Walden (Excerpt)

What is Thoreau's purpose or central message?

• People can find satisfaction in living simply despite the contemporary influence of conformity and consumerism.

• People should conform to societal norms in order to live comfortably warm for the rest of their lives.

• People should be allowed to live above their means if they so choose to do so.

• American society in the 1840's valued taking care of the environment.

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What does Thoreau assert is necessary for living?

• Thoreau suggests that fashionable clothing is a necessity.

• Thoreau states that high-end housing is a necessary for living.

• Thoreau suggests to only eat what you need, buy what you can afford, and live simply.

• Thoreau asserts that working for large corporations in order to make a sizable living is a necessity.

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How does Thoreau prove his point that human beings can live comfortably with only the bare necessities?

• He works in a factory to provide for his family.

• He is an English professor at a university and he makes enough money for his family to live in a two-story home.

• He lives on the streets in Boston to prove that you do not need a home to live comfortably.

• He lived in a cabin in the woods that he built on a budget.

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How does Thoreau feel about technological progress?

• He feels that railroads have positively impacted the culture in America.

• Thoreau distrusts technology and feels that it tends to control people rather than serve them.

• Thoreau enjoys tinkering with the inventions of his era.

• Thoreau is indifferent in concerns to technological progress of his time.

What is Thoreau's critique on the state of people and their place in the world?

• He is critiquing the world around him and humanity's over dependence and desire for progress.

• He feels that the wealthy are a model for growth in the U.S.

• He critiques the poor for not working hard enough to move up in the world.

• He critiques the middle class for supporting the poor in their efforts to achieve "comfortable warmth".

What was the author experimenting with that went against common ideas of that time period? 

• Sleeping all day
• Working all the time
• Working as little as possible
• Working on a farm

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Describe "Walden" Cabin

• Big, modern, stylish 
• Small, modern, useful
• Medium, old school, vintage 
• Small, old school, vintage

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What day did the experiment at Walden pond start? 

• December 12, 1850
• January 13, 1849
• July 4, 1845
• July 13, 1841

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Why did the author go to the woods? 

• To see if he could survive
• To make friends
• To experience nature and life at its roots
• To observe birds

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What was a major theme of living at Walden cabin? 

• Simplify
• Complicate
• Live well 
• Ignore people