and imagination. Thoreau has countless instances in his work that prove effective in persuading his readers to favor his ideals, and each individual that study his work should use his style in their own writing. Many issues are presented in Thoreau’s essay and each were given thorough explanation as to whether they deserve our support or defiance. Thoreau explains the poll tax, highway tax, and church sums accurately to his readers, then gives us his stance on each matter. This is effective for his argument because it allows the reader to have an explanation of the issue so they may create initial opinions. He states his stance on each matter before detailing why he feels the way he does. Thoreau effectively reasons why each matter deserves support or defiance. In issues like the poll tax, Thoreau proves to us that supporting this tax would represent support to slavery as well. Despite the fact that poll tax may have benefits in other areas other than slavery or the Mexican American war, these benefits are hindered useless because of the damaging effect tied to them. Thoreau expresses his support of the highway tax because nothing in the tax stood for something he did not support. The use of this support is a stark difference to the rest of the issues but an important one as it shows Thoreau’s just nature. Evidently, Thoreau’s explanation and reasoning is an effective argumentative strategy. Specific events that occurred in Thoreau’s life are scattered in the essay. These events are effective persuasive strategies as it provides readers with real life examples of the government's unjust treatment. The sum demanded from Thoreau to support the clergyman is impactful in showing injustice since the separation of state and church are being tossed aside in order to gain profit from someone who had nothing to do with that church. Thoreau mentions, “”Pay”, it said, “or be locked up in jail.” (page 402, 2). Clear indication of greed can be seen here made possible by Thoreau stating what the church told me …show more content…
In the section of his essay where he explains his night in jail, his method of changing his style so that this event can be explained in a story like manner is revolutionary. The reader can see the stark difference in styles and this difference creates a harder impact. This tactful switch evokes overwhelming support for Thoreau, and helps us connect deeply to the intensity of resolve found in him. We feel as though we are also living through these situations, and creating deep connections to Thoreau. Additionally, his use of similes and metaphors also appeal to our imagination. He detest the government when he compares it to a hard cold machine (page 397, 398) and each individual truly wants to be the counter friction that breaks the machine. Each individual understands how voting compares to a game of backgammon and that it must change. This use tactful use of imagery and metaphors is so vital in presenting a good argument, it creates deep connections and visual representations to the reader and it’s something to greatly