...In the play, “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail,” written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, we see many diverse viewpoints Thoreau may have had. One may see many influential experiences in Thoreau’s life—what motivated Thoreau what mattered and what didn’t to him. He believes in what he wants to believe and no one can change his mind. What Thoreau might be trying to tell the audience is they can stand up for themselves and there is equality between everyone. Through out the play Thoreau stands up for his rights. He gets extremely in depth and makes you think about what he’s really saying. He stands up for his rights, but doesn’t care if anyone agrees with him or even likes him, “…to be liked, you never disagree. And if you never disagree, it’s like only breathing in and never breathing out...” (13). Always trying for people to like you, one can almost feel suffocated. If you can’t make yourself happy it’s hard to stand up for yourself. People change themselves to be someone they aren’t just to be liked. Thoreau finds great disgust with going along with others. He expects everyone to “speak out” and not back down from what they believe (85). Thoreau doesn’t care if you’re the President or a beggar on the street. He believes everyone is equal. He believes we are all human, equally and wonderfully made, and no one is better than another. No one should be placed higher than another on the social scale, “I’m opposed to social distinctions…” (77). In society we...
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...In Henry David Thoreau’s book, Walden, he states that “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” and that is true in many different ways. This quote is saying that when you are in a large group for a prolonged amount of time you may get tired of them and become desperate for alone time. I agree with this and it is displayed in the play, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, and in some people's everyday lives. In the play, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, it is very clear that Henry wants to get away from people and spend time alone. In the first part of the play Thoreau is a teacher at a school and the dean of the school, Deacon Ball, was getting angry with Henry and finally told Henry to flog the children who do not act right, Henry getting frustrated said “Six of you. Any six. Come forward. It doesn’t matter who. You are all- all of you- accused of the damning crimes of laughter, curiosity, and candid self-expression! Bigelow!”. He is obviously very fed up with the people he is surrounded with and the people he works with. Along with this, a little down the road, his brother dies and he does not take it very well asking why he would pray to a God who has taken his brother away from him. After his brother dies he goes to Waldo, who he starts to work for, and ends up getting a piece of land in the woods behind his house. This is where the...
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...A maxim is a short statement that expresses a universal truth about human beings. In Ralph Waldo Emerson's well known maxim "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," he is expressing the idea that one should not succumb to society's pressures and should work to expand their mind in their own way. This maxim holds true to today's society and many people believe in this theme of self-preservation. The play "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee embodies and represents this theme well with the main character Henry David Thoreau. In the first act of the play in an argument between Henry and the Deacon Ball, Henry exercises this idea that nothing is of higher importance than the growth and ideas...
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...Emerson's maxim "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," means that nothing in life will have a meaning if the person's thoughts and foundation of intelligence is unstable, incomplete, or even has the slightest hint of corruption. This idea projected when reading "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee retelling the life of Henry David Thoreau. In a flashback where Thoreau is working as a school teacher, the Chairman of the School Board Committee, Deacon Ball, is scolding Thoreau for teaching ideas not proscribed by the textbook. Ball and Thoreau get into an argument in which Ball states "All they need to know is clearly spelled out in approved school texts," to which Thoreau later responds...
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...Conformity in society is something that is seen in a mostly negative light. With that being said, while conformity in the outside world is frowned upon, it is not only being encouraged, but required in schools. With the implementation of common core in 2009, guidelines in schools have continually become more and more strict over recent years, lessening teachers range of freedom. Not only is conformity a major topic of debate in the present, it has actually been an ongoing problem for many years. Conformity, especially in schools, was a major topic in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s 1971 play “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.” This play, based in the year 1846, depicts the many problems with society’s need to conform, especially in the classroom setting. In this play, teacher...
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...In his essay/ lecture “Resistance to Civil Government”, the author and philosopher Henry Thoreau argues that a man should not be forced by his own government to do anything that goes against his conscious or natural sense of morality. Likewise, he believes it is better for a man to disobey any law or ruling he deems unjust, and accept the consequences of his actions, rather than live with a mind weighted with guilt.Thoreau himself had experience with this situation, having spent a night in a local jail after refusing to pay his poll taxes, which would have helped to fund the illegal Mexican War. While reading this work, it becomes clear that Thoreau has identified and outlined a few things that he wishes for the reader to do. He encourages the reader to challenge unjust authority, disobey unjust laws, and lastly, seek to make change within the state. Firstly, Thoreau writes that to make a change in civil government, one must challenge the state on issues that are deemed to be unjust, prejudiced and unfair. In particular to the time in which this essay was written, the issue of slavery was at the height of debate. Thoreau himself was an abolitionist, and frequently campaigned and wrote for the cause, even though the practice of slavery was still legal and protected in...
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...Civil disobedience is one of the oldest known forms of protesting. Henry David Thoreau felt strongly about it, dedicating a whole essay as well as spending a night in jail for paying his taxes in protest of the unjust mexican american war. Civil disobedience is a form of protesting that most likely will result in legal repercussions, thus making it a more extreme form of protesting. Thoreau wrote about Civil Disobedience and the need for it is still relevant today. In thoreau’s time period he believed more men needed to stand up for what they believed in. He tried his best in not paying his taxes because he thought that by doing so he was funding the army that was fighting an unjust war. This was the mexican american war. By not paying his taxes Thoreau ended up having to go to jail and spent a night in jail. Thoreau also stood against slavery, he believed “According to "Civil Disobedience," the symbolism of a public act of principled defiance would galvanize the nation and lead quickly to the abolition of slavery” . Thoreau opens his essay stating that "That government is best which governs least.” showing his disdain with the american government and their unethical legislature. He believed justice was only achieved...
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...Walden Summary In his first chapter, "Economy," Thoreau introduces his purpose in writing the book, saying he intends to answer questions people have asked about his reasons for living alone in a cabin in the woods near Walden Pond for two years. He explains that most people live their lives as if sleeping, blindly following the ways of their parents, and become trapped into these lives by owning property and slaving in jobs to maintain their way of life. In contrast, he sought to discover the true necessities of life and built a cabin, for the cost of $28. 12 _ near Walden Pond, where he lived for two years, beginning in the summer of 1845. Making a profit of $8.71 _ by selling the beans he grew and working occasionally at odd jobs, he found he was able to support himself with very little work and much time for contemplation of himself and nature. Thoreau, in the second chapter, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For," talks about how he once considered buying the Hollowell farm for himself but the purchase fell through. Instead, he created a new existence for himself at Walden, where he found joy and fulfillment in nature, truly awakening in his mornings there, while most of society remains perpetually asleep, living mean lives when the possibility of a much better life is possible. The key to achieving such a life, he says, is simplicity. In the third chapter, "Reading," Thoreau describes how he derives enlightenment from reading Homer and other great writers, men who spoke...
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...David Thoreau is one of the pioneers of Transcendentalism, and his famous work, Civil Disobedience has great effect on Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology and movement which drives the India for independence. Outline 1. Introduction 1. Brief introduction of Henry David Thoreau 2. Brief introduction of Mahatma Gandhi 2. Writing background and cores of Civil Disobedience 2.1 Writing background 2.2 Cores of Civil Disobedience 2.2.1 Conscience of human 2.2.2 Effect of morality 2.2.3 Suspicion of American’s democracy 2.3.4 In-cooperation with government 3. Embodiment on Mahatma Gandhi 3.1 Effect on Gandhi’s ideology 3.1.1 Works of Gandhi 3.1.2 Speeches of Gandhi 3.2 Effect on Gandhi’s movement 3.2.1 Gandhi in South Africa 3.2.2 Gandhi in India 4. Conclusion 1. Introduction 1.1 Brief introduction of Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was one of the most famous writers, naturalist, philosophers, abolitionists, and the pioneers of Transcendentalism in America in 19 century. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, 1817. Thoreau met Ralph Waldo Emerson when he studied in university. And he was deeply influenced by Emerson who advocated that man should be true to himself and close to nature. Emerson was not only a friend but also a teacher to Thoreau. They had edited the journal Sundial together. Thoreau graduated from Harvard College in 1837 and worked as a teacher. He spent most...
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...spiritual wealth of American spirits. From Henry David Thoreau to Martin Luther King, civil disobedience theory also had developed into a new stage. American people began to commonly accept and practice the civil disobedience theory, which pushed American Civil Rights Movement forward. This essay focuses on the origination of the civil disobedience and briefly introduces its development. Key Words: Civil disobedience Conscience Government 1、 Thoreau’s Imprisonment The Mexican-American war, which started from 1846, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico over the territorial dispute of Texas. Most abolitionists and transcendentalists were against this war, because they thought that this war was an act of a bullying government anxious to grab land from a weaker nation. Some even thought this war was a conspiracy of the southern slaveholders. Then Texas admitted slavery, while Mexico forbade slavery. They regarded this war as the expansion of slavery, which could strengthen the influence of the south in federation. Therefore the abolitionists and transcendentalists did their best to resist this war. Among them, Henry David Thoreau was a famous representative. Thoreau did not agree this aggressive war. To resist, he refused to pay the Massachusetts poll tax, which was a “per head” tax imposed on all citizens to help support the Mexican War. His refusal landed him in the Concord jail in 1846. As he stood considering the walls of solid stone...
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...The iDeal Reader Henry David Thoreau, ‘‘The Battle of the Ants’’ © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2000 Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), transcendentalist essayist, naturalist, editor, and social critic, was born David Henry Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau graduated from Harvard University and taught briefly at a school in Concord but resigned rather than be expected to strike his students. He ran his own school from 1838 to 1841, teaching Latin, Greek, and science. In 1938 Thoreau also began lecturing, which he continued intermittently, often emphasizing his strong opposition to slavery, but his message was not always well received. Thoreau began his lifelong friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson when he tutored Emerson’s brother William in 1843 on Staten Island, boarding with Emerson and his wife. He helped Emerson edit the Transcendentalist magazine The Dial. Thoreau kept a journal at Emerson’s urging, which aided him in his writing. He took a canoe trip with his brother John during the first two weeks of September 1839, which experience he transformed into a volume of poems and essays entitled A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers (1849). While he published 1000 copies himself, only about 300 sold. On July 4, 1845 Thoreau moved into a cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, on land belonging to Emerson, about two miles from Concord, and lived there alone for over two years. Thoreau condensed this outdoor life as if it were a single year in his...
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...Civil Disobedience is a tradition carried on by those willing to accept the consequences. Muhammad Ali is one example, he firmly stood up and opposed joining the military draft. That soon caused him to be stripped of his boxing title and was sentenced to five years in prison, but was appealed and avoided his prison sentence. Another example is Henry David Thoreau, who spent a night in jail for not paying his taxes, in protest of the Mexican American War. The influence of Henry Thoreau's writing has been read by civil rights leaders in the United States and around the world over the years. He believes when the government is doing wrong that the people should refuse to follow the law, like he did due to the practice of slavery in some territories. And the only purpose of the government was to ensure individual freedom and not misuse...
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...Koel has met the charismatic Khan, who was labeled as a ladies man and playboy in his young days, a few days back and then found herself utterly impressed by his personality and intelligence. About the heart-hitting man, she says, “Imran Khan believes that real change is brought about by the idealist and not realist. He has been given various tags; from being a ladies man to a good samaritan, to being a killer on the cricket pitch. But he wears all these labels with ease and élan.” 00441698395067 dg11812 "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain "Indiscriminate killing and looting could only serve the cause of the enemies of Pakistan. In the harshness, we lost the support of the silent majority of the people of East Pakistan." -- Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report on 1971 "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -- Theodore Roosevelt "You have asked me to give you a message. What message can I give you? We have got the great message in the Quran for our guidance and enlightenment." -- Jinnah's message to Frontier MSF April 4, 1943 "Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding...
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...Lytle in at least a decade. She called him Brother. Or Brutha—I don’t suppose either of them had ever voiced a terminal r. It was maybe an hour before midnight at the Avalon Nightclub in Chapel Hill, and the Miz was feeling nervous. I didn’t pick up on this at the time—I mean, I couldn’t tell. To me he looked like he’s always looked, like he’s looked since his debut season, back when I first fell in love with his antics: all bright-eyed and symmetrical-faced, fed on genetically modified corn, with the swollen, hairless torso of the aspiring professional wrestler he happened to be and a smile you could spot as Midwestern American in a blimp shot of a soccer stadium. Late in 1998 or early in ’99—during the winter that straddled the two—I spent a night on and off the telephone with a person named John Fahey. The first moves with the courteous lento of one of Peter Taylor’s stories; the last has the directness of something by Raymond Carver; the second, more placeless and more contemporary, could be by lots of writers—Jennifer Egan, or maybe Sam Lipsyte. Actually, all are the opening sentences of essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan, from his second book, “Pulphead” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; $16). It is obvious enough that they are by a talented storyteller, who has learned from fiction (as well as from the essayistic tradition) how to structure and ration his narratives. He seems to have in abundance the storyteller’s gifts: he is a fierce noticer, is undauntedly curious, is porous to...
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...The Project Gutenberg EBook of On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience Author: Henry David Thoreau Release Date: 12 June 2004 [EBook #71] [Last updated: May 3, 2011] Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ON THE DUTY OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE *** Typed by Sameer Parekh (zane@ddsw1.MCS.COM) On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau [1849, original title: Resistance to Civil Goverment] I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe—"That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government...
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