1st Edition

An Analysis of Henry David Thoraeu's Civil Disobedience

By Mano Toth, Jason Xidias Copyright 2017
    80 Pages
    by Macat Library

    88 Pages
    by Macat Library

    In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau looks at old issues in new ways, asking: is there ever a time when individuals should actively oppose their government and its justice system?

    After a thorough review of the evidence, Thoreau comes to the conclusion that opposition is legitimate whenever government actions or institutions are unacceptable to an individual’s conscience. What is particularly interesting is that Thoreau’s creative mind took him deeper into the argument, as he concluded that this legitimate opposition really wasn’t enough. In Thoreau’s opinion, anyone who believed something to be wrong had a duty to resist it actively.

    These ideas were completely at odds with the prevailing opinions of the day – that it was the duty of every citizen to support the state. Thoreau connected ideas and notions in a novel manner and went against the tide, generating new hypotheses so that people could see matters in a new light. It is a mark of the success of his creative thinking that his views are now considered mainstream, and that his arguments are still deployed in defence of the principle of civil disobedience.

    Ways in to the text 

    Who was Henry David Thoraeu? 

    What does Civil Disobedience Say?  

    Why does Civil Disobedience Matter?  

    Section 1: Influences 

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context  

    Module 2: Academic Context  

    Module 3: The Problem  

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution  

    Section 2: Ideas  

    Module 5: Main Ideas  

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

    Module 7: Achievement 

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work  

    Section 3: Impact  

    Module 9: The First Responses  

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate Module 

    11: Impact and Influence Today  

    Module 12: Where Next?  

    Glossary of Terms  

    People Mentioned in the Text  

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Mano Toth is researching for a PhD in poltics at the University of Cambridge.

    Dr Jason Xidias has held positions at King’s College London and the University of California, Berkeley.