In Act II, there is a scene where Thoreau imagines a bell rope, tries to ring it, and hears no sound. He laments, "How do we make a sound? How do we break the silence?" What do you think Thoreau means here?

It simply means that Thoreau sought for a way to catch the people's attention. The bell not making any sound is similar to nobody paying attention to him.

Explanation:

He laments, ""How do we make a sound? How do we break the silence?" He was simply asking for a way to catch the attention of the people.

"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail” is a two-act American play. The play was written by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence written in 1969 and first published in 1971.

The story recalls how Henry David Thoreau found himself in prison for not paying taxes.