The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail - TAKE-HOME TEST
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail - TAKE-HOME TEST – DUE THUR
Accelerated Reader,
Written and first produced in the early 1970s, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail can—and should—be read as a work of protest. As alluded to in the playwrights’ introductory remarks, the many telling similarities between the Mexican War and the Vietnam or even today’s Iraq war seem appropriate. Indeed,the authors view Thoreau as one who can speak with clarity and conviction to all generations of Americans, be they veterans of the Revolution or members of today’s military. But the play, like the man it celebrates, is a work of enlightment as well as protest. Henry does the majority of speaking here, and whenever he speaks, and whatever he says, he is often addressing the audience. The task your students face in reading this play is to understand Henry’s message as well as his method—what Henry David Thoreau is trying to say to us and why, and how, he is saying it. By turns wise, funny, perplexing, and sad, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail,” is indeed “more than the thoughts and ideas of one man in one place in one night.” Within Henry’s dramatized ideas and far-reaching comments, your students will recognize their choices as human beings, their dilemmas as members of society, their heritage as U.S. citizens. This play explores the crossroads of responsibilty, conscience, and democracy: the self. In other words, what does it mean to exist? Why did God put you here?
1. “He keeps casting conformity behind him.” Such is the complaint Mrs. Thoreau makes about her son, Henry, at the outset of the play. (p. 6) What does she mean by this? Why is Henry so taken by the notion and practice of non-conformity?
2. (ANSWER ALL PARTS OF THIS QUESTION) What has Henry done to end up in prison? What has Bailey, his cellmate, done? If Henry’s self-incarceration (putting himself in jail) is an act of protest, what is he protesting against? Does his protest prove successful? Explain. How does Bailey look at Thoreau?
3. What is “huckleberrying,” and how does it relate to Henry’s admittedly unorthodox method of teaching? Why is Deacon Ball so upset by this method? Do we “huckleberry” in this class?
4. What is the “Walden experiment” that Henry imagines for himself? Thoreau described his two years, two months and two days at Walden as an “experiment.” He wondered if he could “survive, possibly even thrive, by stripping away all unnecessary luxuries, living a plain, simple life in radically reduced conditions? Besides building his own shelter and providing the fuel to heat it, he would grow and catch his own food, even provide his own entertainment. It was an experiment in basic home economics but in truth, his aim was to investigate the larger moral and spiritual economy of such a life.” How did Thoreau’s Walden experiment change Henry’s personality and philosophy. How is he different from other men?
5. Why do you think, in the years before the Civil War, Thoreau was unafraid to criticize slavery?
6. At the end of the drama, Henry says of his beloved Walden (p. 101): “It is not necessary to be there in order to be there.” Explain what he means. What does “BE THERE” really mean?
7. On at least three separate occasions (see pp. 13, 72, and 94), Henry expresses disgust for the idea of “getting along” or “going along” – (I.e. – CONFORMITY) with everyone else. Why?
8. In scene after scene, Thoreau seems to be a guy with a very definite sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. His morals, his ethics are so very clear. Why, do you think, things were so clear to Thoreau?
9. Explore the close and complex relationship between Thoreau and Emerson as it is depicted here. Where and how do they inspire one another? Where and how do they disappoint one another? Which is the student and which is the master, or do these roles somehow alternate throughout the play?
10. Why, do you think, we still talk about the ideas of Thoreau but not Emerson, who was a much bigger celebrity at the time? What is it about Thoreau that appeals to us all?
11. Halfway through Act Two, Henry and Waldo quarrel bitterly about politics. Waldo asks Henry: “And what are you doing about it (the war) young man? You pull the woods up over your your head (escaping to Walden.) Could your woodchucks, with all their wisdom, have saved [the murdered fugitive slave] Henry Williams? Are your fish going to build roads, teach school, put out fires?” (p. 88) These are criticisms of Henry’s way of thinking about life—and living it out in his little shack at Walden Pond. “It’s easy …being a hermit…telling us how to live (instead of being part of society and trying to change it from the inside out.)”
Q: Which man has the correct approach to life and society: Emerson or Thoreau? Explain
12. Q: What do you think Thoreau would say we should do to protest issues we feel strongly about? Give an example of an issue you feel strongly about. How would YOU protest that issue?
13. Q: Write a one-page letter to Henry Thoreau, explaining to him what you learned from “The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail”
NOTE: ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED
(Student note: The idea of this sheet is to help you START your answer… You CAN write it your own way. Imagine if Thoreau was told he HAD to write his answer a certain way?)
1. “He keeps casting conformity behind him.” Such is the complaint Mrs. Thoreau makes about her son, Henry, at the outset of the play. (p. 6) What does she mean by this? Why is Henry so taken by the notion and practice of non-conformity?
SUGGESTED ANSWER STARTER: “Henry Thoreau is someone who believes…
2. (ANSWER ALL PARTS OF THIS QUESTION) What has Henry done to end up in jail? What has Bailey, his cellmate, done? If Henry’s self-incarceration (putting himself in jail) is an act of protest, what is he protesting against? Does his protest prove successful? Explain. How does Bailey look at Thoreau?
ANSWER: “Henry Thoreau wound up in jail because…
3. What is “huckleberrying,” and how does it relate to Henry’s admittedly unorthodox method of teaching? Why is Deacon Ball so upset by this method? Do we “huckleberry” in this class? (TWO-PART QUESTION!)
ANSWER: “Huckleberrying is a term used by Deacon Ball when he visits…
4. What is the “Walden experiment” that Henry imagines for himself? Thoreau described his two years, two months and two days at Walden as an “experiment.” He wondered if he could “survive, possibly even thrive, by stripping away all unnecessary luxuries, living a plain, simple life in radically reduced conditions? Besides building his own shelter and providing the fuel to heat it, he would grow and catch his own food, even provide his own entertainment. It was an experiment in basic home economics but in truth, his aim was to investigate the larger moral and spiritual economy of such a life.” How did Thoreau’s Walden experiment change Henry’s personality and philosophy. How is he different from other men?
ANSWER: “Thoreau’s ‘Walden’ experiment taught him….
5. Why do you think, in the years before the Civil War, Thoreau was unafraid to criticize slavery?
4 ANSWER: “Thoreau believed in …
6. At the end of the drama, Henry says of his beloved Walden (p. 101): “It is not necessary to be there in order to be there.” Explain what he means. What does “BE THERE” really mean?
ANSWER: “Thoreau did not live his whole life at Walden. But the lessons…
7. On at least three separate occasions (see pp. 13, 72, and 94), Henry expresses disgust for the idea of “getting along” or “going along” – (I.e. – CONFORMITY) with everyone else. Why?
ANSWER: “Getting along,’’ to Thoreau, doing what everyone else did…
8. In scene after scene, Thoreau seems to be a guy with a very definite sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. His morals, his ethics are so very clear. Why, do you think, things were so clear to Thoreau?
ANSWER: “Thoreau was very clear on what was right and wrong because..”
9. Explore the close and complex relationship between Thoreau and Emerson as it is depicted here. Where and how do they inspire one another? Where and how do they disappoint one another? Which is the student and which is the master, or do these roles somehow alternate throughout the play?
ANSWER: “At first, Emerson was Thoreau’s teacher and mentor. But…
10. Why, do you think, we still talk about the ideas of Thoreau but not Emerson, who was a much bigger celebrity at the time? What is it about Thoreau that appeals to us all?
ANSWER: “Thoreau’s ideas seem to have lasted longer than Emerson’s because..
11. Halfway through Act Two, Henry and Waldo quarrel bitterly about politics. Waldo asks Henry: “And what are you doing about it (the war) young man? You pull the woods up over your your head (escaping to Walden.) Could your woodchucks, with all their wisdom, have saved [the murdered fugitive slave] Henry Williams? Are your fish going to build roads, teach school, put out fires?” (p. 88) These are criticisms of Henry’s way of thinking about life—and living it out in his little shack at Walden Pond. “It’s easy …being a hermit…telling us how to live (instead of being part of society and trying to change it from the inside out, gradually, over time.)”
Q: Which man has the correct approach to life and society: Emerson or Thoreau? Explain
ANSWER: “Both men have conflicting ideas about man’s place in society.
12. Q: What do you think Thoreau would say we should do to protest issues we feel strongly about? Pick an issue you feel strongly about – say FCAT or the War in Iraq or something. How would YOU protest that issue? How would Thoreau? (TWO-PART ANSWER)
ANSWER: “In protesting something he felt strongly about, Thoreau would..
13. Write a one-page letter to Henry Thoreau, explaining to him what you learned from “The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail”
4 ANSWER: “Dear Mr. Thoreau. Your “protest” made me think about many things…
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