Nonviolent Resistance

Comparison Essay # 2897

African-American Studies
Literature > American
Political Science

Comparative analysis and evaluation of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr.

1,655 words () | 3 sources | 2001 United States

Paper Summary:

This is a comparative analysis essay on Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" and Martin Luther King JR.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." The author describes both the writer's use of rational appeal in their arguments.

From the Paper:

"In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he argues, in a "patiently reasoned (490)" essay, supporting his nonviolent resistance. King accomplishes in presenting his ideas with a plethora of ethical and emotional appeals in combination with rational support. In his essay, Thoreau deals with the evils of slavery and the Mexican War by establishing his already apparent credibility, playing with the reader's emotions, and especially using rational appeals to make the reader think and drawing his own conclusions."