Question

HELP (read passage and choose answer)

Answer 1

Most people remember Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as reformers who practiced non-violent forms of protest and advocacy. Both effectively changed the popular opinion about emotional issues for their countries and brought in a wave of change that was long overdue. But the practice of non-violent protest, or civil disobedience, started long before either Gandhi or King. It began with a quiet, shy poet who is best known for writing a lot about a pond.

Henry David Thoreau lived from 1817 until 1862, mainly in the area of Concord, Massachusetts. The issue that would tear the country apart in the 1860s had already begun dividing the nation. Thoreau was only 14 when Nat Turner led the slave rebellion in Virginia and was later hanged. In his late 20s, Thoreau began speaking against slavery in public, echoing the voices of freedmen like Frederick Douglass and Lewis Hayden.

Thoreau believed that a government that supported slavery was corrupt and immoral. He was also deeply suspicious of government. For these and other reasons, Thoreau refused to pay his poll tax for a number of years. The poll tax was a legal tax owed by every person. It was basically a tax on one's body. After not paying for years, he was at last arrested. He spent only one night in jail, however, as a relative paid the tax for him. He was reportedly furious that any tax was paid on his behalf.

It was this experience that Thoreau wrote about in an essay called "Civil Disobedience." In this essay, he argued that being moral and just came before allegiance to government. He wrote “If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law." He also felt that voting was not enough to ensure that the right thing be done. He wrote that "even voting for the right is doing nothing for it… A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance…" He felt that one had a moral responsibility to resist unjust laws.

What is the main idea of the passage?

Thoreau’s protest influenced others.
Thoreau lived in Massachusetts.
Thoreau went to jail for not paying taxes.
Thoreau was a quiet poet.

Answer 2

@TheSmartOne ;P

Answer 3

The main idea of the passage. Now how shall we find it?

Let's take a look at the beginning and ending of each paragraph:

Most people remember Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as reformers who practiced non-violent forms of protest and advocacy.
But the practice of non-violent protest, or civil disobedience, started long before either Gandhi or King. It began with a quiet, shy poet who is best known for writing a lot about a pond.
Thoreau believed that a government that supported slavery was corrupt and immoral.
It was this experience that Thoreau wrote about in an essay called "Civil Disobedience."
He felt that one had a moral responsibility to resist unjust laws.

Now, reading just the first paragraph should give you a good sense of the main idea of the passage. Can you tell me what the main idea is now?

Answer 4

THESIS: Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as reformers who practiced non-violent forms of protest and advocacy.

Answer 5

That's kind of correct, but incomplete.

This is really the thesis/main idea:

But the practice of non-violent protest, or civil disobedience, started long before either Gandhi or King. It began with a quiet, shy poet who is best known for writing a lot about a pond. Henry David Thoreau lived from 1817 until 1862, mainly in the area of Concord, Massachusetts.

Answer 6

@Joehoffy ?

Answer 7

sorry i was eating @TheSmartOne

Answer 8

so the main idea would be : Thoreau’s protest influenced others.

Answer 9

correct :)

Answer 10

thank you

Answer 11

Anytime!