Question

How does Thoreau’s use of rhetorical questions contribute to the persuasiveness and message in “Excerpt from ‘Civil Disobedience?’”

Answer 1

Here is why Thoreau’s use of rhetorical questions contributes to the persuasiveness and message in “Civil Disobedience”:  A rhetorical question is a question that is asked, but for which an answer is not needed because the answer should be obvious enough to readers/audience members will know what is considered by the author/speaker as the appropriate response.  Rhetorical questions will be used in the place of statements and are used to engage readers and audience members.  When questions are asked, people tend to think a bit deeper into the topic than they would have if just given information in the form of a statement.  Thus, when posed a rhetorical question—a question that has an obvious answer favored by the author—one is more apt to consider and/or accept what is being presented to him or her.  As such, rhetorical questions are persuasive by nature.