Analysis Of The Poem Civil Disobedience By Henry David...

A Change in Perspective Two summers in a row I travelled to Mexico for a mission trip with my church. It was one of the most eye opening experiences in my whole life. I made lifelong friends, prayed for the sick, taught English to kids at schools, shared testimonies, and helped build a church and a nursery. Before going to another country I was ignorant to the problems others faced. In the essay â€Å"Civil Disobedience† by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his taxes. After his night in jail, the author has a perspective change about the people around him (his â€Å"neighbors†) and the state. Before he went to jail he thought of his neighbors as friends who were civil when it did not cost them anything and he believed they shared common beliefs. But after Thoreau was imprisoned he says â€Å"that they did not greatly purpose to do right; that they were a distinct race from me by their prejudices and superstitions, as the Chinamen an d Malays are; that in their sacrifices to humanity, they ran no risks, not even to their property; that after all they were not so noble but they treated the thief as he had treated them,†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Now Thoreau no longer considers that there are any shared beliefs between him and his neighbors. To learn to see the world from a new perspective is important because it can show one where the problems in their life are inhibiting one to live life to its full potential. Now that I have experienced what it was like in otherShow MoreRelatedThe Effect Of Transcendentalism : Henry David Thoreau1654 Words   |  7 PagesThe Effect of Transcendentalism: Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism is the American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century that was rooted in the pure Romanticism of the English and the German (Goodman). Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered the father of Transcendentalism because his literature is the first to praise the notable spirituality of nature. The basic belief of the movement is to live authentically; being true to oneself (Day). The movement itselfRead MoreTranscendentalism : The And The Movement1027 Words   |  5 Pagesa reaction against the general state of intellectualism. During what years did the movement occur? The Transcendentalist movement occurred during the 1820s, and 1830s. List 5 major authors associated with the movement Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Explain what Transcendentalist believed about each of the following topics: Human Nature They were to live independently, all you need is your mind, knowledge is born with. They also believed that an institutionRead MoreHenry David Thoreau: The Grat Transcendentalist Essay1932 Words   |  8 PagesHenry David Thoreau along with a select group of people propelled the short movement of transcendentalism during the 1830s to the 1850s and was later brought up during the Vietnam War. Many of the transcendentalist ideas came from student who attended Harvard University during this time period. Henry David Thoreau’s individualistic anarchist views on society were developed throughout his early life and later refined in his years of solitude; these views on society and government are directly expressedRead MoreHenry David Thoreau4404 Words   |  18 PagesHenry David Thoreau INTRODUCTION Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian , philosopher andtranscendentalist. Henry David Thoreau was a complex man of many talents who worked hard to shape his craft and his life. He is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay, Civil Disobedience, an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moralRead MoreRomanticism in American Literature2283 Words   |  10 PagesRomanticism in American Literature, Getting to Know Thoreau Poe Within this paper will be an explanation of the ideals of Romantic writers in Early American Literature. We will also look at some aspects of Romanticism that were uniquely understood by the writers and artists in the United States. There will be a brief discussion of â€Å"bright† and â€Å"dark† Romantic writing and it is there that we will look at the lives, and one poem each, of Henry David Thoreau, a â€Å"bright† romantic writer and Edgar Allan PoeRead More Cultural Activism and Culture Jamming Essay5153 Words   |  21 Pages but her suggestions of making public space more open to poetry seem reductive. She believes that poetry is not a spectacle, being as it is independent of technology. She says, I cannot write a poem to manipulate you. It will not succeed (84). But is she saying that the poem will not succeed as a poem, or not succeed in its manipulation. Although Rich says she does not argue for poetrys purity, I am a bit skeptical with her belief t hat poetry could not be used in service of the society of the