Throughout American history, it is clear that many individuals have fought for justice in a society that has often denied it. We know this information from documents written by these individuals expressing their feelings on a certain subject. On the subject of human rights, two specific men have expanded their thoughts to make a difference. The very popular Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose main philosophy on civil disobedience revolved around nonviolence, wrote a ?Letter From Birmingham Jail? to eight clergymen informing them of the situation in Birmingham, Alabama, in April of 1963. Henry David Thoreau, a 19th century individualist, wrote an essay called ?Civil Disobedience? in which he explained his reasons for not paying taxes to a government that was involved in an unjust war with Mexico. Although these works were written for different causes, the two are similar in some ways. Both are similar in how they get the reader to see and feel what the Both men, King and Thoreau, used emotional appeal in their work. This was used to gain support from the reader by creating a feeling of sympathy to be felt by the reader. Dr. King?s most emotional section was his feelings on segregation.
His feelings were based on how it was to be black living in a segregated environment. This was extremely important considering that he was directing his thoughts to the eight white clergymen. He started a paragraph referring to the impact of segregation as ?stinging darts.? The following sentences gave examples of the segregation and what it put black people through. In one specific sentence, King used the image of ?you? having to tell ?your? young, innocent child that she cannot go to the amusement park simply because of the color of her skin. King wrote, ?…when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can?t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in ger little eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children…and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness to white people…? Most people are more sensitive toward young children and hate to see their feelings hurt. Children are also a symbol of the future. Henry Thoreau also used emotional appeal in ?Civil Disobedience.? During the time he wrote this piece, slavery was the biggest issue among Americans.
Civil Disobedience Essay: King and Thoreau
Civil disobedience is a force needed to purify the condemnation of injustices within a society. Civil disobedience can be defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws as a peaceful form of political protest. Such protests are needed when the rights of citizens are being violated and their voices are being unheard. Thoreau’s ideas were becoming heavily common as they were being used by Civil ...
He told about the injustice in having slavery in a civilized society. He repeatedly referred to slavery whenever he began to talk about the government?s unjust laws. Many who believed in the abolition of slavery may have sided with Thoreau on some of his feelings about the government. His thoughts were appealing to many in the North or Abolitionists. In one section of his essay he wrote, ?When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is little slavery left to be abolished by One very common feature found in both the letter written by Dr. King and the essay by Thoreau was that prison played a role in their struggles. It is logical appeal to the reader to know that these men were real not phony. They truly believed in what they argued for. Both of these men were incarcerated for doing what they believed was right. Dr. King was locked up for protesting (nonviolently) and Thoreau was put in jail for not paying taxes to the government which he felt was unjust. Martin Luther King Jr. decided to spend his time in jail writing his letter to the clergymen for support. The fact that he was prison showed the men that a fellow clergyman did in fact need help in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Essay on Comparison Of Thoreau And King
... passively fighting against unjust laws forced upon the minority. Even though Thoreau agreed with King on the issues, he ... just law. Similar opinions are shared by Thoreau, when he writes "But a government in which the ... to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not ... based upon expediency. Therefore, all the laws are written by the majority, almost all are in favor ...
Henry Thoreau deeply anylized his one night experience. He gave the feeling of total seclusion from the world when describing his jail cell. He spoke of the walls and door being solid stone and a few feet thick. He felt that he was treated ?as if I were mere flesh and Dr. King and Henry David Thoreau both also referred to the Bible or God in their writing. King compared the injustice of the situation in Birmingham to a similar event in the Bible. He wrote, ?Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried out their ?Thus saith the Lord? far beyond the boundaries of their home town, and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town.? He also recalled that civil disobedience was also ?practiced superbly by the early Christians who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks, before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire.? This appeals to the clergymen directly. The use of what they primarily stand for only gives them more of a reason to help end segregation in areas like Birmingham.
Thoreau didn?t use the bible to support his thoughts, but he did mention God a few times in ?Civil Disobedience?. Rhetorically, Thoreau asked the question (referring to the government), ?Why does it always crucify Christ, and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther. . .? Thoreau also wrote on Christ?s beliefs and what he said to the Herodians,- ?if you use money which has the image of Caesar on it, which he has made current and valuable, that is, if you are men of the State, and gladly enjoy the advantages of Caesar?s government, then pay him back some of his The two men had somewhat different views on majority and minority. King used minority as an example of an unjust law, when it is denied the right to vote. They have no chance of even being part of the majority because they are black. In many southern areas, this was extremely unjust considering that blacks were not a minority, in fact they were the majority of the people in Even though there is about a 100 year difference between the times in which these works were written, they are very similar. Both express feelings of unjust government. Both men also spent time in jail for the cause that they believed in. Most importantly, both were wrote to gain support from readers,
The Essay on King Vs Thoreau Unjust Law
... law, Dr. King focuses on what makes a law just or unjust. Thoreau knows there are unjust laws; I ... and subject afterward (Henry David Thoreau, p. 581). Thoreau is questioning why majorities make the rules. He is ... figures of the nineteenth century. Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience," which was written as a speech, has been ... it will take a very long time to appeal the unjust law in court and they still ...
