Journal #6

Michelle Romero
Eng. 48, Dr. Scott Lankford

Author: Henry David Thoreau
"[The American government] is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves; and if, ever they should use it in earnest as a real one against each other, it will surely split.”

In this metaphor of the American government to a wooden gun, Thoreau says a lot about the value of human participation and the significance of our actions. First he says, "[The American government] is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves."

In this part of the passage he compares the government to the actual people and calls the government a mere "wooden gun" in comparison. Compared to the people, the government is just a fake. Thoreau clearly sees true worth in the actions taken by individuals rather than an established, fraudulent government.

In the next part of this passage Thoreau says that "if, ever [the people] should use [the wooden gun] in earnest as a real one against each other, it will surely split." First, by establishing that IF the people were to use the wooden gun (aka the government) against one another it would split, he is implying that the people are simply NOT using the government. This is Thoreau's first step in making his argument: establishing that the people are not taking an active role. He then warns that if they use the government as an instrument to fight each other, that it will break. This perhaps is the most radical part of his statement. He is basically calling out the rebels and saying that if they all join in to their cause and act on thier own, the government will not be able to control them or maintain any power over them.

Thoreau is basically revealing how ineffectual the government is IF the people actual stand up and act out their own will. By calling the government a mere wooden gun, it is as though Thoreau is mocking those who do not stand up out of their own concious against this machine, calling them worshippers of a false power. He believes, apparently, that only those who submit to be ruled can be ruled.