“Civil Disobedience” Handout
AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Directions: Read “Civil Disobedience.” As you read, underline examples of Thoreau using rhetorical devices and identify and explain the devices via annotation on the following chart. Answer questions 1-­‐4 to prepare for further work with a small group 1. Based on your reading of “Civil Disobedience,” what kind of person does Henry David Thoreau seem to be? How would you characterize his state of mind and emotion as he composed this essay? Cite specific examples from the text to support your claims about Thoreau’s voice and persona. 2. What does Thoreau do in “Civil Disobedience” to urge his readers to believe in him as a trustworthy, credible person? Point out specific passages where you felt Thoreau was (or was not) particularly believable (this gets at the ethos of the piece). 3. How do you think Thoreau wanted his readers to react to the essay? What did he want them to feel? Think? Believe? Do? How do you know? Identify specific places in the essay that help you determine Thoreau’s purpose. “Civil Disobedience” Handout
AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Device
Text Example
Personification
The standing army is only an arm of the
standing government. (1)
Irony
I saw that, if there was a wall of stone
between me and my townsmen…I did not
for a moment feel confined (2)
Simile
(the State) …Timid as a lone woman with
her silver spoons (3)
Chiasmus
…what is once well done is done forever.
(2)
Hyperbole
…if one thousand, if one hundred, if
ten…if one HONEST man (2)
Metaphor
…when an acorn and a chestnut fall side by
side…both obey their own laws… (3)
Maxim
“That government is best which governs
least” (1)
Thematic Connection/Analysis of Effect