Reference no: EM133259963

Question 1. Does the paragraph clearly refer to the article using a paraphrased main idea and quoted or paraphrased evidence for support? List the ideas that your partner is responding to.

Question 2. Does the writer clearly address the author's use of rhetorical appeals and address the rhetorical triangle?

Question 3. Does the writer clearly explain whether they agree, disagree, gained insight, or found an omission?

Question 4. Is their description of what they think logical? Why or why not? (Think about facts, opinions, prejudices, and beliefs.)

Question 5. Does the writer explain the response with reasons and evidence from personal experience, their values, or prior knowledge? Could this be explained more?

Question 6. Does the writer conclude the paragraph with a transition, referring back to the article?

In Robert Edwin Lee, and Jerome Lawrence's play, "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail", the writers discuss civil disobedience through the experiences of Henry David Thoreau. The story takes place during the time of the Mexican-American War. The plot of the story revolves around Thoreau's belief in Transcendentalism and the effects it has on his life. He would have graduated from Harvard, but he refused to pay the 1 dollar diploma fee. Later on in his life, he refuses to pay his taxes, in protest of the ongoing Mexican-American War, which he is vehemently opposed to. His refusal lands him in jail, which is where the main part of the story takes place. The main idea of this story is to follow your own path, regardless of the consequences, just as Thoreau did. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the characters in the story, states one of his maxim as "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind". The following maxim means that one should not succumb to what society wants, but to instead follow their own path. A universal idea relating to this maxim can be that human beings should follow their own way, mindset, or their sense of intuitive feeling (Analysis 1).

The authors use all rhetorical strategies effectively, but they mainly rely on pathos. Throughout the play, the authors appeal to emotion by showing the consequences of following your own path. The utilization of pathos is especially potent in the play because it lands Thoreau in jail, an emotionally undesirable outcome. This makes the audience more invested in the story, and delivers the main points in a compelling way. It also conveys Thoreau's thought process well. He is in jail because he equates war to murder, and will not support it no matter the cost. Aside from his opinions on the Mexican-American War, Thoreau's other experiences also paint a clearer picture of who he is to the audience. After refusing to pay the Harvard diploma fee, Thoreau becomes a schoolmaster, teaching the children in his own way in an attempt to free them from the same bonds that held him. He ultimately leaves his position as schoolmaster when his boss tells him that he has to flog the children. Following this, Thoreau opens his own school, which fails miserably after the children's mothers take them away from it, not wanting their children to learn from a non-conforming rebel. Afterwards, a woman named Ellen comes to the school, wanting to learn from Thoreau and his transcendentalist philosophy. Thoreau loves Ellen with a great passion and takes it upon himself to enlighten her about his ways. They go on a boat ride together, where Thoreau educates her on the teachings of transcendentalism in a more personal matter. They discuss the nature of love and the love of nature. During this boat ride Thoreau confesses his feelings for her, and since she does not share the same feelings the ride becomes awkward and she leaves. Although Thoreau's individual actions are failures, within the context of his entire character are where they shine. Thoreau stays true to himself and follows his own path no matter the consequences. Even when he fails repeatedly, Thoreau stays true to his own path, something the audience learns as well throughout the play.