Henry David Thoreau Non Conformity

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What comes to mind at the mention of Henry David Thoreau? A lot of people would say his uniqueness, or how different he is from everyone else in the play. The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is a brilliant play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, which focuses on the true story of Henry David Thoreau. For many years, Thoreau was written off as some weirdo outcast, especially in his time, but now we see how truly significant his non-conformity is. The principle of non-conformity is an integrated part of Thoreau’s life, not for the sake of being different, but for the sake of what is right. You can see just how important non-conformity is in Thoreau’s life because he is willing to be thrown in jail for it. In act one whilst Thoreau and Bailey are discussing why they are in jail Thoreau says this, “But we’ve got a President who went out and boomed up a war all by himself – with no help from Congress and less help from me.” (pg. 11) What Henry is referring to here is the fact that he did not pay his taxes to help support a war he does not support himself. Everyone else in society is paying their taxes, but Henry will not conform to that. Thoreau is not refusing to pay taxes …show more content…

In act one while Thoreau is still a teacher he says this to Ball, “I said ‘No.’ I do not believe in corporal punishment.” (pg. 21) In this time flogging is the way teachers punish students, but Henry knows this is wrong as well and will not conform to their methods for the sake of his job. Henry then, quits his job and starts teaching with his brother using untraditional methods, in an untraditional “classroom”. John, Henry’s brother, shares his brother’s mindset on this topic, and you can see that when he says, “A school doesn’t need a School Committee. Or Trustees. Or Governors. Or Lumber. Or approved textbooks. All a school needs is a mind that sends, and minds that receive.” (pg.

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