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Civil Disobedience: Movie Analysis

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Thoreau emphasizes the importance of civil disobedience, and talks of its place within our culture; at the same time Emerson speaks on the ideas of self-reliance. Like Thoreau said, it’s best for one to protest when in attempt to emphasize a point or bring notice to a problem. If there is, the worst one could do would be to sit passively. “A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance.” (“Civil Disobedience”) Max did not wait for his life at home to get better, he actively expressed his feelings of neglect to his mother, though not in the best ways. He is introduced with a harsh temperament, destroying his sister’s room, and biting his mother, anything to get attention. He jumps on the counter and yells “I’ll eat you up!” to his …show more content…

“There I feel that nothing can befall me in life … [nothing] which nature cannot repair.” (“Nature”) After a violent conflict with his mother, Max, a 9 year old, runs from his home and escapes to the woods. The film takes place in the imaginary space within his mind, and like Thoreau, he takes the time to think and self-reflect. Emerson wrote about the mind being boundless, like nature. Max’s imagination leads him to build structures as large as he can envision- and isn’t crestfallen by anyone else’s thoughts. These tenets of nature being healing don’t only reach out to adults, but aforementioned, to youth as well. Without the stress of the environment he faces at home, he begins to understand the mindsets of those around him. Why does his mother hate him? Why is his sister so neglectful? Maybe his mother deserves time to herself and her new boyfriend, and what’s so wrong about his sister having her own friends? In “Nature” Thoreau likewise lived in the woods, secluded, for a time of 2 years. He used this time to think for himself. Max returns home with a new mindset, and a new love for his family. Sometimes you need time for yourself, and nature is a great supporter for those times. This represents transcendentalist thinking, and it is still a significant aspect American culture. It is another reason why introverts are being shown in a better light in the present, and being by oneself is becoming more accepted.

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In lines 14-15, Dabydeen remarks how Max “used to dream about being in Canada,” demonstrating his now-smothered fantasies about the place he could once live. In parallel, the author includes mention of Max’s nostalgic dreaming of the island, “He pictured the faces of the fellas on the island,”(lines 53-55) alluding to the lingering theme of regretful sacrifices. Max internally argues, through his fantasizing, that he could’ve had a reasonably stable life, had he remained on the island. His complex situation is exposed through juxtaposition once more through the contrasting statement of how this weary protagonist is “prepared for hell” (line 6), despite being in search of an impending, “sweet heaven” (line 8). This illustrates the complexity of his sense of place; he once dreamed about inhabiting Canada, yet his search of personal satisfaction is incomplete— he awaits a sanctuary in the future.

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The barriers that society provides to the world are shattered and when one steps into nature within this unexplored world; anything can

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Here, he personifies nature as being smarter and more resilient than humanity. Meanwhile, Bradbury explains that “the house shuddered” which represents that mankind is afraid because man recognizes his ultimate defeat (Bradbury 4). In the denouement, Bradbury illustrates that the sun rises literally and figuratively over humanity, “the heaped rubble and steam,” revealing that the natural world outlasts man (Bradbury

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Civil Disobedience In the dictionary civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest, but Thoreau and Martin Luther King have their own beliefs to civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he writes about the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. Martin Luther King uses civil disobedience as something that effectuates change in the government. Both Thoreau and Martin Luther King has similar yet different perspectives on civil disobedience.

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In this essay the author E. B. White tells a story about a moment in his life where he realized how valuable time is. When he was younger his father would rent a camp “summer after summer” on a lake in Maine where he spent his month of August. (E.B. White 81). Now that he is older and a father he takes his son, “who had never had any flesh water up his nose” to that same location, and reflects back to his experience. (E. B. White 81).

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Civil disobedience can mean many things to many people. To some people it could mean a non-violent means of protesting or attempting to achieve political goals; however, in the eyes of people like Martin Luther King Jr it could be different. He stated that “one has the moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. Martin Luther King Jr prove this by doing many non-violent protest during his time, to fight against segregation. The meaning of civil disobedience is a bit different in Henry Thoreau’s eyes.

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The Great Depression was a time of disparity; many people lost their jobs, their families, and the will to live. Many problems arose for the people of the United States. Three specific problems that these people experienced were food shortages which which was made worse due to President. Hoover's philosophy, increased racial discrimination which led to the creation of an executive order, and economic problems for farmers which was solved agreeably. Although many people struggled during this time it also showed the determination of people wanting to get better and not giving up because of how many obstacles were in their way.

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In Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience he speaks about how he participated in peaceful protest. For Thoreau his peaceful protest was simply not paying his taxes. But in that day and age that was quite a risky thing to do.

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" For one second, stop thinking about whatever you're thinking and picture this. A hot, quiet day with the sun beating down on your skin. You're sitting under a luscious green tree trying to find as much shade possible while you watch everything go on around you. Children, barely clothed and barefoot laughing

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Each day I walk through the streets completely unaware that each and every single person that I walked by has a story of their own. Whether it’s an ideally happy one or a sad one, each person is made uniquely of stories. Only after my introduction to This is Water by David Foster Wallace, did I realize how much I relate to him and what he was saying. One idea Wallace expressed well was all humans have a default, natural way, of thinking. Using his inner thoughts as an example, he confessed that it is “[his] deep belief that [he is] the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence (Paragraph 2).”

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Throughout both Ralph Emerson’s, “Self-Reliance” and Henry Thoreau’s, “Civil Disobedience” the desire to enjoin the reader to take action against society is very significant in each excerpt. In both pieces one is able to understand the prominent theme of individualism, as it is encourage by the writers for others to not fall under the idea of conformity. In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson expresses the idea of how significant it is for people to not conform since it will only hinder one’s growth instead of progressing even further as a unique individual. Likewise in Thoreau’s excerpt, “Civil Disobedience,” he also explains how people will never grow as people, however, he focuses mostly as to how people need to rebel against societal influences such

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Instances in which civil disobedience was practiced stretch back throughout the course of history farther than most people think. This term is also one that is often misunderstood. Civil disobedience, a term coined by Henry David Thoreau in his essay published in 1849, is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. This definition corresponds with that of peaceful resistance, or the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, or economic or political noncooperation, without using violence. Civil disobedience, as well as peaceful resistance, is a positive and effective method in the steps towards making a change.

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Thoreau was strongly against any violent act of protest, but should a person disagree with his/her government, Thoreau would encourage that person to do so in a peaceful manner. Civil disobedience serves the purpose of giving the people a say. For example, Thoreau stated, “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward attaining it“ (Civil

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In the woods, too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough [dead skin] and at what period so ever of life is always a child.” Emerson compares a man casting off his years to a snake casting off his dead skin. This comparison backs up the idea that people need to be able to look deep inside of themselves to find the ability to love nature and be able to be at peace with the world. By casting off this outside shell, people can go back to the innocence of childhood, when they were able to connect with nature and love it for what it really is. For nature itself, finding peace with the rest of the world is not nearly as difficult as it is for people.

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