The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

by

Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Thoreau in Jail makes teaching easy.

Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
History and the Importance of Learning from the Past Theme Icon
Protest, Resistance, Community, and Action Theme Icon
War Theme Icon
Education, Thought, Information, and Learning Theme Icon
Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility Theme Icon

This play is a resounding warning against complacency and conformity. Though it wonders about how best to resist authority, effect change, and educate, it is always steadfast in its stand against complacency, declaring that to obey your government without question is to be complicit in the crimes your government may commit. Henry is adamant that Waldo, by refusing to speak out against the war, is effectively endorsing it. This image is confirmed and underscored by the climactic dream scene in the second act, in which the play’s characters become commanders, generals, and soldiers in the Mexican War. Each of them directly participates in the killing. Waldo even becomes the president—meaning that within the world of the dream, he assumes responsibility for the entire war, with the clear suggestion that by not advocating against the war he is therefore responsible for it.

The play insists that these are the stakes of complacency: blind obedience is the equivalent of active endorsement. We are all responsible for the actions of our government. Once again this is a striking message to Vietnam-era Americans, that ambivalence has no place in this social and political climate.

Related Themes from Other Texts
Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme…

Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility appears in each act of The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
How often theme appears:
act length:
Get the entire Thoreau in Jail LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail PDF

Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility Quotes in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

Below you will find the important quotes in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail related to the theme of Complacency, Conformity, and Responsibility.
Act 1 Quotes

“Cast conformity behind you!”
“Cast…Conformity…Behind You…!”

Related Characters: Henry David Thoreau (speaker), Ralph Waldo Emerson (speaker)
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:

I want to be as much as possible like Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Related Characters: Henry David Thoreau (speaker), Ralph Waldo Emerson (speaker)
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:

I refuse to commit murder. That’s why I’m here.

Related Characters: Henry David Thoreau (speaker), Bailey (speaker)
Page Number: 10
Explanation and Analysis:

For you and me, deacon, the declaration of Independence has already been written. Young Thoreau has to declare it every day.

Related Characters: Ralph Waldo Emerson (speaker), Henry David Thoreau, Deacon Ball
Page Number: 42
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2 Quotes

I gotta git to Cañada!

Related Characters: Henry Williams (speaker), Henry David Thoreau
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:

Always do the right thing, even if it’s wrong.

Related Characters: Mrs. Thoreau (speaker), Henry David Thoreau
Page Number: 94
Explanation and Analysis:

Seems to me I’ve got several more lives to live.

Related Characters: Henry David Thoreau (speaker), Bailey
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis: