The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

By the end of Act I, Lydian and Waldo have twice described Henry in paradoxical ways. Waldo calls Henry the “saddest happy man,” while Lydian contends he is the “happiest sad man” (5). Later, Lydian says Henry “doesn’t want anything,” and Waldo replies, “Perhaps he wants too much” (55). These paradoxes help to explain Henry’s singular character and ideology. He desires freedom above all else, and this is why Waldo believes he asks for too much; however, since Henry has very few material needs, Lydian says he “doesn’t want anything” (55). Similarly, Henry takes great pleasure in small details of nature—like the birdsong he hears in Act I—which makes him happy; however, he remains disappointed in human nature when he recognizes that most people lack the courage to stand up for what they believe in, and this is a constant source of sadness for him.

Henry stresses the importance of Freedom and Liberty for All when he ironically comments on his own freedom despite being jailed. When he hears the clock bells, he is pleased to be “free” to hear them, and he comments how ridiculous it is “that a man has to be put in a stone box before he can hear the music of his own village!” (40). Further, despite being “behind iron bars and walls four feet thick,” he thinks he is the “freest man in the world” because he is not “chained to what [he has] to do tomorrow morning!” (40). The irony of Henry’s claim to freedom while he is in jail highlights his belief that the only real prison exists in the mind. Unlike everyone else in town who is “chained” by their obligations, Henry has none and can have none precisely because he is imprisoned. He can think and rest without concern for where his next meal is coming from or reporting for a job that occupies his waking hours. He cannot even resume his trip to the cobbler to get his shoe fixed. Henry is outside of society while he is in jail, and this confers complete freedom upon him.

The main reason that Henry places such a high premium on freedom is because he cannot abide unjust authority, which also leads to him prizing Conscience Over Country. This is why he will not pay his tax in the first place: Being a party to injustice is morally abhorrent to him. As he tells the constable, “What the government […] is doing turns my stomach! And if I keep my mouth shut, I’m a criminal [….]. You want a dollar from me? If I don’t approve the way that dollar’s spent, you’re not going to get it!” (63). Henry speaks often about the divine within humans, and he believes that this should compel all people to treat their fellow humans with respect and concern for their wellbeing. Thus, citizens have a moral obligation to cast off any government that wields its power unjustly, as the United States did during the Mexican-American war. This is precisely what Thomas Jefferson wrote about in the Declaration of Independence, in which the thirteen colonies declared their independence from England’s unjust rule. This is why Waldo tells Ball, “For you and me, Deacon, the Declaration of Independence has already been written. Young Thoreau has to declare it every day—Sundays included” (42). Henry’s civil disobedience highlights the irony of a country that revolted against a corrupt government only to become one itself.

In addition, Henry believes that jail is the most appropriate place for a just person in an unjust society. Prior to arresting Henry, Sam Staples says, “A honester man than you, Henry, I never knew” (63). Before this, when Staples tells Henry that he hasn’t paid his taxes in two years, Henry corrects the constable’s error: Henry says it’s been six years since he paid his tax, not two. Sam doesn’t want to arrest Henry, who he knows to be a good person; he even tries to appeal to Henry’s reverence for Waldo by telling him that Waldo paid his tax. However, to Henry, it’s Waldo’s problem if he values country and conformity over conscience and integrity. It is ironic that Waldo would submit to paying his tax when he knows, as Henry does, the purposes to which the money will be put. In the act’s final lines, Henry alludes to this irony when he responds to Waldo’s question about why Henry is in jail by asking, “Waldo! What are you doing out of jail?” (67). The question implicitly criticizes Waldo for “going along” with the unjust war, turning him into the criminal Henry refuses to be. The proper place for criminals ought to be jail, but—in the presence of unjust laws—jail, ironically, becomes the only place for honest men.

In contrast to Waldo’s hypocrisy, Henry lives the philosophy he espouses, with his lifestyle exemplifying The Importance of Simplicity. Henry’s home is a small cabin in the woods by a pond; Waldo owns the property and allows Henry to live there in return for Henry’s help around the house. However, Henry doesn’t seek regular employment, telling Waldo: “If you don’t pay me a regular salary, then I won’t feel obliged to keep regular hours. I love a broad margin to my life. . .” (52). At his cabin, Henry has no human company; he fishes, grows beans, and proudly says that his “mansion” cost him just $28.12 to build. In short, he has what he needs and not much else; he spends his time outdoors and provides most things for himself because he requires so little. When Bailey tells Henry that he likes to drink whenever he can afford to, Henry says that he can get “drunk on the air” by his home (56). Drinking alcohol lowers people’s inhibitions and can make them do or say things they normally wouldn’t; in short, it makes them feel freer. However, Henry doesn’t need alcohol to feel free because he lives simply and refuses to follow customs or laws with which he disagrees. In refusing to be governed by either government or consumerism, he is truly free.