The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, is a play written for the audience to understand Thoreau's thinking. Most people know Thoreau for his literary classic Walden and his efforts to become the man that Emerson believed all men should be. How ever, many people do not recognize that there is more to Thoreau than it seemed, all shown throughout the acts. A major influence in this show is the effect and impact that nature and self-reliance have on the main character, Henry, also known as Thoreau.
Thoreau learned to rely so much on himself that it is integrated everywhere in this script, whether it is intentional or not. In the beginning of the story, Henry claims "I'm myself, mother. If I am not, who will I be?" This distinct phrase emphasizes how much he is himself because without acting the way he wants or speaking or doing the things he wants to do, he is implying that he wouldn’t know who he was. Another example toward the beginning is when he reflects on the statement "Cast...conformity....behind you.." Henry starts to reveal his dislike toward the society as a whole and groupthink situations. He is saying to put the social norms behind you and be the way you feel like being. Don’t let the pressure of everyone else get in …show more content…
His outright manners of disapproval for the government and refusing to pay taxes is what got him in jail however, it is what led him to become famous. Thoreau never gave up on what he believed was right, according to himself and not to what other people think. He found his inspiration from nature, living in a small cabin claiming his fiancée was his bean patch and his children were some woodchucks and a few unhappy squirrels. Thoreau used his independence as good for himself and, in the end, became a true legend of what self reliance really