Essay 'The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail'

Words: 407
Pages: 2

In The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, one of the maxims of Waldo Emerson is explored within the play. The play takes place during the Transcendentalism time period, where a movement encouraging individualism, nonconformity, and intuitive thought was happening. Waldo Emerson, a transcendentalist, created the maxim “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind” as a response to this movement. According to his essay, “Self-Reliance,” the maxim carries the thematic meaning that one should hold their own beliefs in the most high regard instead of going along with the majority or authority. The personal moral principles of one should be held as “sacred,” which is defined as being treasured and protected