Essay Topics For the Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

The essay topics for the night Thoreau spent in jail is a fictional work that serves as an introduction to his life and work. It is an interesting, moving, and thought provoking account of the time he spent in jail, and a personal recounting of the circumstances leading up to his arrival at Mount Auburn.

In an interview with Ralph Waldo Emerson Thoreau said, 'I am always ready to go where an intellectual is eager to go.' That said, 'I was glad to get out of Mount Auburn Prison,' as he went on to say, 'but I am sorry to be here at this time.'

As a person who has written a number of essays, especially ones on times I have spent in jail, I am sympathetic to the issue of someone who is being held for a non-violent offense. However, there are three things that Thoreau must have been thinking about when he wrote this essay and how they may have affected his feelings.

He might have worried about the fate of his friends, including a number of friends who were kept at Mount Auburn Prison. This account provides us a glimpse into their lives. Would Thoreau have had any interaction with them during his stay in jail?

Since so much is unknown about the many years Thoreau spent in jail it is easy to understand why he could be concerned. He had a personal connection to each of his friends, as he mentions so plainly in the essay and not without some speculation.

Was Thoreau afraid of what might happen to his friends if they did not come to the rescue? Or perhaps, was he afraid of them? While the essay is all conjecture, this may have been a thought in his mind.

Thoreau's essay can be read in its entirety, but it will suffice to state that he describes his imprisonment as a 'nasty, desperate experience.' Was it not, perhaps, something of a cold call for such a long period of time?

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