A Depper Side of Thoreau

A Deeper Side of Thoreau

"Resistance to Civil Disobedience" is one of Henry David Thoreau's most famous essays. One of the major problems most critics see with this essay deals with Thoreau's seemingly contradictory statements about society from the beginning to the end. Barry Wood, a well-known critical writer, attributes this change in beliefs to the enlightenment of Thoreau in jail. While I agree with Wood that Thoreau does achieve a form of enlightenment, I will show that Thoreau's views regarding the society he lived in never actually changed throughout the essay: the only aspect of the essay that changed was Thoreau's means of attacking his society. Thoreau uses his enlightened state to shift from an overt, blatant form of attack to a more subtle, psychological one.

There are many issues in this essay that Thoreau expresses conflicting views on, such as the government's role in society, but his main focus lays in the members of the society themselves and how they cause most of the problems. Thoreau adopts a very authoritative tone in the beginning of the essay, showing his readers how they "serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies" (Thoreau 228). He implies that this "mass of men" uses men's bodies and not their consciences, which is the reason they do not "resist [the government]" like their revolutionary counterparts (Thoreau 228). This group is Thoreau's target audience, for it is this majority group that currently supports the government and the problems of society.

Thoreau grabs the reader's attention by comparing these "citizens" with "wood and earth and stones", inanimate objects not worthy of the title human but rather of "horses and dogs" (Thoreau 228). Only the men that serve "with their consciences" can be deemed true humans, Thoreau believes, because these men give themselves "entirely to [their] fellow-men" (Thoreau 228). It is the quality of using one's mind that Thoreau designates as key to being human; therefore, the "mass of men" Thoreau describes earlier in the essay are sub-human because they lack this quality. Thoreau does not hint around his opinions in this first section, he makes sure the reader knows his views on society. However, at the end of the essay Thoreau's opinions become disguised. In order to understand why this occurs, we must explain briefly about the narrative and its significance in terms of Thoreau's views on society.

The narrative section of Thoreau's essay gives perhaps the most insight into his life and the reasons for his changing ideas. Barry Wood describes the narrative as a key portion of the essay that brings about the "awakening of vision, and spiritual renewal" of Thoreau as he leaves the prison (Wood 421). As he is locked into a small cell, Thoreau reflects that he still "did not once feel confined" within the walls of "stone and mortar" that made up the jail he was forced to inhabit. He even goes so far as to say he believes the societal "wall" his townsmen would have to climb to be free is "still a more difficult to one to climb or break through, before they could get to be as free" as Thoreau felt that night in jail (Thoreau 238). He later remarks, "the State never intentionally confronts a man's sense, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses", which corresponds directly with Thoreau's experience in jail (Thoreau 238). While "the State" may have tried, and succeeded, in subduing Thoreau's body, his mind was untouched and left to contemplate his night in jail on a more philosophical level. It seems as though with each passing moment Thoreau felt more and more free, when his body was being confined more and more. This precise sense of freedom allows Thoreau to reach the enlightened stage in which he returns to outside society. I believe it was this newfound enlightened state and understanding of the surrounding society that led Thoreau to modify the manner in which he expressed his opinions.

After explaining Thoreau's views initially and then describing the changes that he undergoes during the narrative, we are finally at that stage where the two parts may be tied together to show Thoreau's "changed" views on society. Few quotes capture Thoreau's initial reaction upon reentering society than the one below:

I saw yet more distinctly the State in which I lived. 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 purpose to do right; that they were a distinct race from me by their prejudices and superstitions...I believe that most of them are not aware that they have such an institution as the jail in