Questions

1. What are Ken Ilgunas’s reasons for living in a van? How do they compare with Thoreau’s reasons for living in a cabin? Why does Ilgunas call his enterprise a “Thoreauvian van-dwelling experiment” (par. 13)? Why would he title his book Walden on Wheels?

   Question

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   Questions: - What are Ken Ilgunas’s reasons for living in a van? How do they compare with Thoreau’s reasons for living in a cabin? Why does Ilgunas call his enterprise a “Thoreauvian van-dwelling experiment” (par. 13)? Why would he title his book Walden on Wheels?
2. When Ilgunas received his tax refund, he spent his money on what Thoreau would call “luxuries,” only to report, “I didn’t need these things” (par. 26). What does Ilgunas’s experiment teach him about “economy,” as Thoreau saw it?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - When Ilgunas received his tax refund, he spent his money on what Thoreau would call “luxuries,” only to report, “I didn’t need these things” (par. 26). What does Ilgunas’s experiment teach him about “economy,” as Thoreau saw it?
3. Ilgunas writes, “To me, Thoreau’s cabin wasn’t just a home; it was the reimagining of a life; it was the conviction that we can turn the wildest figments of our imagination into something real” (par. 31). Near the end of Walden, Thoreau writes, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Compare those two statements. To what extent does Ilgunas’s experiment respond to what Thoreau enjoins?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - Ilgunas writes, “To me, Thoreau’s cabin wasn’t just a home; it was the reimagining of a life; it was the conviction that we can turn the wildest figments of our imagination into something real” (par. 31). Near the end of Walden, Thoreau writes, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Compare those two statements. To what extent does Ilgunas’s experiment respond to what Thoreau enjoins?
4. What is the main point Ilgunas wishes to leave with his readers? What is your overall response to his piece? Is it admirable? Realistic? Could you see yourself becoming a Thoreau for our time, as Ilgunas has? Explain.

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - What is the main point Ilgunas wishes to leave with his readers? What is your overall response to his piece? Is it admirable? Realistic? Could you see yourself becoming a Thoreau for our time, as Ilgunas has? Explain.