David Henry Hwang

Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963, as he sat, as the title states, in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. King had been jailed for his participation in a peaceful protest of segregation in public places such as lunch counters and public restrooms (Berkley, 2003). While jailed, King read a criticism of the protest by a group of white ministers, who felt such demonstrations “directed and in part led by outsiders” were “unwise and untimely”, suggesting

Although not looked upon as a widely popular topic in the 21st century, transcendentalism has played a role in everyone's life. Action of the tenets and values of transcendentalist people vary. Religious traditions from each generation amplify the movement along with the social and political activity. Transcendentalist believe in the natural man. One who is self-reliant, uncorrupted and one with nature. God is in everything but nothing in particular. "...that great nature in which we rest ..

Exploring Frontiers of Thought in Walden       In his world-famous thought-provoking novel, Walden, Henry David Thoreau presents his readers with a simple, inspirational guide for living.  Written beside the beautiful Walden pond and completely surrounded by an unencumbered  natural world, Thoreau writes about his own relationship with the beauty that surrounds him.  His book provides an outlet for everyone to learn from his lessons learned in nature, whether they be city-dwellers or

Evaluation of Dworkin's and Habermas's Approach to Civil Disobedience The following essay will attempt to evaluate the approach taken by Dworkin and Habermas on their views of civil disobedience. The two main pieces of literature referred to will be Dworkin?s paper on 'Civil Disobedience and Nuclear Protest?' and Habermas's paper on 'Civil Disobedience: Litmus Test for the Democratic Constitutional State.' An outline of both Dworkin's and Habermas's approach will be given , further discussion

Walden; Or, Life In The Woods is a self-experiment that provides an ideal opportunity to evaluate the author’s philosophy. The book is an account of Henry David Thoreau’s journey of self-discovery as he attempts to live a life of simplicity and self-reliance in the woods of Massachusetts. His exploration of his two years and two months living in a cabin near Walden Pond is considered a seminal work of early American transcendentalism. Thoreau never explicitly reveals the spiritual truth at the end

The are certain words in the English language that are extremely difficult to define therefore to give them meaning, is to enter a fierce debate among thinkers. How does one define a word that is so abstract and whose definition and purpose varies so extensively from nation to nation, language to language, and person to person? One can only hope to grasp the concept of such words, before another person comes up with a slightly more adequate definition than the one currently leading the pack. The

I strongly believe that just as Henry David Thoreau was greatly influenced by the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, (who introduced Thoreau to the ideas of transcendentalism) Martin Luther King, Jr.'s thinking was greatly influenced by that of Thoreau's. He was most probably influenced more by India's Mahatma Gandhi; however, Gandhi's principles were mainly based on those of Thoreau. Though Thoreau lived more than 100 years before the time of King, his thinking remained an influential legacy. They each

The essays, "Civil Disobedience," by Henry David Thoreau, and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," by Martin Luther King, Jr., incorporate the authors’ opinions of justice. Each author efficiently shows their main point; Thoreau deals with justice as it relates to government, he asks for,”not at one no government, but at once a better government.”(Paragraph 3). King believed,” injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." (Paragraph 4). Each essay shows a valid argument for justice, but King's

America was still in its infancy; the West was not yet settled, the South was still a confederacy and unity was just a dream. The country was torn by slavery. And some men began to question the integrity of their government. Henry David Thoreau was one such man. Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to a successful pencil manufacturer John Thoreau and a strong-willed, quick-witted mother,

“Letter From Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” after an unjust proposal made by eight white clergymen. Their claims were to be that no Negro “outsider” should be allowed to establish or lead any protest and should leave them to their local neighborhoods. King replied directly to the clergymen, but used religious ties to also have his voice heard in the public. In his counter argument, King strategically used logical evidence, emotional aspects