Gandhi to Thoreau

Mahatma Gandhi's speech On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March and Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience have many similarities and even more differenced. They both are talking about, or their talking is based upon a ridiculous tax that neither of them want to pay. Mahatma Gandhi is talking about his refusal to accept a salt tax and Henry David Thoreau is talking about a poll tax that he does not want to pay. I think they both have very good reasons to angry about their taxes because both of the taxes were asinine. The salt tax which Mahatma Gandhi was mad about was ridiculous because it is salt. The British have no right to put a tax on a necessity at the time and place. The Indian people were not very wealthy at the time, well they still are not generally, but at the time they could not afford to be paying a lot of extra money for something that keeps their food fresh. Then Henry David Thoreau had a good point with his. The poll tax, or a poll tax I should say, is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, it is true that it is better for the wealthy people and it might raise more money for the government, but what about the poor? There is no way that the less fortunate people of the country could afford any poll tax because they simply just did not have the money. They can barely and in some cases cannot keep themselves living a healthy life. So I believe Henry David Thoreau had justification in his refusal to pay the poll tax.

There is one big difference in the two different writings. The time they write the essay, or speech. Henry David Thoreau write his essay, Civil Disobedience, after he had refused to pay the tax and he talked about what had happened to him when he was in jail and what happened before that and after jail. Mahatma Gandhi wrote his speech, On the Eve of the Historic Dandi March, before anything had happened to him. Gandhi says, "You may take it as my will. It was the message that I desired to impart to you before starting on the march or for the jail. I wish that there should be no suspension or abandonment of the war that commences tomorrow morning or earlier, if I am arrested before that time" (). He says he will probably and it is his goal to get arrested. He also says, "Today I shall confine myself to what you should do after my companions and I are arrested" (). He knows he is going to arrested so he just is telling the crowd what to do after he is taken away.

An obvious difference between the two writings is Mahatma Gandhi is addressing the people directly as it is a speech to a population of people who is there in front of him. Henry Davis Thoreau is just writing for a general population, no one in particular. He is just writing for himself and if someone were to pick it up and read it, then that is just fabulous for him.

"Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau." The Transcendentalists - including Ralph Waldo Emerson - Henry David Thoreau - Others - Dial Magazine. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. .

"Famous Speeches Of Gandhiji : On The Eve Of Historic Dandi March." Mani Bhavan - Gandhi Sangrahalaya: Mahatma Gandhi Museum & Reference Library. Web. 13 Nov. 2010. .