The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail discussion

Throughout the book, there are examples of irony. One example of irony I found was how John died. He thought about someone funny and started to laugh, and ended up dying. Irony is a different outcome than one would expect, and this fits the definition. Another example I found was when Henry taught Bailey how to write, then yelled at him for writing. One would think that Henry would encourage him to keep writing, but instead Henry tells him to unlearn it. Finally, an example of irony I found was Waldo not practicing what he taught. Although he spoke about Transcendentalism, he didn't act it out to the fullest, as Henry did. One would think that Waldo would be all for his teachings, but Waldo would rather keep to his same old ways.

The three most important characters to me are Henry, Waldo, and Lydian. I would cast Johnny Depp as  Henry. Johnny Depp can play the most unique and diverse personalities. Henry has s different way of thinking and reasoning, but Depp would rise to the occasion and make it believable. I would cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Waldo. He usually plays more serious and powerful roles, which Waldo is. Waldo only gives partial effort on Transcendentalism, which I think DiCaprio could act out well. Finally, I would cast Anne Hathaway as Lydian. Lydian is somewhat powerful by standing up to Henry, but she's also gentle. This describes Hathaway perfectly, I think it would fit her just right.

Henry's protest of the war was not successful. The war was still going on in the end of the book. Despite all of his protests, it did not stop. Henry's protest to paying taxes was successful, because he didn't have to pay them and still got out of jail. But it also wasn't successful in the way that someone was still giving money to the war. Henry's protest to get Bailey a trial was successful, at least I think so. Sam went back to talk to the judge about it, and then Henry left before he was sure Bailey got a trial. Bailey most likely got a trial though, because Henry's protest was pretty strong.

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail quote

I chose the quote "Our own school, John. No buildings. Break out of the classroom prison. All we need is the sky!".  It reflects the Transcendentalist thought in a few ways.

First of all, Transcendentalists don't believe in the school education system. They think that education gets in the way of education. You need to abandon the normal ways of teaching to really learn. That's what Henry is saying when he says to break out of the classroom. It means mentally break out, to find a new way of learning. Also it means to physically break out and have a school of their own taught their own way. Henry is saying they need intellectual independence abandon the old ways for the new, right ways to learn.

Next, this quote shows presentism. Presentism is the only thing that matters is the present. When Henry says, "All we need is the sky," it shows how he's not worried about the further and what might come. He's also forgetting the past where he was forced to whip students. He going to start over again, and focus on the present.

Finally, it shows you need to trust your instincts. Henry is following his instinct when he suggests that he and John make a school on their own. Henry's not waiting to really think it over and see how it's going to work, he just goes for it. Your instincts are usually right, and following them is the best idea. If Henry wasn't trusting his instincts, he would have planned, and agonized over making his school. But he trusted his instincts and it turned out alright in the end.

As you can see, this quote shows many of the Transcendentalism thoughts, such as intellectual independence, presentism, and to trust instincts.