Research Henry David Thoreau and post a comment outlining important facts about his life and work. If possible, find information on Walden and the "Civil Disobedience" section.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
AP. Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience"
As we learned from Fitzgerald's tragic characters in Gatsby, some people who are alive are not truly living. Eighty years prior, Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden, which asserts a similar thesis: life is meant to be lived authentically, and not in pursuit of trifles.
Research Henry David Thoreau and post a comment outlining important facts about his life and work. If possible, find information on Walden and the "Civil Disobedience" section.
Research Henry David Thoreau and post a comment outlining important facts about his life and work. If possible, find information on Walden and the "Civil Disobedience" section.
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Thoreau was a brilliant (well, my opinion at least) philosopher in the 1800s. He led the advancement in individualism and anti-materialism in his writings from his secluded writings in his cabin home in Walden Pond, near Concord.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter from Walden, the work which really defines modern views and opinions of Thoreau, we'd read was "Civil Disobedience." It stemmed from a night stay in a prison from refusing to pay taxes which was meant primarily to fund the Mexican War.
Personally, I place Thoreau on the same level as Socrates, Antisthenes, and Newton, as all three forever changed philosophical views and beliefs around the world.
-Carlos J.
"Civils Disobedience" has a series of beliefs that i agree and disagree on. I believe in that we should follow our consiciance; and that noone should be able to take this away from us. He believed that the government was not helping the country, but the antithesis. They should've stopped the trading of slaves. I tend to disagree on the war of Mexico. I believe he's telling the people to stop dreaming and living in false, and come to reality and live your life to it's full potential.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau had a strong belief in simple living. He did not agree with the Mexican War and did not pay taxes to support it. He did not exactly live out the ideals he wrote about. Thoreau wrote Walden while living in the woods by Walden Pond. In "Civil Disobedience," he responded to the government oppression that was occurring in the United States at the time.
ReplyDelete-Madison
Henry David Thoreau was a deep thinker who believed in living a simple life. One of Thoreau's great works, Walden, was writen in a secluded cabin by Walden Pond. Thoreau did not support the Mexican War. He did not find is necessary to pay the taxes funding the war. Thoreau didn't live out his works. It reminds me of the quote "Be the change you want to see." Thoreau's ideas of equality and simplicity in "Civil Disobedience" were not fully lived out.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau was a unique person. One of his most famous works was written on a pond in the forest. He lived there because he didn't like what the government was doing. This made him come up with the idea of civil disobedience. HE may not have lived out of the he wrote, but this novel help many people such as, Martin Luther King, and Ghandi.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817. He was a philosopher, journalist, and poet. Thoreau was raised in Concord, Massachusetts. He studied at Concord Academy and Harvard University, which was Harvard College in that time. Thoreau wrote a book named Walden. The book was named after a pond (Walden Pond) which he stayed at for two years in 1845. He became known due to his beliefs in Transcendentalism and civil disobedience. Henry David Thoreau came up with the idea of civil disobedience, which is non-violent protest. Thoreau died on May 6, 1862 from tuberculosis (an infectious bacterial disease characterized by the growth of nodules in the tissues, mainly the lungs).
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau is a brilliant, brave man who decided he didn’t agree with society so he backed out of it. He dropped his life to go live at Walden Pond, where he wrote his famous book “Walden.” Thoreau believed in simple living, a simple government. He did not support the Mexican War, he didn’t believe in paying taxes to fund the war. Although Thoreau stated many things he believed in the book, he never live out most of them. It reminds me of Michaels Jackson’s famous song “Man in the Mirror.” Jackson explains that if you want to see a change in the world, you must start with yourself, just as Thoreau never did.
ReplyDeleteI thought "civil Disobedience" was good but had loop holes. Henry David Thoreau said to give yourself entirely yet he thinks that going to live in the woods in a cabin is doing just that. I don't think that's going to help anyone.He said that you shouldn't be a machine and do whatever others want, but give themselves entirely to people. If you gave yourself entirely then your doing whatever other people want you to do.I agree that we should have a say on whether we want to pay taxes on something that we do or don't believe in.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau is known for being the one to come up with Civil Disobedience which means non violent protesting. Thoreau believed in simple living and having a simple government. He didn't go along an agree to how everybody else lived, he took himself out of society to go live in the forest at Walden Pond. This is where he wrote his well known book Walden. He may have shown many good beliefs but he never actually lived out what he believed should happen. I think that since he told us what he belived in he should have lived them out. Although Thoreau did not live out his beliefs he still made a path for other non violent protestors to follow.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau was born in 1817. While growing up he spent a lot of time with his older brother, John, they both worked as teachers until John died. After his brothers death Henry was a surveyor and made pencils. While in college he befriended a man named Emerson and he began to read his book called "Nature", this book influenced Henry in his want to become a writer. He lived on Emerson's land at Walden and wrote most of famous works there. While a lot of people believed Thoreau to be an angry man Emerson said "he found greater joy in his everyday life than most people did." Henry wrote "Walden" because he was angry about being thrown in jail for not paying his taxes because he did not agree with the Mexican War,and once he got started he just went on to rant about many things that he disagreed with. Henry died at the age of 42 due to Tuberculosis. Although he didn't know it at the time Thoreau is one of the most influential writers in history and has shaped the way we view government and protesting today.
ReplyDeleteSource:
Furtak, Rick A. "Henry David Thoreau." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). N.p., 30 June 2005. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. .
Henry David Thoreau was an American philosopher born in 1817. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard University and graduated in 1837. Thoreau died in 1862. Thoreau wrote a book called, "Walden." "Civil Disobedience," was a chapter in this book. Civil Disobedience means protesting or boycotting with no violence. He agreed with having a a government that wasn't controlling. Thoreau believed in equality and freedom.
ReplyDeleteThoreau was a deep thinker from the 1800's who believed in living a simple life. He was essentially the basis for all non violent protesting that we have experienced with Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. Although Thoreau believed in taking a stand against the government, his ideas are contradictory based on the fact that he lived in the middle of the woods just thinking about these things that need change. Thoreau should have taken more action in his ideas in order to make a larger impact.
ReplyDeleteHenry David Thoreau set the basis for non violent protesting. He strongly believed in the concept of simple living and moved out into the middle of no where in to a log cabin that he built. Thoreau's ideas are decent, yet he does not actually live them out himself. He is very contradictory in his statements which is one reason that I do not agree with him. Martin Luther Kind Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi followed Thoreau's way of thinking.
ReplyDelete- Aaron Love
Henry David Thoreau was a popular philosopher in the 1800s. He was American and believed in the ideas of simplistic living. His most well-known work was named Walden. Thoreau wrote this while living by himself at Walden Pond. The book was written after the United States fought in the Mexican War so he could share his opinion on the war and also other subjects dealing with the government. The section we studied was named Civil Disobedience which summarizes the idea of protesting in a nonviolent way. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. agreed with Thoreau and used him as their example.
ReplyDeleteHenry Thoreau believed in a life of simple living. He was a believer of civil obedience, which means he believed in non violent protesting. Thoreau opposed the government and wanted to take a non violent approach and stand up against it. Thoreau did not show this in his actions though, he moved to live in the woods on a lake named Walden, which is what he later named his book. If Thoreau would have taken a more direct approach to his concerns about the government, it would have been more affective and he would have made a stronger impact.
ReplyDeleteGood job, everyone! A few reminders: proofread your comments, and please don't put quotation marks around full length works. Walden is not considered a novel; more like an autobiography or nonfiction editorial / collection of essays.
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