What is the author's tone in Civil Disobedience, and Other Essays by Henry David Thoreau?

The tone of Thoreau's essays and addresses is of a person who wants to persuade and motivate his audience. He frequently strikes an indignant stance which sometimes rises to an angry tone on issues he seems passionate about, such as the abolition of slavery.

Many of Thoreau's written essays are originally oral addresses, and his writing is personal in tone. He addresses his listeners or readers directly, asking rhetorical questions of them and calling on their own experiences to make his persuasive points.