A Plea for Captain John Brown

To answer the question of whether Brown should be considered a terrorist or a freedom fighter, Thoreau utilizes figurative language to pinpoint aspects of his character. Thoreau describes Brown’s virtue as “clear as a cloudless sky,” and “true as the voice of nature” (70), intending to portray Brown’s moral forthrightness. To refute accusation that Brown was driven by “transient impulse” (12), Thoreau paints Brown’s anger as “a volcano with an ordinary chimney-flue” (12), implying that it was powerful but controlled and purposeful rather than wild.

Thoreau uses historical, literary, and religious allusions to bolster Brown’s standing. He refers to the Tennyson poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” which honors the “perfect machine” of soldiers following even a “blundering command” (22); equally courageously, Brown believed he acted on the perfect command of God. Brown is repeatedly juxtaposed to heroes of bygone eras. Thoreau describes him a man of “Spartan habits,” calling to the audience’s mind the ascetic martial discipline of Spartan society, implying that Brown exhibited the same level of discipline within his violence. Brown is also favorably ranked to heroes of the American Revolutionary War; Thoreau hopes Brown will have a more lasting impact on history: “Ethan Allen and Stark, with whom he may in some respects be compared, were rangers in a lower and less important field” (6). Thoreau downplays the legacies of so-called great men of history, such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, who will “deliquesce like fungi” (59), eclipsed by figures like Brown who realized the goal of emancipation.

Thoreau’s speech employs language reminiscent of biblical texts to further the power and forcefulness of his words. Polysyndeton, the formal inclusion of redundant conjunctive words such as “and” and “or,” occurs throughout the speech, such as when Thoreau applauds Brown’s own oratorical style thus, “In his case there is no idle eloquence, no made, nor maiden speech, no compliments to the oppressor” (43). The parallel phrases emphasize and build Thoreau’s critique of those whose speech seems too fresh or tailor-made, their pattern working like a drumbeat of accusation.

Thoreau also uses a device that is the opposite of polysyndeton—asyndeton, which omits conjunctions for brevity, giving the impression of breathless excitement, increased urgency, and frankness. This contributes to the sense of authenticity when Thoreau describes Brown’s troops as “men of simple habits, straightforward, prayerful; not thinking much of rulers who did not fear God” (8). The elision of any connecting words between the adjectives lends a folksy directness to Thoreau’s words, highlighting the men’s status as salt of the earth.