Yes it's correct! its definitely bad for your teeth too.
I believe it's personification because it sounds like it's giving a pear human like abilities!
Is there a poem that goes with this?
a simile is the comparison of two things using the terms like or as. hopefully that helps.
A. Alliteration is the answer
Thoreau believed that sometimes the government is dysfunctional. He believes that the government would often abuse their power. He also does not believe in the idea "majority rules." He thinks that the minority are the real leaders. He thinks that the minority is going against the majority because the minority can see the loopholes of the government which others can not see.