Reflection over Civil Disobedience

The era of transcendentalism was alive and defiantly prominent in the story "Civil Disobedience basically the entire time. Although I am not going to lie, the author himself, Henry David Thoreau, was very partial and almost rash when it came to what he was saying. This can be considered a sure quality of transcendentalism because of how politically pressured it was. "How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also" (Thoreau 1) This to me is a bit much and over dramatic for my taste. Especially when he begins to talk about how his government would not be like the "slaves" government that he is apart of now. This idea of independence in himself and in man is also a huge part of transcendentalism. The fact that one is able to know that a government is right or wrong on their own is also a characteristic. "If you are cheated out of a single dollar by your neighbor, you do not rest satisfied with knowing that you are cheated, or with saying that you are cheated, or even with petitioning him to pay you your due; but you take effectual steps at once to obtain the full amount, and see that you are never cheated again." (Thoreau 2) This in a way displays how we do now of when something is wrong and when we are wronged. Thoreau then goes on to explain how why if we do not rest when we are wronged by our neighbor do we rest when we are being wronged by our government. I actually really enjoyed this part of the story because it made me really open my eyes to how true this is even today! As a whole our world does look at these probabilities but we all do not take a stand as much as if we were to know that someone had stolen from our bank accounts or wallets. We all would be hiring a lawyer and taking action right away, most do not take any stand to the government. Transcendentalism also very much connects to nature. Tiffany K. Wayne said "The Transcendentalists drew upon romantic thought in the formulation of an "organic" aesthetic, the foundational Transcendentalist theory that language and art are expressions or translations of nature and that human and universal meaning is to be found in the forms of nature." This is displayed in Civil Disobedience when it says "I saw to what extent the people among whom I lived could be trusted as good neighbors and friends; that their friendship was for summer weather only; that they did not greatly propose to do right;" (Thoreau 3) He connects the natures season of summer to be the reason his neighbors and friends did not do right. He believes that we are truly connected to the nature and world we live in.



Thoreau, Henry D. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Richard Lenat, 2009. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. .


Wayne, Tiffany K. "romanticism and Transcendentalism." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= GETRA321&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 24, 2012).