Henry David Thoreau Study Guide
from Walden
1) Why did Thoreau go to the woods (383)?
2) According to Thoreau, by what is our life “frittered away” (383)?
3) What does Thoreau mean by his advice to “Simplify, simplify” (383)?
4) Why did Thoreau decide to leave the woods (385)?
5) What idea does the metaphor about a man who “does not keep pace with his companions, but hears a
different drummer” help Thoreau develop (385)?
6) What advice does Thoreau offer to those who live in poverty (385)?
from Resistance to Civil Government
7) How does Thoreau define the best possible kind of government?
8) According to Thoreau, when will Americans get the best possible kind of government?
9) a) What is the meaning of the metaphor where Thoreau describes government as a “wooden gun”? b)
How does the metaphor help Thoreau develop the logic of his ideas?
a.
b.
10) Who does Thoreau say is responsible for educating, settling territories, and keeping the country free?
11) What is Thoreau asking his readers to do?
12) What does Thoreau think is wrong with majority rule?
13) What does he say is the only obligation he has a right to assume?
14) What point does Thoreau make about people opposing wrongdoing?
15) When does Thoreau say we will have a “free and enlightened State”?
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
from “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”
16) How does King explain the difference between a just law and unjust law?
17) a) Why was King arrested and b) how does he use this as an example of an unjust law?
a.
b.
18) How does King say one should break an unjust law?
19) When does one express “highest respect for the law”?