Essay 5

Essay 5

This is it!  The final essay of the semester requires you to offer a cogent response to the following prompt: 

In "Civil Disobedience" (pg. 161-175), Thoreau asserts that sometimes it may be necessary to break the law.  He writes:  "If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go [ . . . ] but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law [ . . . ] What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn" (167).  In your essay, begin by identifying Thoreau's position on breaking the law, and attempt to articulate when he seems to endorse it (based on his essay and, perhaps, what you might find when reading biographical information about Thoreau).  Your claim should be a well-defined position on when (if ever) it is acceptable to break the law.  Then, your goal is to launch into your body paragraphs in an effort to advance your claim.  You will likely want to do some research in an effort to isolate examples/quotations that will help bolster your position.  Of course, you should consider refuting the opposition toward the end of your essay.

Please bring a typed Works Cited page.  Simply follow the guidelines as specified in the MLA section in the Grammar Manual.

Please bring no more than ten quotations to class.

Essay 5 is an in-class essay.  .