Thoreau Reader Response
1) According to Thoreau, how do governments decide questions of right and wrong? In Thoreau’s view what should determine right and wrong? In his view, are there any issues that can legitimately be solved by majority rule? What is majority rule?
2) What two dangers does Thoreau see in paying the law “undue respect”? Read between the lines here and describe/interpret to me what Thoreau is saying, do not merely quote him. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Defend your answer.
3) Is there a time when Thoreau advocates breaking the law? Describe the situation. Is there an issue, current perhaps, that you would refuse to support if you could, such as remit a percentage of your income tax in the boycott (wouldn’t that be nice- if we got a say in what we, as taxpayers, wanted to financially support or not support? Or don’t we do that already through our representatives)?
4)“It is not desirable,” wrote Thoreau, “to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” Many have been influenced by Thoreau’s distinction between what is law and what is right (moral), including Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, President John F. Kennedy, and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Your task is to choose an example from history or current events in which a law was seen to conflict with what was right. Develop an oral argument that might be used in a mock trial to defend someone who has violated such a law.
Divide your argument into three parts: state the law, explain why it is not moral, and offer a solution to resolve the conflict between the law and morality: should the law be abolished or should it be rewritten, and if so, how? Share your oral argument with your class.
5) Why does Thoreau claim that Alexander brought with him the Iliad? Do not merely quote the text; interpret his argument and explain to me what you think he is saying. Do you agree or disagree? Why? Defend your answer.
