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Civil Disobedience by Thoreau
Essay civil disobedience henry david thoreau
Civil Disobedience by Thoreau
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The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes Civil Disobedience, an essay written by Henry David Thoreau, has truly changed the way people view society and the world. Thoreau was known as an American transcendentalist and in his essay he displays the importance of defying conformity and society and encourages people to use their voice as well as implementing mimimalism. Today civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey certain laws, as a peaceful form of political protest (Google Dictionary). In 1992 Rio de janeiro, in Brazil hosted the first United Nations conference on climate change called the Rio Summit. Lasting several days from June 3 to the 14, those who attended the Summit sought to help governments find ways to halt the …show more content…
One that silenced the world and still reigns true today. The Vancouver native recognized that society and ecology were in conflict at a very young age. Her speech called on adults to follow the same principles they impart on their children. She described fearing for her future “Losing my future is not like losing an election, or a few points on the stock market.” (Severn Cullis-Suzuki) and even not wanting to breathe the air outside “... I don’t know what chemicals are in it”(Severn Cullis-Suzuki). Severn also pleaded with people to stop destroying what's already been destroyed in one of the most famous lines from her speech “If you don’t know how to fix it, stop breaking it.”(Severn Cullis-Suzuki). Today Severn’s words hold more truth than when she spoke them. It is evident that there is still work to be done and still today she has not given up the fight. Today a majority of Severn’s is targeted toward younger audiences. She tries to empower the youth to be informed and make a difference. Severn is also an author encouraging others to make their own change in the world. In 2012 the “Dove Campaign for Real Beauty” Introduced “Women Who Should be Famous” which focuses on “celebrating real beauty and getting strong women to mentor their next …show more content…
“The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes.” Climate Change for Families, 20 May 2013, climat“Earth_Summit.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html. “Who Is David Suzuki? Everything You Need to Know.” Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/david-takayoshi-suzuki-1192.php. Darby. “Severn Cullis-Suzuki: Environmental newsactivist.com/en/articles/flacks-newsactivist-winter-2015-complementary-course/severn-cullis-suzuki-environmental. Aechangeforfamilies.com/2013/05/20/the-12-year-old-girl-who-silenced-the-world/. “Biography.” Severn-Cullis-Suzuki, severncullissuzuki.com/bio/. activist.” Severn Cullis-Suzuki: Environmental Activist | NewsActivist, 30 Mar. 2015, 9:36am, “Dove’s Women Who Should Be Famous.” Severn CullisSuzuki, blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hp331-2014-63/?page_id=142. “Severn Suzuki - ‘The Girl Who Silenced The World.’” Pacebutler Recycling Blog, 7 Dec. 2012,
True Woman. “Revive Our Hearts Conference 2010.” Web. “A True Woman Rebuilds Walls”. Kay Arthur.
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
Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience took the original idea of transcendentalism and put it into action. His civil acts of defiance were revolutionary as he endorsed a form of protest that did not incorporate violence or fear. Thoreau’s initial actions involving the protest of many governmental issues, including slavery, landed him in jail as he refused to pay taxes or to run away. Ironically, more than one hundred years later, the same issue of equal rights was tearing the United States apart. Yet African Americans, like Martin Luther King Jr., followed in Thoreau’s footsteps by partaking in acts of civil disobedience. Sit-ins and peaceful rallies drew attention to the issue while keeping it from escalating into a much more violent problem. Thoreau’s ideas were becoming prevalent as they were used by Civil Rights Activists and the Supreme Court, in such cases as Brown v. Board of Education. The ideology that was created by Thoreau aided the activists and the government in their quest for equality and a more just system of law.
Civil Disobedience, as stated in the prompt, is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. Many people believe this has a negative impact on the free society because they believe civil disobedience can be dangerous or harmful. Civil disobedience does not negatively affect the free society in a dangerous manner because it is peaceful and once it becomes harmful to the free society then it is not civil disobedience. Thoreau believed civil disobedience is an effective way of changing laws that are unjust or changing things that as a society and to the people does not seem correct. This peaceful act of resistance positively impacts a free society. Some examples are Muhammad Ali peacefully denying the draft and getting arrested. These men believed that what they saw was wrong and they did something about it but they did it peacefully.
Overall in "Civil Disobedience" Thoreau used many literary techniques to support his beliefs. These included emotional appeal, a hyperbole, and a paradox. Henry Thoreau used numerous more, in "Civil Disobedience" but these three were very strong to back up his confidence in his story. Thoreau just wants people to stand up for themselves, and do what they believe in. Thoreau wants them to be their own person, and express their own opinions. Henry Thoreau believes every single person should have a say in everything. Thoreau's belief is still relevant today. One person can make a huge difference. There happen to be many people who express Thoreau's beliefs including Martin Luther King, Jr., and millions other citizens in our generation.
Henry David Thoreau in his essay “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau asserts that men should react from their conscience. Thoreau believed it was the duty of a person to defy the law if his conscience says that the law is unjust. He believed this even if the law was made by a democratic action. Thoreau
Thoreau was a very dedicated abolitionist. Majority of his works was for the abolishment of slavery. Thoreau even defended Captain John Brown, who was charged with treason for the uprising against slavery in Virginia. Thoreau expressed his feelings in a way that is still relevant in society today. His most radical work is his writing on “Civil Disobedience” in his essay Thoreau states, “government is best which governs not at all”(1).This powerful statement means that government is too corrupt to lead people in the right way so they need to take a step back and let society govern itself. Thoreau also explains, how without change society itself will always be the government 's machine (6). His statement iterates that government will always have power over people that do not rebel to make change; due to the fact that laws will be followed because people are often ignorant of the situation. Individuals have to understand that society can not just vote for a law and expect chang. Thoreau believed that explains to vote against their government, a simple vote is not enough(Civil Disobedience). People that rebel need to back up their vote with their actions to make a difference in
Girl by Jamaica Kincaid demonstrate how a mother cautions her daughter, in becoming a responsible woman in her society. Although the daughter hasn’t gotten into adolescence yet, the mother fears that her daughter’s current behavior, if continued, will tip to a life of promiscuity. The mother believes that a woman’s status or propriety determines the quality of her life in the community. Hence, gender roles, must be carefully guarded to maintain a respectable front. Her advice centers on how to uphold responsibility. The mother cautions her daughter endlessly; emphasising on how much she wants her to realize her role in the society by acting like woman in order to be respected by the community and the world at large. Thus, Jamaica Kincaid’s
An influential literary movement in the nineteenth century, transcendentalism placed an emphasis on the wonder of nature and its deep connection to the divine. As the two most prominent figures in the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whole-heartedly embraced these principles. In their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience”, Emerson and Thoreau, respectively, argue for individuality and personal expression in different manners. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson calls for individuals to speak their minds and resist societal conformity, while in “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau urged Americans to publicly state their opinions in order to improve their own government.
In the past in this country, Thoreau wrote an essay on Civil disobedience saying that people make the law and have a right to disobey unjust laws, to try and get those laws changed.
Comparing the Civil Disobedience of Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau, and Mohandas Gandhi. From the onset of man fighting for freedom or his beliefs, the question has always been whether one person can make a difference using words rather than wars. Philosophically, the concept of civil disobedience would appear to be an ineffective weapon against political injustice; history however has proven it to repeatedly be one of the most powerful weapons of the common man. Martin Luther King Jr. looked at the way African Americans were treated in the United States and saw an increase in inequality.
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each write exemplary persuasive essays that depict social injustice and discuss civil disobedience, which is the refusal to comply with the law in order to prove a point. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King speaks to a specific audience: the African Americans, and discusses why he feels they should bring an end to segregation. Thoreau on the other hand, in “Civil Disobedience,” speaks to a broader, non-addressed audience as he largely expresses his feelings towards what he feels is an unjust government. Both essays however, focus on the mutual topics of morality and justice and use these topics to inform and motivate their audience to, at times, defy the government in order to establish the necessary justice.
In his famous essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,’’ Martin Luther King, Jr. cites conscience as a guide to obeying just laws and defying unjust laws. In the same way, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience,” that people should do what their conscience tells them and not obey unjust laws. The positions of the two writers are very close; they use a common theme of conscience, and they use a similar rhetorical appeal of ethos.
According to Oscar Wilde, disobedience is a valuable human trait that promotes social progress. Civil disobedience allows for the unification of various groups to fight towards a common goal, often resulting in change. Historically, there has been much evidence supporting Wilde’s claim. Significant examples of disobedience that led to social progress include the Boston Tea Party, the Salt March, and the Civil Rights Movement.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992) The Declaration of Rio on Environment and Development [Online] Available at: http://www.unep.org/Documents.multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=78&ArticleID=1163