Throughout the century of social injustices, we find Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. disturbed about the absence of equality that the government, and most of society, has come to find as traditional. Although these men focus on their similar complications with the government and society, it is visible that they both vary on how to approach and address their conflicts. After being born in 1817, Thoreau spent most of his life in the small town of Concord, Massachusetts. He attended public school throughout his childhood, but soon advanced beyond average academics of his peers and attended Harvard University. The time Thoreau spent studying at Harvard was critical for his future involvements with literature and philosophy. …show more content…
Between the two documents, the men share similar motives for their writings. Thoreau’s essay asserts his ill will towards the government and the majority causing him to provide a solution through non-violent restraint. Likewise, King’s letter expresses the frustration and necessary change of discrimination by non-violent protests. Both men share the same overall controversy towards the government, and conclude it is better to provide a non-violent …show more content…
On one hand, we have Thoreau’s essay, where he constantly uses the “I” pronoun to illustrate that he is an individual. On the other hand, we have King use both the “I” and “We” pronouns. The connotation between the two’s usage of pronouns is critical for their audiences. Thoreau is a white male in the 1850s addressing the government’s authority, while objecting war and slavery, where King is a black male in the 1960s experiencing and peacefully protesting the government and society’s unjust laws and point of view towards blacks. Due to Thoreau’s context, he is speaking for himself as an individual. He is persuading and educating the reader through his personal beliefs and observations that they should listen to what he says because he is part of the minority. This lonely individuality is something that King does not experience. In King’s context, it is evident that he is speaking not only for himself, but for his community of followers as he constantly uses “we” instead of “I”. With Thoreau being an individual, and King being a part of a community, it establishes a major difference between the two as people and as
Though Henry David Thoreau lived more than one hundred years before the time of Martin Luther King Jr., his philosophy lingered in the minds of many individuals. Thoreau was opposed to injustice in general and refused to support or to follow the unjust laws. His idealism and anarchism influenced the thinking of King. Douglass' narrative shows how his thinking would have been similar to that of Thoreau's.
Comparing Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King's Letter From a Birmingham Jail. The two essays, "Civil Disobedience," by Henry David Thoreau, and "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," by Martin Luther King, Jr., effectively illustrate the authors' opinions of justice. Each author has his main point; Thoreau, in dealing with justice as it relates to government, asks for "not at once no government, but at once a better government. King contends that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
King and Thoreau?s approach to civil disobedience is a more civilized way to protest than those at the WTO. King in his letter of response to the Birmingham clergy, ?Letter from Birmingham Jail? he list four basics steps to a non-violent campaign: collection of the facts to determine if injustice exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action (174). In his letter he points out that the individuals involved in the campaign attended a series of workshops on nonviolence. During the workshops individuals were to ask themselves if they were able to accept blows without retaliating and if they could endure the ordeal of jail (174). Thoreau?s approach is slightly different at an individual level but yet was nonviolent. He refused to pay his poll tax, which he felt was unjust. The result was he was arrested and jailed. He applied a type of civil disobedience without eliciting violence.
on ways to be civil but disobedient, they have opposite ways of convicing you. Dr.
Through King’s peaceful protest, he works to find his definition of good life in equality, where peaceful protest can “create a situation. [and] inevitably open the door to negotiation,” (King). However, King’s attempt to overwrite centuries of oppression and rise against unjust laws doesn’t come without its own set of consequences and benefits.... ... middle of paper ...
Mahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader in the independence movement of India once said, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”(brainyquotes.com) Gandhi states that protest and civil disobedience are necessary when the authority becomes unscrupulous. This correlates to “Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson; “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau; and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr., because all three leaders felt that civil disobedience was important to help protest against an unjust ruling. Jefferson stood up to the injustice of the king by writing the Declaration of Independence and urged others to stand up for the independence of America. Thoreau exemplified
During the time of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., freedom for African-Americans was relative terminology in the fact that one was during slavery and the other during the Civil Rights era. “Civil Disobedience,” written by Thoreau, analyzes the duty and responsibility of citizens to protest and take action against such corrupt laws and other acts of the government. Likewise, King conveys to his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” audience that the laws of the government against blacks are intolerable and that civil disobedience should be used as an instrument of freedom. Both writers display effective usage of the pathos and ethos appeal as means to persuade their audience of their cause and meaning behind their writing, although King proves to be more successful in his execution.
King’s ability to organize factions into a force that was unaffected by violence greatly contributed to the success of the Civil Rights Movement. In a letter he wrote from a Birmingham jail, King describes the four steps to non-violent protest. The first step is “collection of the facts to determine whether an injustice exists.” This relates to Thoreau’s critique of an unjust government. Thoreau believed that every machine had friction, yet “when the friction comes to having a machine.let us not have such a machine any longer.
In King’s essay, “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, King brilliantly employs the use of several rhetorical strategies that are pivotal in successfully influencing critics of his philosophical views on civil disobedience. King’s eloquent appeal to the logical, emotional, and most notably, moral and spiritual side of his audience, serves to make “Letter From Birmingham Jail” one of the most moving and persuasive literary pieces of the 20th century.
Thoreau’s piece was written prior to the civil war, and was in response to the Mexican-American war and slavery in some territories. It was intended for US citizens; more specifically, those who are unhappy with the way the United States government is ran. Thoreau spent a night in jail for his belief when he refused to pay a poll tax, which is a main point in his piece. Similarly, King’s piece was written during the civil rights movement in response to him being incarcerated for ‘parading without a permit’, and countless other racially based incidents. After being arrested, King read a newspaper article, by 7 priests and 2 rabbis, that asked African Americans to stop their protests, so he wrote back to them stating his point of view. Both pieces of work are highly regarded to this
Upon spending his night in jail for refusing to pay his poll taxes, Thoreau said that he felt “As if he alone of all his townsmen had paid his tax” (Thoreau 319). Thoreau is trying to say that he is feeling as if he was the only one who really served his time in prison and paid his justice more than those who object and claim they haven’t. King went to jail due to a program of sit-ins at luncheon counters. While King was in jail he wrote a letter which was formally intended for the eight white clergymen. As I mention before, King believes that he has been unjustly put in jail and he is being a responsible citizen although he knows he has been put in jail wrongfully. By Both being in jail they agree that injustice exists. Thoreau thinks of injustice as pressure that can wear the machine down. King thinks that injustice just exists and tension must be created with direct action to negotiate with the machine. I also agree with King here, how he thinks that injustice still exist because up to this day there is injustice in our country and others as well. As a matter of fact, the black community today is facing injustice by law enforcement. A few black men have been killed by police and the government is not doing much about the issue and letting the police get away with it. This is an example of injustice to all blacks because police seem to be murdering these innocent people only because of their race. This
...goals, they both discuss similar topics of morality and justice under a government’s rule. In hopes of informing and motivating people, Thoreau and King explain how and why these people should take non-violent action towards unjust laws. From each author’s vivid examples and brilliant analogies, we learn the importance of fighting for justice and maintaining morality. Most importantly, Thoreau and King argue in favor of civil disobedience not only to inspire a fight for freedom from the government, but also to ensure that the people’s God given rights and rights to individuality are preserved for generations.
The ideas of King are very similar to the ideas of Thoreau. Moreover, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” shows that King, read the writings of many famous people. From these two reasons, King had probably read “Civil Disobedience” as an important document regarding justice and injustice. Therefore, the positions of the two writers are very close, and they cite conscience as a guide to obeying just laws.
Henry David Thoreau had an immense impact in the world of literature. It is easy to see why after reading just a few of his many literary works. He emphasized on living a simple life and the importance of being one with nature. Ralph Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne also two well-known writers came to share similar beliefs with Thoreau. All three sought out truth and the meaning of life. It is easier to compare Thoreau to Emerson because both emphasized most if not all of their works on nature, the soul, and imagination. Hawthorne’s work in contrast to Thoreau’s is darker and relies on symbolism in which he uses more symbols to represent things like guilt, evil, or God. Thoreau in comparison to Emerson writes about the self, and tests Emerson’s ideas by living at Walden pond, while Hawthorne concentrates on Christian faith which believes man 's sinful nature must be transformed. “To live does not mean you are alive,” Thoreau understood this ever so clearly and is probably what makes him so memorable alongside
THE WAYS OF MEETING OPPRESSION IS AN ESSAY WRITTEN BY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., ADDRESSING SEGREGATION THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED TOWARD THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE. King’s primary audience is the African Americans, but also he has secondary audiences that he addresses, which are a combination of Christians or those who know of, or believe in the Christian views, as well as people in the legal system. He gives examples through his text that will demonstrate how he addresses mostly the African Americans, but also the various other audiences he is trying to reach to through his memorable speech. In his writing, he tells of three ways that they deal with oppression, and based on these he sends out a message to all who have read or heard his words. This message states what has been done in the past, as well as what should be done based on these past experiences. King chooses to speak to certain people through certain contexts and key phrases. In choosing certain phrases and also on how he states his words, he is successful in influencing all his audiences that he intended to persuade. The words that he carefully chose will tell how and why he wanted to focus on the primary and secondary audiences of his choice.