Thoreau and civil disobedience: A rhetorical paradox

Abstract

A discourse solicits from its auditor certain commitments, both in its argument and in its form. The substantive commitments solcited by the discourse must limit its form. Moreover, in some instances a discourse, if it will honor the demands it makes of its auditor, may take no form whatever. One such discourse is Thoreau's essay on “Civil Disobedience.” It is suggested here that the auditor's effort to resolve the paradox inherent in Thoreau's essay constitutes an essential phase in the process of liberation.