America has long been recognized as a democratic nation, a nation that operates according to the will of the people. America's ancestors fought relentlessly against British tyranny to start over in a land of freedom and opportunity. As America revived the ancient Greek ideology of democracy, the nation stood apart from the rest of the world and was revered for the freedom and justice it provided to its people. However, not everyone thinks that American democracy means freedom and freedom. In contrast, writers such as Henry David Thoreau in “Civil Disobedience” and “Slavery in Massachusetts,” along with Herman Melville in “Benito Cereno” and “Bartleby the Scrivener,” suggest that democracy can actually oppress and limit the individual. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau criticizes the American government for its democratic nature, that is, the idea of ​​ruling by majority vote. Like early transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau believes in the importance of the individual. In a society where there are many individuals with conflicting perceptions and beliefs, Emerson chooses passivity and isolation to avoid conflict with others. However, unlike Emerson, Thoreau rejects passivity and challenges his readers to oppose government that focuses on majorities rather than individuals. Thoreau argues that when power is in the hands of the people, the majority governs, “not because it is more likely to be right, nor because this seems fairer to the minority, but because it is physically the stronger” (Thoreau 64 ). Thoreau describes this fundamental element of democracy, where power belongs to the majority, as a brutal struggle where the strongest wins. In subsequent passages, Thoreau describes the majority in a democracy as men who "serve the state in this way, not chiefly as men, but as machines, with their bodies", where "in most cases there is no free exercise of judgment or moral sense" (66). According to him, those who belong to a democracy are essentially machines controlled by the majority, without the ability to make choices for themselves. He then goes further by comparing the majority to slaves, saying: " When the majority finally votes to abolish slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is only little slavery left to abolish... . They will then be the only slaves" (Thoreau 70). Thoreau repeatedly condemns the democratic system for its lack of morality and tendency to disempower the individual. In "Slavery in Massachusetts", Thoreau offers an analogy that seems convincing, but proves inadequate. He argues that in a democracy, "if the majority votes the devil as God, the minority will live and behave accordingly, and will obey the chosen candidate, trusting that sooner or later... they will be able to reinstate God" (Thoreau 103) . Thoreau clearly overlooks the opposite scenario. What would happen if the minority voted the devil as God and the majority lived accordingly? These questions seem to be better addressed by a less explicit writer, Herman Melville ", Melville presents several symbolic images of democracy. Amasa Delano, the captain of the American ship, seems to be the representative democratic figure. The narrator describes him as a kind-hearted, optimistic man and a skilled captain who runs an orderly ship. However, at the end of the story, the reader discovers that Amasa does not realize that the Saint Dominic was overthrown by the captive slaves because he is so grossly naive and ignorant.Ironically, Amasa, the representative of American freedom and democracy, comes to the rescue of San Dominick to help her recapture the slaves. Amasa's American ship is interestingly named Bachelor's Delight, which is a historical reference to a ship owned by a Northerner who avoided the topic of slavery. But perhaps Melville named the American ship that because he thought Americans actually behaved like delightful bachelors in a land where people of other ethnicities are part of the social structure. America is a partnership, or in a sense, a marriage between the various ethnicities that reside within the nation. By enslaving blacks, Melville may be implying that Americans have behaved inappropriately as bachelors, neglecting and even abusing those with whom they live simply because they have become the majority. San Dominick is also a microcosm of democracy. Just as Thoreau suggests, the majority prevails over the few, however, in this case, the majority is fighting for a benevolent cause, which is their own freedom. Yet, when the story reveals the atrocious acts committed by the prisoners during the seizure of power, Melville shows how barbaric majoritarian rule can be. The prisoners use brute force to gain power and have no respect for authority, as evident in the vicious killings of Don Alexandro Aranda, the slave owner, and Raneds, one of the shipmates. Eventually, the slaves are recaptured by Amasa and his men; once again, a demonstration of the dominant majority, “not because they are more likely to be right… but because they are physically the strongest” (Thoreau 64). When Amasa first boards the San Dominick, he finds the ship in a deplorable state. Since it is a slave ship, Melville exploits the decrepit condition of the ship to convey the moral corruption of slavery. Some may argue that it is because slaves have taken control of the ship that the ship becomes disorderly, but how can slaves know how a ship is run? Like so many other skills their masters denied them, slaves were most likely never taught how to steer a ship. The majority, in its efforts to suppress the minority, denied the slaves this knowledge. Melville also comments on democracy in "Bartleby, the Scribe". The story eventually reveals that Bartleby was fired from his job at the Dead Letter Office in Washington. Despite the insignificance of his position as a subordinate employee in the Dead Letter Office, he was part of the nation's democratic government, but following a change in the administration, he was unexpectedly fired. Despite having feelings of betrayal and desperation hanging over him, he becomes a scribe. There he continues to suffer oppression from the majority. In the scribe's office, Bartleby is clearly the minority against the majority of Nippers, Turkey, Ginger, and their leader. When Bartleby begins to refuse to do as he is told, his colleagues physically threaten him, just as Thoreau predicts the majority would do in "Civil Disobedience." In many ways, Bartleby is Thoreau's ideal man. Bartleby does exactly what Thoreau urges people to do, which is to oppose the oppression of a democracy. He does not back down from his colleague's threats and practices "civil disobedience," which Bartleby literally does by politely repeating, "I would rather not" (Melville 19). Bartleby, however, never manages to assert his will, but only to say what he prefers not to do. When his boss asks him, "'Will you leave me or won't you leave me?'" Bartleby replies, "'I'd rather not leave you'" (Melville 24). Bartleby firmly opposes the powers of.