Bartleby: The Example Of Thoreau's Idealism

Bartleby: the Example of Thoreau’s Idealism

Christie Watson once said, “…there are two possible endings to every story” (Watson 432) in her novel, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away. If two people were placed in the same situation, it is possible, maybe even fact, that each individual will have a different experience or overall outcome. In “Resistance to Civil Government,” Henry David Thoreau writes about his confinements after being arrested. Thoreau also mentions his reasoning for resisting the civil government, mainly because of its flaws. His essay gained a lot of acclaim in America because of his views of possible liberation. However, taking into consideration Ms. Watson’s words, liberation may not be the case for everyone who follows similar

Thoreau decided to resist authority by not paying his taxes, due to that fact that he did not like the way the government worked. When explaining why he did not pay his taxes, Thoreau says, “I meet this American government… once a year, no more, in the person of its tax gatherer… and it then says distinctly, Recognize me; and the simplest, most effectual… [mode] of expressing your little satisfaction with it and love for it, is to deny it then… I have paid no poll tax for six years” (Thoreau 213-4). The poll tax was a tax that would be a requirement for a citizen to vote, which is no longer enforced because it was deemed as unconstitutional. Thoreau felt as though the government should represent and take care of the people. He finds it insulting that the only time he “meets” the government is through the tax collector trying to take Thoreau’s money. In the eyes of Thoreau, the government is not doing its job when they only use their citizens as a source of money, especially in the form of the poll tax. Thoreau provided a valid reason for his resistance, passionate about the subject. However, Bartleby does the opposite. When being asked to review his work, Bartleby would refuse by using the phrase “I would prefer not to” and never provided a reason for this action. Whenever Bartleby was given a job, he always resisted. The Narrator gets

After spending his night in jail, he “pitied” the government for what it has become. However, he ends his essay on a positive note by saying, “There will never be a really free and enlightened State, until the state comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly” (Thoreau 216). Although Thoreau does not like the current state of the government, he has faith in the American people by saying “A State which bore this kind of fruit, and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened, would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere seen” (216). Thoreau, throughout the duration of his essay, expressed how the current authority is unlawful. Despite his concerns, he is able to come to the conclusion that America, with the right people, has the ability to fix itself and be a “glorious” country. However, not everyone can have the same ending. After Bartleby was sent to prison, the Narrator often visited the odd inmate. One day, on a visit, the Narrator found him “strangely huddled at the base of the wall, his knees drawn up and lying on his side, his head touching the cold stones, I saw the wasted Bartleby. But nothing stirred. I paused, then went up close to him, stooped