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How does the nightmare scene near the end in particular, and this play in general, act as a work of protest against war in general? Are there...

This play was first published in 1970. It was therefore written during the time of growing public protest against America’s involvement in the war with Vietnam. Readers, performers, and audiences back then immediately saw the parallels between this script and real life. On May 4, 1970, four students were killed by the Ohio National Guard during a large protest at Kent State University. Individuals at other gatherings and sit-ins were being arrested and were being sent to jail for their anti-war stands and beliefs. Henry Thoreau’s historic experience was almost held as a model for these acts of “civil disobedience.” This new play reflected its time. And yet, since it was written generally enough without specifically mentioning Vietnam, it could serve as a protest against any war, anywhere, at any time.


The nightmare scene puts Henry on the edge of a battlefield in or near Mexico. Masses of people – representing mainstream society -- are loudly joining the chants “Learn to kill!” and “Go along!” They give weapons to both Bailey and Henry, and neither one of the men wants to join the fight or to kill anyone. The response on the other side is “Coward! Slacker! Traitor! Deserter!” This sounds similar to the reactions during the military draft of the 1970s. Anyone who burned his draft card or who moved to Canada heard these names flung out to him, merely because he was acting on what Henry would have called his “higher law.” It was expected that soldiers would serve without questioning the government’s motives. By refusing to pay a tax that didn’t apply to him, Henry Thoreau was questioning his own government’s motives, too.


During the nightmare, Henry also finds his brother John, who dies again in his arms, just as he did when he lost his life years earlier to tetanus. This image of brothers in war is reminiscent of the American Civil War, as well as both World Wars, when bands of brothers on all sides were engaged in the fighting. Not all of them came home. And this experience still happens today, in any war, anywhere.


“The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail” could have been written without the nightmare scene. But it is a crucial part of the script. It gives us an example of the kinds of government-based actions that Henry once disagreed with. In part, he was protesting specifically against the United States’ invasion of Mexico. But his act still has widespread relevancy and appeal.

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