Thoreau vs. Ghandhi

I do not think that Thoreau's writings were very similar to that of Gandhi. I think that they were both two totally different writers, and did not have a lot in common when it came to their writings. The only thing that I can pick out that was kind of similar in their writings was that they both had issues with the government in some ways. The main difference in Thoreau and Gandhi's writings was that Gandhi was more of what we would call a peacemaker, and Thoreau was did not care really about peace and he was more about himself. Just by reading Gandhi's writings, you could tell that he was just a totally different person and he wrote in more of a peaceful way, and Thoreau was more loud, demanding, and get to the point.

I read Thoreau's Civil Disobedience in the book, and I picked up a lot from his writing. I think that most of his writing's were based on what the government is and all of its effects on people. I picked up one line that really stuck out to me. "The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it" (Thoreau). I think about how laws change and how their are so many laws when I read this quote. I think that what he was trying to say was that we do not even have time to act on laws or learn about them, before someone has changed them. I really agree with him, I think that the government is changing so much, and is going to get to the point where we can not do anything.

In Gandhi's Dindi March I also saw a lot of Gandhi's philosophy in that. I did not even have to pick a quote from his clip to show you that he was more peaceful than Thoreau, you could just tell from his writing styles that he was a lot more peaceful. He was not so demanding. He would come to a conflict, but then he would stop and say how there should not be a time with no peace. "But let there be not a semblance of breach of peace" (Gandhi). I think that he knew the government had issues, but he thought that those issues could be resolved in peacefulness.

I think that even though they both have different writing styles, I find myself agreeing with both of them. I think that the government does get a little carried away like Thoreau says, but we do not have to be so demanding like him. I agreed with Ghandi in that we should be peaceful in our writings and also peaceful when it comes to being in government or having anything to do with it. I think that they were both great writers, and had an influence on all of us, even though they both told us what they were trying to get out in a different way. I like that they had different writing styles, I liked seeing different opinions on their thoughts.

Thoreau. "Civil Disobedience." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print. November 14, 2010.

Gandhi, Mohandas. "On the Eve of Historic Dandi March." American Literature Textbook. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print. November 14, 2010.