Voices Against Oppression: Analyzing Historical Figures

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Recommended: Comments And Questions About Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau

Synthesis Essay

Throughout history, there have been many influential people who changed the course of mankind by fighting for the oppressed and giving a voice to those who were mute. Issues that were rampant in times past are now often overlooked in our modern world, yet to these select persons, these issues were their life. Fighting against social and political norms, these men and women are the cause of our rights and laws. By analyzing and interpreting the events in which these people fought for or against we can determine the thoughts and beliefs of the authors. This analysis of their writings and writing styles show us today that these issues were the most prevalent of their time to the authors, most of whom were an oppressed minority.
This effectively introduced his cause to restore peace to Europe. Nearly one-hundred and forty years prior to this speech Henry David Thoreau wrote his protest, titled Civil Disobedience in which he talks about his peaceful movement to display how much he didn't want to pay taxes. These two, even though they lived many years apart, have an impact on each other . Both fought for unconventional ideas of their time and did so peacefully. “Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.” (Eidenmuller 2). This quote taken from Reagan’s speech adds a pathos appeal to his cause, which helps him convey and progress his ideas to the people of Berlin, and the world. By adding this appeal and making people more susceptible to agreeing with him, President Reagan is making his call for peace a more viable option to the world. “Cast..not a strip of paper..but your whole influence” (Saxby). In this line, Thoreau is calling for people to speak up peacefully and voice their opinions on subjects pertaining to governmental issues. These quotes show similarities in the aspect that we can look from a historical perspective and determine how it affects us today along with determining the proper course of action for recurring
Through the analysis of writings from Sojourner Truth, Henry David Thoreau, Ronald Reagan, Gandhi, and Don’t Know Much About History; we can visibly see how important these writings and historical figures were, they gave a voice to those who had none. They rose up against social mores and norms to fight oppression, even if it meant putting themselves in danger. We should all take a few moments to look back and honour these men and women who changed our world for the better.

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