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Aylin Diaz

Ms. Vanhill

AP English language

Block 2

18, November 2017

Argumentative Essay #2

According to Oscar Wilde, he believed that throughout history there has been some

disobedience that can lead to some sort of change in our society. He mentions, “Disobedience, in

the eyes of anyone who had read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that

progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” Basically what this quote

means is that he sees that disobedience can help change society and make it better than how it

was before. In this essay he utilizes, logos, ethos, pathos, and anecdotes to help support his claim

about disobedience is a vulnerable trait which promotes social progress.

In addition, as Oscar Wilde address that disobedience promotes social progress here we

utilize logos to support his claim. This would help support his claim about disobediences. An

example of logos would be revolutionary war because theoretically this war points to the series

of revolutions which proves that this revolution was real. The revolutionary war was about

Colonist fighting against the British for their rights. As the war was an active Thomas Jefferson

wrote the Declaration of Independence which states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident,

that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator which certain unalienable

rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness”. When this quote means
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That the colonist are fighting for their rights against the British and that everyone deserve to be

treated equal. This supports the claim because the colonist were being disobedience but with

their act of bravery the colonist won the war and change America. Another example of logos that

helps support the claim would be Henry David Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau is an American

activist, which believes that the citizens should have their rights and that they should follow their

own dreams. He mentions that, “Why does the government not encourage its citizens to be alert

to point out its faults and do better than it would have them.” This quote means that Henry David

Thoreau is encouraging his people to stand up for themselves and to be strong against the

government. This supports the claim because he’s making the people disobey the government

showing that they should fight for their rights not just as a group but the whole country itself.

Furthermore, we also utilize ethos and pathos to help support the claim disobedience is a

vulnerable which promotes social progress. An example of ethos would be Rosa Park who is an

African American Women. Rosa Park was a role model to society as she was sitting at the back

of the bus for the colored section since there were no seats for the white section the bus driver

asked Rosa Park to give up her seat for the white person but she refused. Rosa Park mentions in

her quote stating, “I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and

equality and justice and prosperity of others.” This quote represents that she wants to

acknowledge everyone to stand up for themselves and show them that you desire the same rights

as white people. This supports the claim because she was being disobedience by refusing to give

up her seat but it change society because she became the first lady of the civil rights movement.

Another rhetorical analysis that supports the claim would be pathos. An example of pathos
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would be Martin Luther King Jr who was Baptist minister and social activist who wanted

African American people to have the same rights as white people. Martin Luther King Jr quotes

states that, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out

hate, only love can do that”. This quote represents pathos because Martin Luther King Jr doesn’t

want African American to have hatred towards the white people. This supports the claim because

as African American he stood up for his people showing his bravery against the government.

After his speech he became the leader of the civil rights movement with Rosa Park on his side

this helped change society by showing us that African American deserve the same rights as white

people.

Lastly, to emphasize about the claim another thing that is considered to be disobedience

to society would be immigration. Immigration is considered to be disobedience because the

people are migrating from their hometown to come to the U.S. This helps promotes social

progress because immigrants are looking for a better life here in the U.S or in another other

place. Even though they weren’t allowed to cross the border to come to the U.S here they found

jobs, school, or any other opportunity that can help society. In the end, the fact remains that

disobedience matter because it is a valuable trait which promotes social progress by changing our

society and making it better than how it was before. However, some disagree and believe about

disobedience because people consider it as a way to learn things that would provide changes to

society. Some people believe that that disobedience would hold them back from social progress.

In conclusion, this reason helped support the claim by providing evidence. Some people

may believe that disobedience would help out our society while others believe that
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Disobedience would hold our society back. Everyone would have their own opinions about

Oscar Wilde’s claim about disobedience but in my perspective I believe that it would help

improve our society more.