The night thoreau spent in jail
Throughout the book The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail, there are many instances that suggest that language is a powerful tool for change. The main character, Henry Thoreau, uses language as his greatest skill to influence and teach those around him. For a fair portion of his life, Thoreau was a teacher, teaching students how to learn, using critical thinking as his teaching tool. His influencing words have a great impact on young minds, but in the end he fails at his task. The children are going home with insight that the community is not ready to accept. The parents of these children think it a better idea that students be taught the basics, like taking notes and memorization. Thoreau is greatly against this way of teaching, for it does not increase a child's ability to think; Thoreau believes that developing advanced thought process is important. The lessons learned by others, taught by Thoreau, are important examples of how the power of speech can influence and change the lives of others. When Thoreau was first starting as a school teacher, he was teaching public school classes in concord. He began teaching in a different manner than the other teachers, he was trying to teach the students how to think, not how to repeat. Later
in his teaching career, the chairman of the concord school committee, Deacon Ball, observes Thoreau one day. Ball is taken aback from the different teaching styles of Thoreau, and has many disagreeing comments with Thoreau arguing that learning by thinking is not as effective as learning from the textbooks. Thoreau then gives a word or two on the matter to his class, "Class, you heard the Deacon, we shall stick to the approved books. Your eyes must not wander from the page...you must not listen to a cricket or smell a flower that hasn't been approved by the school committee. You'd better close both your ears and hold your nose-though you may have to grow and extra hand to do it." (p.21) The whole class goes up in laughter after this comment, and Ball is greatly insulted. Ball then tells Thoreau to punish the students by whipping them. Thoreau has no choice but to whip the children if he wants to retain his post as school teacher. He then whips the children one by one, hating what he is doing. After this is completed Thoreau is disgusted by what has been done. "(Ball) I congratulate you. I am happy to be able to report to the school committee that school master Thoreau-(Thoreau) has administered the sacrament of the schoolroom; and he resigns as a 'teacher' in the public schools of concord." (p.24) Thoreau believes that what he has done will have a negative effect on the children in terms of their education and can no longer continue trying to teach them if he is to continue things in this manner. Thoreau loves Ellen. Thoreau has a need to teach Ellen about things that she did not learn in finishing school. When Thoreau was teaching Ellen in the past, he thought that she did not understand him, that his words were too complex at the time. Ellen however, does understand later on in the play whe
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Approximate Word count = 1219
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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