Flashcards for Civil Disobedience

Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster appears in Civil Disobedience not as an active character but as a sharp rhetorical contrast that Thoreau uses to highlight the moral shortcomings of conventional political leadership.

character

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau serves as the narrator, protagonist, and philosophical driving force of Civil Disobedience (1849).

character

Sam Staples (Tax Collector)

Sam Staples is the tax collector and constable in Concord, representing state authority in Thoreau's essay.

character

The Fellow Prisoner

The Fellow Prisoner is a minor yet symbolically significant character in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience (1849), appearing briefly during the one night Thoreau spends in the Concord jail for refusing to pay his poll tax.

character

The Landlady / Aunt Maria (Tax Payer)

The Landlady—whom Thoreau refers to as "Aunt Maria" in some biographical accounts related to the essay's writing—may be a minor character in Civil Disobedience, but she holds significant symbolic weight.

character

The State (Massachusetts Government)

The State—represented throughout the essay as the Massachusetts government and, by extension, the federal government of the United States—acts more like an institutional antagonist than a dramatic character, with its moral failings fueling Thoreau's entire argument.

character

“That government is best which governs not at all.”

This opening line is written by Henry David Thoreau in his influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience (originally called "Resistance to Civil Government").

Henry David Thoreau (narrator/author) · Civil Disobedience (opening paragraph)

“There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power.”

This declaration can be found near the end of Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience (which he originally presented as a lecture called "Resistance to Civil Government").

Henry David Thoreau (narrator/essayist) · Civil Disobedience (concluding paragraphs)

“The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.”

This line comes from Henry David Thoreau's influential essay Civil Disobedience (1849), which he originally presented as a lecture called "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (the narrator/author) · Civil Disobedience (single-essay work), early section

“A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then.”

This line comes from Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience, which was originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (narrator/essayist)

“I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion.”

This declaration appears in Henry David Thoreau's influential essay Civil Disobedience (1849), which he originally presented as a lecture called "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (author/narrator)

“That government is best which governs least.”

This opening line from Henry David Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience (1849), which he originally presented as a lecture called "Resistance to Civil Government," is delivered by Thoreau himself in his capacity as both an essayist and moral philosopher.

Henry David Thoreau (the narrator/essayist) · Opening paragraph

“If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.”

This line comes from Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience, originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (authorial voice) · Civil Disobedience (single-essay work, no chapter divisions)

“I heartily accept the motto — That government is best which governs least.”

This opening line is from Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience, which was originally delivered as a lecture called "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (the narrator/essayist) · Opening paragraph

“The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies.”

This line comes from Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 political essay Civil Disobedience, which was originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (essayist-narrator) · Civil Disobedience (single-essay work, opening section)

“Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.”

This well-known line comes from Henry David Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience, which he initially presented as a lecture called "Resistance to Civil Government" in 1849.

Henry David Thoreau (narrator/essayist) · Civil Disobedience (single-essay work, middle section)

“Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded?”

This line comes from Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience, which was originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (author/narrator) · Civil Disobedience (single-essay work)

“Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator?”

This line is located near the beginning of Henry David Thoreau's influential 1849 essay Civil Disobedience, which was originally delivered as a lecture titled "Resistance to Civil Government."

Henry David Thoreau (the narrator/essayist) · Civil Disobedience (opening section)

The Jail / Prison Cell

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience (1849), the jail cell represents the moral strength that comes from standing against an unjust government.

The Machine (Government as Machine)

In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau portrays "the machine" as a symbol of the dehumanizing and morally indifferent nature of government.

The Majority Vote

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience (1849), the majority vote represents the abandonment of personal moral judgment in favor of what’s convenient for the group.

The Poll Tax

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience (1849), the poll tax symbolizes an individual's involvement in, or rejection of, an unjust government.

The Soldier / Marching Men

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience (1849), the soldier and the marching men illustrate the troubling loss of personal conscience to institutional power.

Extended Metaphor

Thoreau consistently compares the state to a machine throughout the essay.

Metaphor

Beyond the notion of machines, Thoreau uses striking individual metaphors throughout his work.

Irony

Irony is one of Thoreau's most effective tools.

Anaphora

Thoreau employs anaphora to generate rhetorical momentum during critical points in his argument.

Rhetorical Question

Rhetorical questions highlight the essay's most confrontational sections, drawing the reader into Thoreau's line of thinking.

Allusion

Thoreau draws on classical, biblical, and modern references to frame his argument within a rich moral tradition.

Paradox

Thoreau's main argument is quite paradoxical: he suggests that a person who goes to prison for their conscience is actually more free than someone who follows an unjust law just to stay out of jail.

Imagery

Thoreau's single night in Concord jail offers some of the essay's most vivid sensory details.

Simile

Thoreau uses simile to bring abstract moral ideas into a more tangible realm.

Juxtaposition

The essay is built around a series of intentional contrasts.

Aporia

At various points, Thoreau expresses real uncertainty, grappling with the tough ethical questions he poses instead of glossing over them.

Prose Poem

Though labeled as an essay, 'Civil Disobedience' often veers into the realm of prose poetry, especially in the jail-night segment and the concluding vision of a just society.

governs least

Controls or interferes with people's lives as little as possible; the phrase captures the belief that a government with minimal power and reach is the most desirable kind.

phrase · Chapter 1

acted up to

Lived out in practice; to actually follow a principle in real behavior rather than just stating it as an ideal.

phrase · Chapter 1

systematically

In a thorough, organized, and consistent way, following a clear plan or method rather than acting randomly or occasionally.

adverb · Chapter 1

standing armies

Permanent, professional military forces kept by a government at all times, even during peace, as opposed to temporary militias raised only in emergencies.

phrase · Chapter 1

expedient

Convenient and practical for achieving a goal in the short term, but not necessarily honest or morally right; driven by self-interest rather than principle.

adjective · Chapter 1

conscience

A person's inner sense of what is morally right or wrong, which Thoreau treats as a higher authority than any law or government decree.

noun · Chapter 1

obligation

A duty or moral requirement that binds a person to a certain course of action; here, the only true duty Thoreau acknowledges is to his own conscience.

noun · Chapter 1

assume

To take on or accept a responsibility or duty as one's own; used here in the sense of voluntarily taking upon oneself an obligation.

verb · Chapter 1

poll tax

A fixed fee charged to each individual citizen as a condition of living in or being recognized by the state; Thoreau refused to pay his as a protest against slavery and war.

noun · Chapter 2

non-compliance

A deliberate refusal to obey a rule, law, or authority; the act of withholding cooperation from a government or institution one considers unjust.

noun · Chapter 1

unjustly

In a way that is unfair, morally wrong, or without legitimate cause; used to describe imprisonment or treatment that violates a person's rights.

adverb · Chapter 1

sense

Here, a person's capacity for moral and intellectual judgment — their reasoning mind and conscience — as distinct from their physical body.

noun · Chapter 2

wit

Intelligence, cleverness, or mental sharpness; Thoreau uses it to argue that the state relies on brute force rather than superior reasoning or moral insight.

noun · Chapter 2

townsmen

Fellow residents of the same town; neighbors and community members who share the same local civic life as the speaker.

noun · Chapter 2

paw

To grab at or handle someone intrusively and without their consent; used here to suggest that society forces its rules on individuals in an unwelcome, grasping way.

verb · Chapter 2

constrain

To force or compel someone to do something against their will; to restrict a person's freedom by applying pressure or coercion.

verb · Chapter 2

institutions

Established laws, customs, and organizations through which a society governs itself; Thoreau uses the word with contempt, viewing them as tools of conformity and injustice.

noun · Chapter 2

moral authority

The power to judge right from wrong that comes from a person's own conscience and integrity, not from any official position or legal title.

phrase · Chapter 2

legislators

People who make laws as part of a government body; Thoreau contrasts them with those who serve the state with conscience, ranking them as less admirable.

noun · Chapter 1

reformers

People who work to change unjust laws or social conditions; Thoreau reserves this title for those who act from conscience rather than from political calculation.

noun · Chapter 1

voting

The act of casting a ballot to choose leaders or policies; Thoreau dismisses it as a weak, ineffective gesture that lets people feel they have acted without truly resisting injustice.

noun · Chapter 1

principled

Guided firmly by moral beliefs rather than by convenience, self-interest, or what the law demands; acting from conscience even at personal cost.

adjective · Chapter 1

ripened

Reached full development or maturity; used metaphorically to describe individuals who have grown into their full moral and intellectual independence.

verb · Chapter 3

suffered

Allowed or permitted something to happen; an older usage meaning to let something occur without preventing it, not to experience pain.

verb · Chapter 3

glorious

Worthy of great admiration and honor; used here to describe an ideal future state that fully respects individual freedom and conscience.

adjective · Chapter 3

afford to be just

To be in a position — politically and morally secure enough — to treat all people fairly without fear that doing so will undermine the state's own power.

phrase · Chapter 3