Essay About Martin Luther King Jr. And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King Vs.Thoreau
Essay title: King Vs.Thoreau
King vs. Thoreau
By acting civil but disobedient you are able to protest things you dont
think are fair, non-violently. Henry David Thoreau is one of the most important
literary figures of the nineteenth century. Thoreaus essay “Civil Disobedience,”
which was written as a speech, has been used by many great thinkers such as
Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi
as a map to fight against injustice.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor that headed the Civil Rights movement.
He was a gifted speaker and a powerful writer whose philosophy was non-violent
but direct action. Dr.Kings strategy was to have sit-ins, boycotts, and marches.
Dr. Kings “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was based on the principles of
Thoreaus “Civil Disobedience”. Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David
Thoreau are exceptional persuasive writers. Even though both writers are writing
on ways to be civil but disobedient, they have opposite ways of convicing you. Dr.
King is religious, gentle and apologetic, focusing on whats good for the group;
while Thoreau is very aggressive and assertive for his own personal hate against
the government.
Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau have the same
ideas, but view them differently. Dr. King wants to ultimately raise awareness and
open doors for the better of a group. Thoreau wants more individual rights for
people. Dr. King is explaining his view of conscience:
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is
unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the
conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the
very highest respect for the law (Martin Luther King, p. 521).
This quote shows Dr. Kings opinion on going to jail. King knows that he was
unjustly put into jail. He accepts going to jail even though he was put in jail
wrongly. The community then knows of the injustice and should pressure the
government. The other thing that happens is King is respecting the law by obeying
it. He is a peaceful man and wants justice, but believes in following the rules
peacefully to get the job done. Thoreau feels that conscience plays a more
personal role.
Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide
right and wrong, but conscience? Must the citizen ever for a moment, or
in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every
man a conscience, then. I think that we should be men first, and subject
afterward (Henry David Thoreau, p.581).
Thoreau is questioning why majorities make the rules. He is questioning
democracy. Hes telling us to question anything we do and why we should give
into the government if we do not agree with a rule. Why should we be individuals
with brains and have thoughts of our own if we are not allowed to think for
ourselves and do what we want? If we believe we are free, why do we have so
many rules? Thoreau believes we should be real to ourselves and live for
ourselves, not the government. King wants to change the laws because they are
morally wrong and Thoreau wants to change the law because he personally
doesnt like it.