for PhD doctorate only

Thoreau – Civil Disobedience

Pre-reading Questions

1. What kind of government does Thoreau feel would be most just?

2. What is the individual’s responsibility regarding supporting the government when it is wrong?

3. How does Thoreau deal with unjust laws?

Questions for Critical Reading

1. How would you characterize the tone of Thoreau’s address? Is he chastising his audience? Is he praising it? What opinion do you think he has of his audience?

2. Explain what Thoreau means when he says, “But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it” (para. 4)

3. How is injustice “part of the necessary friction of the machine of government” (para. 18)

4. Why does Thoreau provide us with “the whole history of ‘My Prisons’” (para. 28-35)? Describe what being in jail taught Thoreau. Why do you think Thoreau reacted so strongly to being in a local jail for single day?

5. Choose an example of Thoreau’s use of irony, and comment on its effectiveness. (One sample appears in para. 25)

6. How might Thoreau view the responsibility of the majority to a minority within the sphere of government?

7. How clear are Thoreau’s concepts of justice? On what are they based?

Calendar Questions

In paragraph 11 Thoreau says, “All voting is a sort of gaming.” What does he mean by this? Is is true? What is the gaming aspect of voting? Why is Thoreau so harsh about voting?