Throeau and Ghandhi (Compare and Contrast)

Gandhi

— Part-I should relate your response to what Thoreau makes of his experience of being in a local jail (including one comment, one question, and one suggestion of your own).

             A. Thoreau once denied paying the money, the tax, to the country because it was the money that would be used to fight with Mexico. He stated that he loved the peace so he denied fighting with Mexico. He was put into jail for not doing the right thing that others believe was right, so people did not understand the reason why he had done such a thing.

Thoreau

             In my point of view, the action that Thoreau took was right on the one side, but time back then, the action that country took would be more acceptable rather than not favorable. The reason is that in 18^th and 19^th century, people were more used to the concept of having the colonies, and they had wars to take over the lands from the other countries. America, just like the other countries, tried to expand its land in order to have and take more advantages out of the modern time. The country could not have the choice rather than expanding its land since improvements of technologies were not as influencial as time today. Furthermore, different from current days, past countries put more values and values to the amount that they can produce the goods, and it linked to the amount of labors and resources that they would need. These ideas link to the point that Thoreau’s action is not the right choice to make.
             Thoreau denied to pay the tax to fight with Mexico, and he chose to go into the jail. Peace lovers would favored his ideas, but we can see that due to the action that country took, the risk that country took, U.S grew to be as huge and as power as today. So, I believe that Thoreau’s action was not correct.

 

— Part-II should relate to your take on Gandhi’s words. Online

at … http://homeostaticism.wordpress.com/gandhi/ * read the selected quotes by Gandhi. * Choose three quotes with which you agree or disagree: Write a) one comment, b) one question, and c) one suggestion. One quote for a); the second quote for b); and the third quote for c).

 

1. A starving man thinks first of satisfying his hunger before anything else. He will sell his liberty and all for the sake of getting a morsel of food. Such is the position of millions of the people of India. For them, liberty, God and all such words are merely letters put together without the slightest meaning. They jar upon them. If we want to give these people a sense of freedom we shall have to provide them with work which they can easily do in their desolate home and which would give them at least the barest living. This can only be done by the spinning wheel. And when they have become self-reliant and are able to support themselve, we are in a position to talk to them about freedom, about Congress, etc. Those, therefore, who bring them work and means of getting a crust of bread will be their deliverers and will be also the people who will make them hunger for liberty.
   1. I agree with the idea that Gandhi made. I would like to comment that starving man might think first to act to gain the thing that one wants, however, all the time, hungry one does not possess the power to move the action. All the hungry people need someone who could lead them, which was Gandhi

 

 

1. I would favour the use of the most elaborate machinery if thereby India’s pauperism and resulting idleness be avoided. I have suggested hand-spinning as the only ready means of driving away penury and making famine of work and wealth impossible. The spinning wheel itself is a piece of valuable machinery, and in my own humble way I have tried to secure improvements in it in keeping with the special conditions of India. (p. 51).
   1. How could a man favour the use of machinery when India did not have enough power to sustain its citizens? Where would the country get and collect all those money? From the riches?
2. The truth requires constant and extensive demonstration. This I am now endeavouring to do to the best of my ability. What if the best of my ability is very little? May I not be living in a fool’s paradise? Why should I ask the people to follow me in the fruitless search? These are pertinent questions. My answer is quite simple. I ask nobody to follow me. Everyone should follow his or here own inner voice. If he or she has not ears to listen to it, he or she should do the best he or she can. In no case, should he or she imitate others sheeplike. . . . Millions like me may fail to prove the truth in their own lives, that would be their failure, never of the eternal law. (Autobiographical-150)
   1. To gain the freedom, demonstration might be the most expressive way to show it to the world. However, it is also the most dangerous and most risk taking thing to do because the armies would use weapons to stop the demonstrations Revolts and fighting against the dictatorship and colonization with no weapons might be right, but Gandhi has to know that that can’t always be the right choice to make for the country and for the people.