Civil Disobedience Rhetorical Analysis

Henry David Thoreau uses Aristotle’s appeals in his essay “Civil Disobedience” to convey his beliefs and to convince others to think how he does. He wants people to realize how truly flawed the American system of government is, he does this by showing how he has been personally wronged by the government and how he knows the government can take control of you.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a globally known civil rights activist who established nonviolent protests to justify his desire for change within the South in the late 1900's. The text, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. was written as King was confined in the Birmingham city jail; responding to criticism he received about his approach towards advocating for civil rights. Throughout his letter, King vindicated his principles and morals as a voice for African Americans who suffered the unjust ways of living. While writing his letter, King uses rhetorical devices and appeals to develop his argument that nonviolent tactics were the most powerful way to advocate against discrimination against blacks in the South.

The Wiley College team went against Harvard College in a debate in 1935 which took place at Harvard University. The author of the Wiley College debate will be none other than James Farmer, Jr and Samantha Booke. The purpose of their debate is to convince the audience that civil disobedience is a moral weapon in the fight for justice.

Throughout Thoreau’s chapter on “Civil Disobedience” his position is quite clear in terms of his stance of politics and the government in general. Thoreau continuously argues against having an established government, not aimed to a particular party, as he implies that he would rather live without being told who and what to obey as he states “I will breathe after my own fashion.” It does not seem that Thoreau would favor a democratic government as it still controls the people to a certain extent. Within the 21st paragraph (309), Thoreau gives face to the government in form of a tax collector and to this day, the government continues to force Americans to pay taxes, therefore it does not seem that he would approve of a democratic government. Through his description of a form of government it seems to be aimed to a corrupt political system whom abuses of the

Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent protest against segregation that led to equality for African-Americans; however, not everyone agreed that King conducted his actions in a “timely manner.” After eight Alabaman clergyman criticized King for making the situation in Alabama worse, King writes the “Letter from Birmingham Jail as a response to the clergyman and a justification for his actions. King uses pathos, ethos, and logos to prove his claim that his actions occurred in a timely manner.

Dr. Martin Luther King as we all know was a man of great knowledge, wisdom, and a man with a big heart who wanted to undo the injustice that was segregation. He led several peaceful protests and spoke to thousands of people about what our rights were and gave hope of freedom to African Americans in a time where African Americans didn’t feel that there was much hope. In his letter from Birmingham jail, Dr. King addresses several clergymen who wrote an open letter criticizing his actions and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. Throughout the letter he defends his right to protest in Birmingham and provides a moral reason for his presence. Throughout the letter he also showed his knowledge by making

Martin Luther King Jr., the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was arrested and placed in Birmingham jail after leading a non-violent march to protest racism in the streets of Alabama- a highly segregated state at the time. There he received a newspaper containing “A Call for Unity,” which was written by eight white Alabama clergymen criticizing King and his movement’s methods; this prompted King to write a letter in response to the critics. Martin Luther King Jr. employs ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade and demonstrate to the critics and other readers the many injustices of segregation.

The point of the essay is to encourage the reader to act upon their opinions. Thoreau believes that simply having an opinion or casting a vote doesn’t cause change in the world, so it is important that people take the necessary steps to fix the problems they face as a society.

We see brutality everywhere, we approach a problem with the easy way out, violence. That's the solution we all resort to when we see no change or when we feel that the injustices that have been done are too much to go unanswered for. Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez published an article claiming that nonviolent resistance has always been more beneficial than violent protest. Chavez’s purpose in this article is to advertise the negative effects of violence and provide a solution for it. In his article Chavez uses an inspirational and objective tone to illustrate how the effects of nonviolent resistance over time outweigh those of violent protest, he creates an appeal to emotion, logic, and authority to persuade followers of God, minorities, and people who have suffered injustices that have gone unanswered for. Chavez uses many rhetorical devices, the most prominent being: repetition, rhetorical questions and allusions to explain why nonviolence protest is better to accomplish their efforts.

John Rawls idea of Civil Disobedience is a political act in the sense that it is an act justified by moral principles which define a conception of civil society and the public good ( The Justification of Civil Disobedience, pg. 181). Rawls argument goes correctly when he explains how isn't supposed to be solely based on religious beliefs or even morality. Even though that sounds outrages because people who partake in civil disobedience you'd have to have a sense of morale. Which isn't the case, Rawls believed you need to have a neutral state. If you believe only your views are right, you won't come to a compromise. Which tends to be the case in civil disobedience. Rawls also states “ Being an appeal to the moral basis of public life, civil

Abdullahi Isse Colonial Literature Colonial literature in America is directly connected post enlightenment era political thought and nationalist fervor among the colonies. One of the various fathers of the American enlightenment movement, Henry Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” embodies the themes of colonial literature. I’m also well versed with Thoreau’s work, so this analysis is truly a joy to me. Henry David Thoreau argues and explains his notion of civil disobedience; in the mid nineteenth century as the United States expands and goes into furthering conflict; Thoreau criticizes government and the contradictions of the social contract; he values and advocates political involvement (also an enlightenment

The author Henry Thoreau’s interpretation of the role in which the government is to play in the going ons of everyday society in relationship to taxes in which they charge, in the letter Civil Disobedience is considered borderline insanity by some and ingenious by most. However it is theorized that said letter is written as an emotional outburst of rage, passion, and indignation. In being forced to pay, in his eyes, unjust taxes, back an unconstitutional war, and being lumped into a society that he himself did not make a conscious effort to join. Rather than being backed by facts and credible sources. With the focus almost solely upon pathos with a profound lack of ethos

Martin Luther King Jr. is renowned as the leader of the great Civil Rights Movement. Throughout his letter from Birmingham Jail, King employs pathos, ethos, and logos to persuade his audience to join forces in order to overcome the physical and mental barriers of segregation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a protester and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, greatly known for his use of nonviolent forms of demonstration. On a specific occasion, King was arrested for leading a peaceful protest as part of the Birmingham Campaign, which attempted to bring national awareness to the gruesome treatment endured by blacks. While in jail, King replies to the clergyman’s remarks of him being a foreign agitator in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail,” passionately defending the actions he took. The clergymen accused King of being an extremist, as they saw his relentless protesting and civil disobedience as a threat to a stable political and social system. In paragraphs 27-32, King attempts to persuade the

Not only were many laws changed and created, but even more were broken in an attempt to better our once unjust society. Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most influential leader of this movement, was an avid supporter of civil disobedience during this era. He participated in countless sit-ins and protests, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, in which he and almost one hundred other activists were arrested for peacefully protesting discrimination in the Montgomery public transit system. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written in 1963 after he was arrested for partaking in a nonviolent protest, King offers explanation as to why he practices civil disobedience and what he hopes to achieve in doing so. In this letter, King admits, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law…that would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. However, he also stated that in this fight, it is necessary to “[stand] up for what is best in the American…thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence”. In his words, civil disobedience is more than ignorance of law; it is just one of the necessary measures that must be taken to restore equality in a