Question

At the end of the excerpt Thoreau uses an analogy of an acorn and a chestnut to convey his point about human natural is this an effective way to communicate his message why or why not

Answer 1

Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" speech is one of the widely known speeches of American history as Thoreau pinpoints the catastrophic impacts of "Slavery" and "Mexican-American War". He displays a critique of the American social institutions and their norms. He presents his idea most clearly. He urges the people to give priority to their conscience over all the norms and regulations of these institutions. He uses the analogy of acorn and chestnut to compare an individual to the state in order to illustrate his message to prioritize one's "conscience" more effectively. He asserts that individuals must "obey to their consciences" like acorn or chestnut and "live as per their nature and attributes". He treats the government as futile as it failed to exercise power at crucial moments and thus suggests individuals to listen to their instincts and not the inconsequential norms of society.

Answer 2

Thoreau utilizes the metaphor of an acorn and a chestnut as a comparison between the individual conscience and the State.

He actually affirms that exactly like an acorn or a chestnut, at the same time an individual conscience has to obey to their own laws living according to its own nature or just disappear