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Thoreau qualifying essay
Comments And Questions About Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau
Conformity vs rebellion
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Throughout a series of books, and now movies known as Divergent they hit a lot of points as to what is believed as a “good society”. In the series, Divergent all must conform and fall into a certain category Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, or Amity . If one fails to do so, and falls into all of the categories they are known as “Divergent," and must be killed for failing to conform to traditional society standards and rules. This relates to Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, because he talks about humans not needing a form of structure set by a hierarchy, such as a government. A good society according to Thoreau, is one with little to no government involvement, one that respects laws to a certain extent, and one that follows …show more content…
It is also a big part of Divergent, because being Divergent is essentially being your own person, you are not able to conform to what the government wants. This to Thoreau would be a great thing, this can be seen when he says, “It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will” (Thoreau 255). So Thoreau believes that a single living man has more vitality and force than the traditional government. This is also true in Divergent, because Beatrice fights her government in every movie, she fights and is independent despite the masses who have become accustom to the tradition of relying on the government. Thoreau also goes on to talk about not saying there shouldn 't be a government at all, but one that should be there and eventually fade off. This can be seen when he says, “I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government” (Thoreau 255). This quote is significant, because Beatrice also wished this was possible. Throughout the movie she tries to explain why being Divergent is okay, but is essentially “shot down” in regard to her claim. It is also significant for Thoreau because he is independent, but not forceful in asking the government to stop all at once. Thoreau and Beatrice would agree that they do not need a government, and can be self-reliant and would come to an agreement on individualism, but they also would not expect the government to go away entirely anytime soon. Thus they both proposed that the government change in some way or
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.
In Henry Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government, the harmless actions he takes to rebel against the government are considered acts of civil disobedience. He talks about how the government acts wrongful such as, slavery and the Mexican-American war. This writing persuades Nathaniel Heatwole, a twenty-year-old college student studying at Guildford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, to take matters into his own hands, by smuggling illegal items on multiple Southwest airplanes. The reason in that being, is to show the people that our nation is unsafe and dangerous. In doing this, he takes his rebellion one step too far, by not only jeopardizing his life, but as well as many other innocent lives.
In the passage " Civil Obedience" by Thoreau, Thoreau is utilizing tone and diction to explain his argument of allowing all men to decide their own kind of government.
In the great era of foundational philosophers, two stand out, Plato and Thoreau. Each had their own opinion on various topics, especially on civil disobedience. Plato’s life span was approximately 428-348 BC. Plato wrote numerous works throughout his lifetime, however we will be focusing on one, the Crito. Thoreau’s life span was 1817-1862. To help us determine what civil disobedience means to both of these philosophers we will first look at a general definition. According to Merriam-Webster civil disobedience is defined as “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government.” This definition will act as a springboard to compare and contrast both of their thoughts on the topic. We will determine, according to Plato and Thoreau, when we are called to engage in civil disobedience and when the moral parameters of civil disobedience are pushed too far.
Thoreau wasn 't one to take advantage of what the world had to offer and just took life what it was, all while following his motto of doing what was right. Thoreau sees the miracles of the world similarly to the Whitman poem because there isn 't a limit to what can be appreciated. There are quite a few modern views that compare well to Thoreau as they take that step away from society defined by technology and progression and just take a look at the bigger picture, one of these approaches is the recent Occupy Wall Street movement.
In the passage "Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau the author explicitly states that the current government is not sufficiently strong enough for the governed a whole. Thoreau's diction directly states his belief on improving the government into a success. He firmly displays his argument through repetition and metaphors. First, Thoreau profoundly informs the negative downsides of the American Government. For instance he utilizes an example of repetition repeatedly stating, "It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the west. It does not educate. The repeated phrase "it does not" creates a sense of ultimate disapproval. A disapproval in which the author intends the audience to consider as well. Which in fact he disapproves the modifications
Learning about it and talking about it are two different things to me. Even though Divergent is set in a futuristic world a lot of the structures in that society go hand and hand with our society today. We have achieved or ascribed statuses, kids who are born into religion or parents who decide they want to be a certain religion. We have kids born into a certain job and do it because their parents want them to choose it. I see day in and day out people following the rules because they don’t want to be an outcast in society. If you don’t follow our society’s norms people look at you like you are crazy and no one wants to be looked at like they are crazy. If you don’t follow society’s rules then you can end up in poverty and have no one to care about you. So many people in the movie followed the rules because they thought that’s the only way society can be ran but it isn’t. Today I also see a lot of the same things going on. In the movie Tris stepped up and did the right thing, once Tris did that more and more stepped up and joined the cause. We today do the same thing, we don’t step up and do the right thing until others do. In present society we have primary groups who each have their purpose of keeping society functioning. We have teachers who teach knowledge to kids who someday will have jobs to keep society running. We have the work labor force to do the things that people like politicians don’t want to
Civil Disobedience occurs when an individual or group of people are in violation of the law rather than a refusal of the system as a whole. There is evidence of civil disobedience dating back to the era after Jesus was born. Jesus followers broke the laws that went against their faith. An example of this is in Acts 4:19-20,”God told the church to preach the gospel, so they defied orders to keep quiet about Jesus,” In my opinion civil disobedience will always be needed in the world. The ability to identify with yourself and knowing right from wrong helps to explain my opinion. Often in society when civil
"Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau describes the government and what he believes is best. Thoreau implements diction and imagery to support his claim that the best government is one that does not govern at all.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a philosopher and writer who is well known for his criticism of the American government during the time. During Thoreau’s life, there were two major issues being debated in the United States: slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues greatly influenced his essay, as he actually practiced civil disobedience in his own life by refusing to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican War. He states that the government should be based on conscience and that citizens should refuse to follow the law and has the duty not to participate and stay as a member of an unjust institution like the government. I argue that the notion of individualism and skepticism toward government is essential in the basis of many important reform movements in the modern society.
Emerson's third maxim "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" expresses the
Thoreau begins “On The Duty of Civil Disobedience” with the paradoxical quote, “That government is best which governs least…” Thoreau’s ideal is that government should exist for the bettering over a body of people, and as Thoreau writes, “The standing army is only an arm of the standing government…” he initiates that the army does not solve the problems of the people, but it is only there for the government’s own unethical interest and benefit. Thoreau considers that the objections to a standing government deserve to prevail because the standing army and standing government both have fluctuant options.
Philosophers are those who shape the minds of society, which is why there is no doubt that two of the greatest thinkers are still relevant in today's world. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau came up with a philosophy known as Transcendentalism. This states that if people accept their flaws and differences and aren't afraid to stand out from society, then they resemble greatness. As demonstrated in their writings, Walden and Civil Disobedience, by Henry David Thoreau, and Self-Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of these writers emphasize the importance of individualism, intuition, and nonconformity. The ideas that these two men addressed are still constantly being adapted in real life situations all over the world today, even though
The novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and “On The Duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau have the same fundamentals. In chapter seventeen of Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck writes about the migrant families integrate into one family, despite facing opposition from the government, land owners, and more. In “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau discusses the function of the government and how it is not applicable towards today’s society. Steinbeck writes about the passivity of the government on the times before and after the Great Depression and how this event affected many families. Steinbeck does not suggest that the government should intervene in the people’s problems, rather the people should rise up against their oppressors, who are the land owners. Thoreau writes about how the government is ineffective and unjust in its acceptance of slavery and its actions in the Mexican-American War. Both Thoreau and
He was an unorthodox writer who urged the capability of free thought and the importance of nature in constructing not only self-reliance, but also self-actualization and moral sense. Since he valued open-minded thinking, importance of nature, and self-reliance, Thoreau lived as a free spirit who did not need materialism.