Henry David Thoreau On Civil Disobedience

Martin Sheen once said, “I honestly do not know if civil disobedience has any effect on the government I can promise you it has a great effect on the person who chooses to do it.” There are times when our government is unfair which leads to unjust laws being created. For this reason we the people are afraid to go against the people that we believe have more power than us. Henry David Thoreau had his disagreements on how the government ruled which is why he was disobedient to unjust laws. Eventually, him being against the government led him to the path of being known as a great leader who inspired later generations. He was an abolitionist and writer who had the chance to change the way people thought with his essays. In one of his writings known as “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau talks about our government creating unjust laws that we the people have the right to disobey. He writes this essay because of certain unfair issues going on at the time such as slavery. According to Thoreau men have a high level of power which is why we have a responsibility to disobey and …show more content…
Henry David Thoreau was known mainly for his writings about going into the woods and civil disobedience. As an abolitionist he believed humans should not be letting themselves get sucked into obeying unjust laws such as slavery. Rather than following them, men have a responsibility to go against them and break the law. His piece of writing called “Civil Disobedience” is evidently saying how a government is not necessary when unjust laws are being made and for this reason people have the right to break the law and disobey unfairness. His creative use of rhetorical devices such as analogy, paradox, anaphora, allusion, and polysyndeton certainly give his writing an uplift. Besides his use of devices, the appeals used towards his audience deliver his message successfully so that leaders in the future could make a change thanks to his inspirational