The 8th Chapter of Walden is about Thoreau’s brief stay in jail for not paying his poll taxes, an action which he claims he completed in protest of the Mexican-American War, and the expansion of slavery into new territory. His hatred of slavery, and his strong opposition to the present society’s way of handling it are part of what often earn him the label ‘first hipster.’ The way his is jailed shows something of the resilience of America, albeit in an odd way, or at least Thoreau wants to claim it does. While it is likely that the whole scene is romanticised, and nobody who was in favor of the poll taxes and of jailing him for it actually supported slavery, Thoreau’s time in prison shows him that he finds all the people around him to be in the wrong, and that they, even inadvertently through their jailing of him, are militant in their wrongness.
Thoreau’s imprisonment shows that the American system is resistant to change. He was put into jail for standing up for his beliefs. Even though a friendly neighbor payed his pittance of a bail, he still exposed a part of society which made it hard to stand for ideas which were controversial. In short, Thoreau confirmed that America is hateful towards those who oppose its will. It shows that protest is not okay; and that those who wish to not do something; to make themselves different in order to stand out and bring change in their own lives, cannot do so without governmental interference and physical incarceration.
All in all, Thoreau was one of the first Americans to defy the government in the name of his viewpoints, and certainly he is among the best with words out of those early rebels. But the whole movement is somewhat sickening. It is sickening to live in a society where rebellion is punishable in so many ways.
Thoreau’s imprisonment shows that the American system is resistant to change. He was put into jail for standing up for his beliefs. Even though a friendly neighbor payed his pittance of a bail, he still exposed a part of society which made it hard to stand for ideas which were controversial. In short, Thoreau confirmed that America is hateful towards those who oppose its will. It shows that protest is not okay; and that those who wish to not do something; to make themselves different in order to stand out and bring change in their own lives, cannot do so without governmental interference and physical incarceration.
All in all, Thoreau was one of the first Americans to defy the government in the name of his viewpoints, and certainly he is among the best with words out of those early rebels. But the whole movement is somewhat sickening. It is sickening to live in a society where rebellion is punishable in so many ways.