Two different men from two different time period made their writing a master piece against government brutality by using many literary devices in their writing to convey their message.
Thoreau and King Jr. were famously known to be highly against the injustice of the American government legislative system, they tried to help and persuade people in their writing by incorporating a lot of literary devices. Their main writing goal is that “now is the right time for each man to do act on the injustice being done around him. As King stated, "Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere"(King).
From the opening paragraph of the essay Thoreau believes and moral were clearly understood in the Civil Disobedience. He states that “That government is best, which governs least"(Thoreau). …show more content…
He uses repetition and italicization to further explain his main objective. Thoreau writes, "It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate"(Thoreau). Even though, it is clear that he is referring to the government, Thoreau uses italicization and repetition of the word to stress his point in what the government obligations should be. He also uses imagery in order to persuade the reader of his idea. He also stated that the citizens must be sentient to the laws they obey and disobey. It is up to every man to decide based on his own moral standards and ethics what law he deemed unrespectable; he also accomplishes appealing to human consciousness over logic. Thoreau also writes, "If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself"(Thoreau).It can interpreted to if you don’t believe in what the government is doing as being appropriate, you should disobey that government even if the final consequences is that the government won’t protect your rights