In "Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau, he writes, "The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to at any time what I think right."

While Proenneke never did any over the top "civil disobedience" he did follow the words of Thoreau in a way. In this quote, and quite a bit of the rest of the text, Thoreau writes about how the individual should make their own decisions without the government or society telling them what to do. Well Proenneke went into the woods, by himself, living by his own rules, for thirty years.