Henry David Thoreau – “Resistance to Civil Government” (page 964-979)
Henry David Thoreau – “Resistance to Civil Government” (page 964-979)
Thoreau: some questions or issues in Thoreau…
How does Thoreau use Emerson or relate to Emerson’s thinking?
In “Resistance to Civil Government,” what are his objections to government? What kind of government, if any, does he want?
How would you describe or characterize any of these things in terms of Thoreau or Emerson – writing voice, individuality, subjectivity, states of mind, or consciousness?
How does Thoreau present himself as an example (to readers, to the community, to society)?
How might you characterize individualism through the writing of Thoreau or Emerson?
Where is the divine or belief located in these writers? How is belief or spiritual experience similar to or different from any writer previously in semester?
Thoreau describes his time at Walden as “an experiment” – what does he mean by this or how does the section you read relate to this question?
How does Thoreau reflect the language of “The Declaration of Independence” or revolutionary writing?
What is the relationship between the mind (imagination, thinking) and material, physical reality in Emerson or Thoreau?
American Lit 1 - Fall 2013 
Henry David Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government,” is an interesting essay. It definitely relates to Emerson because Thoreau’s message is that the individual begin to look at themselves not just as one society or as a whole. However, Thoreau wants a focus on people’s own thoughts, beliefs on their government. He wants them to start to question their government, their actions. He relates to Emerson because he wants people to trust their own thoughts and beliefs, to act based on their own beliefs rather than just conforming. “The only obligation which I have right to assume, is to do at any time what I think is right” Pg. 965.
Thoreau’s essay can be viewed as very controversial because he does not believe in the government. He greatly criticizes the government. What struck me in Thoreau’s essay is that he was stating that people live in fear of their government. People are not really willing to question the laws that have been placed for them. They just accept it. He says that it’s the government’s fault. He states that they have created such a system to stifle free thinking, which in a way stifles individuality. Everyone is just doing what they are supposed to do, nobody has the guts to question things because they fear the consequences. “They think that if they resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them?” (Pg. 970)
Although Thoreau states that he wants government to have little interference in our lives. I argue that Thoreau is completely an opponent of the government. I don’t think he wants the government at all. Honestly, when I read his essay, I started to think of the ideas behind Utopia. I think that in some ways, that could have been Thoreau’s hope, a system through which people are running themselves, no one is greater than any other man, instead everyone is seen as equals. Another reason why I thought of this essay as based on the ideas of Utopia was because in Utopia, when people are punished they do not go to jail. However, the just have to work for a certain amount of time in order to pay their debt. Thoreau criticizes the fact that he had to go to jail. He says it would have been better if they put him to work, that way, he would have been of service. “I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution which treated me as if I were mere flesh and blood and bones, to be locked up. I wondered that it should have concluded at length that this was best use it could put me to, and had never thought to avail itself of my services in some way” (Pg. 974)
Thoreau’s essay is so controversial. He doesn’t only criticize the government but also the church. At some point in his essay, he talked about how it wasn’t right that he had to pay the priest even though he did not belong to an institution. I think that was Thoreau’s way of saying that he did not believe in the church, that he thought that it was a means through which money could be taken from people.
Lastly, I believe that Thoreau just as Emerson is a non-conformist. They stand out to me because they represent a different way of thinking. They wanted individuals to not just see themselves as a whole, as solely belonging to society. They wanted individuals to be able to stand apart, to be able to question themselves, and question their actions and how it helps to shape the society they live in.