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Question:

Why did Henry David Thoreau use the metaphor of machinery in On the Duty of Civil Disobedience?

What effect did this have?

Answer:

Are you Mr. Matthews class?... okay, MAchinery refers to Thoreau's beliefs in simplicity... the individual advances society doesn't. The machinery is much like society... where the machine changes but the purpose does not. I hope that helps...
I think Thoreau, who espoused the need for simplicity, was trying to show that an industrialized society enslaves man more than it frees man. Machines that are supposed to make our lives simpler can, in actuality, make it more complicated. For instance: cars. Cars are supposed to make getting from point A to point B easier. However, with the advent of the automobile society, point B can now be much farther away from point A than in the past. However, if your car breaks down, that is a problem in itself, because you must now repair the machine that is supposed to make life easier. On top of this, point B is now farther away from point A than in the past when there were no cars; so now point B is harder to get to because the machine that made it simpler to get to point B is out of service. Therefore, in my opinion, Thoreau used the metaphor of machinery to show how industrialization further complicates and worsens the quality of life, as opposed to making it easier.

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