Question

read this excerpt from henry david thoreau’s “resistance to civil government”: the mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. . . . such command no more respect than men of straw, or a lump of dirt. they have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs. yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens. which statement best describes thoreau’s rhetorical style? a. thoreau uses simile and metaphor to show how little the government values its citizens. b. thoreau uses parallelism to compare people to animals and inanimate objects. c. thoreau uses parallelism to argue that people should not be judged on appearance. d. thoreau uses simile and metaphor to show how citizens should serve the government.

Explanation:

Thoreau uses metaphor (comparing citizens to machines, men of straw, dirt) and simile (likening their worth to horses and dogs) to critique how unthinkingly serving the state reduces citizens to beings with minimal value in the government's eyes. Option B is incorrect because parallelism is not the main rhetorical device here. Option C is irrelevant, as the text does not address judging by appearance. Option D is wrong, as Thoreau is criticizing, not endorsing, this form of service.

Answer:

A. Thoreau uses simile and metaphor to show how little the government values its citizens.