Jessica Gerlemann

American Literature

Beverley Sumey

October 23, 2011

Thoreau’s Philosophy and his belief in "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau was a rebel. He believed in non-violent change and wanted to bring it about through non-violent protests. He felt that he did not owe anything to the government. He wanted to change laws non-violently because he felt they were unfair. He in an effort of trying to change a law as a rebel against the mainstream of what was decided to be good for the general public rebelled. He felt that he had not done anything to owe them anything so he earned paying the price for not paying his taxes. In his philosophy he didn’t believe in being obedient to civil governments. He wanted to change laws, and didn’t believe in being obedient to civil governments and went to jail for not paying his taxes. He enjoyed the motto that says, "The government is best which governs least." So clearly here Thoreau believed that government should stay out of the private affairs of everyday life. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." I believe this could possibly be some part of a justification for Thoreau in his actions of wanting a civil reform on law. I also personally interpret that many men then struggled to change the world as they do now and the desperation might have been some explanation of their suffering it like a rock in a hard place. "Time is but the stream I go a fishing in." Thoreau must have felt his time was important to him and that maybe he could be doing better things with his life then wasting his time living by other people’s rules in whom aren’t necessarily looking out for his welfare. "Let us live one day as deliberately as nature. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity." In these last two quotes I believe that Thoreau is especially saying that at some point we could be making things in our life too complicated and that the answers lie in the peace and harmony of nature and the well-being it has on our soul. Whoso would be a man would be a nonconformist. At some point because a man has to learn to take charge as he grows into adulthood I believe that Thoreau is making some assumption that he needs to be a nonconformist because he isn’t so sure other people’s path or right. Either that or he is trying to set an example by taking the lead and get people to live life like him.