The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

Irony

 noun

1. 1.

   the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

   
   

   For those of you who don't know what irony is, I included the definition above. You may be thinking: What does irony have to do with this play? Well, there are many examples of irony told in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.

   
   

   One example of irony is when Henry Thoreau takes his crush Ellen, out on a boat ride. He tells her "Thank god humans can't fly. We'd pollute the sky." But now, we have airplanes that do just what he cautioned about. 

   
   

   Another example of irony is when Henry went to jail for not paying taxes and refused to leave when his aunt payed his taxes for him. He didn't want to leave because he fully supported the reason that got him into the jail. 

   
   

   The three most important characters in the story are probably Henry (obviously!), John, and Waldo. Henry was the main character; the whole play was based on him. John was Henry's brother. John was very important to Henry and when he died, Henry was depressed for a while. And Waldo was Henry's friend and Idol. Henry looked up to Waldo and admired his speeches.

   If I were to choose three actors for each of these characters, I would choose Johnny Depp for Henry Johnny Depp is a very influencing actor and is also very passionate. He's witty and smart like Thoreau. 

   For John I would choose Robert Downey Jr. Robert reminds me of John because John is smart, easy to have fun and laugh with, and in many ways like his younger brother. Robert Downey Jr (it doesn't sound right if you don't say his full name) acted in the movie Ironman as Tony Stark. Tony Stark was a very sarcastic, funny and genius person. Except for the sarcastic trait, I think he is just like John. 

   As for Waldo, I think James Franco would fit nicely. James Franco in the movie Oz The Great and Powerful, (I would not recommend this movie it was pretty bad...) started off as a guy who had people look up to him, but he never really did anything when put to the test. Later, when the fate of Oz depended on him, he became a mature leader. 

   
   

   Henry's words and actions did prove successful in the end. By only spending one night in jail, he had enough time to reflect on his old efforts of trying to teach transcendental beliefs. His protest against the Mexican war and refusal to pay his taxes infront of a crowd of people showed how dedicated he was in his beliefs. In the end he did get out of jail, but the people of Concord learned that Henry David Thoreau really believed in what he preached. So even though most didn't agree, they still got his message. Personally I thought the ending was the best part.

The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

Huckleberries are an important symbol in this two part play. In The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, Henry tells Deacon Ball about how students scramble for ideas the way they hunt for huckleberries. In this part of the play, huckleberries symbolize ideas. Good ideas are searched for just like good, ripe huckleberries are sought after in a field. They also symbolize how Henry thinks education should be. Searching for ideas the way you would search for huckleberries, not being afraid to get dirty, and being in the open where it is easiest to learn. Henry doesn't believe that education should be served, he believes it should be discovered. So the act of huckleberry hunting symbolizes education.