The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail ~ Week 2

It was difficult to recognize ironic conversations or situations in the play because Thoreau is such an ironic person in general.  They irony was practically right under my nose; I just had to "hunt for the huckleberries." ;) Anyway, one ironic conversation was when Lydian and Henry were discussing Henry's possible marriage to a woman.  He continuously refused the very thought of living with another person.  I found this very strange because the one who is very alone in life, Henry, wishes to forever be left to himself, while the one with seemingly everything, Lydian, does not feel loved by anyone.  This is the opposite mindset from what we expect from certain types of people.  Another ironic conversation in the play is between Waldo and Henry.  Henry seems to be the one preaching ideas that are worth hearing to Waldo, while lecturing and philosophising is Waldo's job, not Henry's.
I would not sat that Henry's protest proved successful because of the fact that the map changed course and still did not reach its exact destination.  It's one thing if you reach the same goal but take a different path to get there, but Thoreau did not do so.  His ultimate goal was to make a difference by protesting the law, which did not happen at the time.  He may have changed the ideas of a small few, but his point of view was not seen from until many many years later.  He did not stop the war with his protest, which may not have been his ultimate goal.  But he barely made a scratch on the surface of change in the government with his actions (and non-actions) during his lifetime.  Therefore, I would say that the protests of Thoreau did not prove successful in the end.
This should be very fun, since I love the entertainment business.  The actors I have chosen for each role and my reasoning for each are as follows:

#1- Henry David Thoreau-- Jamie Bell
I picture Thoreau as a young man who looks old from experience and wise thoughts.  Jamie Bell would be able to pull off this look quite well because he can easily transform from a youngster to a man, as Henry does quite often in the play.  I also see Thoreau as a nimble man who can almost float through the fields he studies, as well as he floats through life.  Jamie Bell used to be an avid dancer (as he showed us in Billy Elliot) and could play a frolicking teacher as well as a serious inmate (as he was in Defiance).
#2- Ralph Waldo Emerson-- Dustin Hoffman
Emerson is a brilliant theorist who never fails to express his unique ideas, whether in a lecture or in everyday life.  This characteristic fits almost PERFECTLY with Dustin Hoffman's character in the movie "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium."  Hoffman seems to match the look of a mad scientist (or in this case, lecturer) which is a vital advantage.  Their random yet brilliant personalities and thoughts go together like a pair of my grandma's knitted socks; perfectly.
#3- Bailey-- Dax Shepard
Bailey, to me, has the look of a man that has great potential, but just needs a bath and some education to realize it.  Dax could fit this look because he has that cut-edge look of someone who just needs a shave, but you can tell that he has a great talent from the way he speaks and carries himself.  Dax could fit the part of someone who is uneducated at first, but molds into someone who begins to recognize how much they can do and strives to learn, as Bailey does.

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail ~ Week 1

So far I am enjoying the play a lot.  My favorite character is Waldo, because he looks at everything from such a strange perspective that I cannot help but laugh at.  It is very different from any other play I have read, considering I usually only read Shakespeare plays.  This one is a bit easier to follow along with and visualize.  To be honest, I don't completely understand the idea of Transcendentalist thought.  However, many specific quotes from the play envelop the overall principle of this form of philosophy.  The quote I chose was: "Henry: Our own school, John.  No buildings.  Break out of the classroom prison.  All we need is the sky!" (24).  This quote sums up Henry's opinion on the value of knowledge and thought over the value of materialistic things.  He wishes to break free from the modern ideas about what learning should look like, as he believes the most valuable knowledge cannot be learned from other mere human beings.  Nature is the most knowledgeable teacher there is out there, and people often do not realize it.  Society feels that brick buildings that house mortal teachers who know little more than most people, if any at all.  Thoreau knew that the truest information is located outside of man-made walls, and among the beauty of nature.  In nature, everyone walks away with different information and different thoughts, which is much different from a classroom where each student learns the same thing.  Thoreau's way of expressing his opinion on the importance of Transcendentalism is by putting the power of nature into the daily lives of everyday children.
A Perfect Day for Bananafish is a very strange story.  I liked it at first, because the conversation between the mother and daughter reminded me of the random conversations I find myself in when I talk on the phone with my own mother.  I did see comparisons between characters in this short story and those of Catcher in the Rye.  Muriel, the girl at the beginning had similar qualities to Holden.  They both had a somewhat awkward and distant relationship with their parents.  They also seem to spend all of their time productively, according to their own definitions of "productive."  Sybil reminds me of Phoebe in her curiosity and affection towards people.  Muriel's mother reminds me of Holden's teacher who had him over before he left from Pencey, due to their concern for those who are close to them.  Seymour, who I had a hard time connecting to anyone on this planet, reminds me a bit of Holden's old teacher who housed him right before he decided to go home, because they both had strange affections towards children, especially.  Those are the multiple connections I made between the characters in Bananafish and those in Catcher.  That's all for this week!
Sayonara!