Question

according to \civil disobedience,\ what happens before thoreau is put into prison?
he contemplates what prison is like.
he decides that imprisonment is foolish.
he does not pay the poll tax for six years.
he meditates on the problems of the state.

Explanation:

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, his act of refusing to pay the poll tax (a protest against slavery and the Mexican-American War) over multiple years directly leads to his imprisonment. The other options either occur during/after his imprisonment or are not the immediate preceding action.

Answer:

He does not pay the poll tax for six years.