Comparing Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau :: Compare Contrast Comparison

By acting civil but disobedient you ar able to protest things you dontthink are fair, non-violently. Henry David Thoreau is one of the most importantliterary figures of the nineteenth century. Thoreau?s essay Civil Disobedience,which was written as a speech, has been used by human beingy great thinkers such asMartin Luther tycoon Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi as a map to fight against mischief.Dr. Martin Luther nance Jr. was a pastor that headed the Civil Rights movement.He was a gifted speaker and a powerful writer whose philosophy was non-violentbut direct action. Dr. tabby?s strategy was to have sit-ins, boycotts, and marches.Dr. Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail was based on the principles ofThoreaus Civil Disobedience. Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry DavidThoreau are exceptional persuasive writers. Even though both writers are writingon slipway to be civil but disobedient, they have opposite ways of convicing you. Dr.King is religious, gentle and apolo vexic, focusing on wh ats good for the groupwhile Thoreau is very aggressive and assertive for his own personal hate againstthe government. Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau have the sameideas, but view them differently. Dr. King wants to ultimately raise awareness andopen doors for the better of a group. Thoreau wants more soulfulness rights forpeople. Dr. King is explaining his view of conscienceI submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to get up theconscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing thevery highest respect for the law (Martin Luther King, p. 521).This quote shows Dr. King?s opinion on going to jail. King knows that he wasunjustly put into jail. He accepts going to jail even though he was put in jailwrongly. The community then knows of the injustice and should pressure thegovernment. The other thing that happens is King is respecting the law by obeyingit . He is a peaceful man and wants justice, but believes in following the rulespeacefully to get the job done. Thoreau feels that conscience plays a morepersonal role.Can there not be a government in which majorities do not some decideright and wrong, but conscience?... Must the citizen ever for a moment, orin the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has everyman a conscience, then. I think that we should be men first, and subjectafterward (Henry David Thoreau, p.581). Thoreau is questioning why majorities make the rules.