Civil Disobedience : Key info
Civil Disobedience is a notable literary work by Henry David Thoreau. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of Civil Disobedience.
Key info
Writer: Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher.
Published date: 1849.
Themes: Law, Injustice of Government, Civil Disobedience, Slavery, and War.
Genre: Essay
Literary Device: Pan- A pun is a literary device that is also known as a “play on words.” Puns involve words with similar or identical sounds but with different meanings.
Background: In 1848, Thoreau gave lectures at the Concord Lyceum entitled “The Rights and Duties of the Individual in relation to Government. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Later on, this lecture was published in the form of an essay.
Central Message: If the government required people to participate in injustice by obeying “unjust laws,” then people should “break the laws” even if they ended up in prison.