Civil Disobedience response In Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience, he describes the government as one that is volatile and

bordering on division. The initial tone of Civil Disobedience is one of warning. [Witnessing] the present Mexican War, the author warns that a wooden gun, which is the authors opinion of the United States government, will surely split. He warns the reader by describing the current government as a gun that is ready to fail. There is then a tone shift to India rubber and mischievous persons. He condemns the dependency on India rubber in American trade and commerce, and he condemns the mischievous persons who put obstructions on the railroads. These issues were identifiable by people of Thoreaus time, so the message was effective. In the last paragraph, Thoreau implores his audience to change government, and asks for a better government. The pleading tone as a conclusion is effective because it convinces the reader that Thoreau is not demanding, but begging. This wins him sympathy. Thoreau, as in much of his writing, uses elevated diction when he talks of weighty objections, and abused and perverted government. His reference to it in the 2nd paragraph refers to the government. With this insignificant word, Thoreau undermines the government and places a higher importance on the people. Complex sentences give the essay a sense of Thoreaus intellectual style of writing. The most common literary device in Thoreaus writing is juxtaposition. There are many examples of the use of this device such as the government which governs least juxtaposed to the government who governs not at all has the effect of the reader seeing a significant change between current conditions and Thoreaus proposals. The technique was also used in another of his quotes when he stated that,

Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. This juxtaposition

shows the benefits of disobedience which is a word with a negative connotation in most cases. Henry Thoreaus contemporary Ralph Waldo Emerson was quoted using this technique as well when he juxtaposed beauty without grace and the hook without the bait. What makes this comparison effective is the fact that the second part of the quote puts the first part of the quote in layman terms. Thoreau also briefly uses chiasmus when he discusses the standing army and the arm of the standing government. The effect is that it influences the reader to see a standing army in the big picture which is government. The use of metonymy also occurs briefly in Civil Disobedience Thoreau refers to the American trade and commerce as India rubber Calling the commerce by this causes the reader to associate the American economy with a foreign product which outrages the people. Thoreaus methods are effective because they involve the use of many different tones, word choices, and literary devices.