Read the excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's "Resistance to Civil Government":
All machines have their friction; and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil. At any rate, it is a great evil to make a stir about it. But when the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer.
Which statement about Thoreau's rhetorical style is most accurate?
A.
He uses metaphor to prompt the reader to question his own motivations
B.
He uses parallelism to show how a remedy can be worse than the evil.
C.
He uses metaphor to portray the government as something driven by greed and evil
D.
He uses parallelism to compare the government to something soulless.
C. He uses metaphor to portray the government as something driven by greed and evil
To determine which statement about Thoreau's rhetorical style is most accurate, let's analyze the excerpt. Thoreau begins by stating, "All machines have their friction; and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil." This can be interpreted as a metaphor, comparing machines to societal structures or systems that have both positive and negative consequences. The use of the metaphor prompts the reader to question their own motivations, wondering if they are willing to tolerate the friction (struggles or injustices) of the machine (government) in order to potentially achieve some benefit.
Option A, "He uses metaphor to prompt the reader to question his own motivations," closely aligns with this interpretation. Thoreau's metaphorical language encourages the reader to reflect on their own stance and consider whether they are accepting or resisting the current state of affairs.
Option B, "He uses parallelism to show how a remedy can be worse than the evil," does not accurately describe Thoreau's rhetorical style. Parallelism refers to using similar grammatical structures to emphasize or compare ideas. While Thoreau presents a contrast between the friction and the evil in the excerpt, it does not explicitly convey the idea that the remedy can be worse than the evil.
Option C, "He uses metaphor to portray the government as something driven by greed and evil," goes beyond what is explicitly stated in the excerpt. While Thoreau criticizes the government and its oppression, he does not directly associate it with greed and evil. Instead, he presents it as a machine with friction and alludes to the negative consequences it can have.
Option D, "He uses parallelism to compare the government to something soulless," does not accurately represent Thoreau's rhetorical style in this specific excerpt. There is no direct comparison made between the government and something soulless using parallelism.
Therefore, the most accurate statement regarding Thoreau's rhetorical style in this excerpt is Option A: "He uses metaphor to prompt the reader to question his own motivations."