Chapter 20 Summary

Ray continues to meditate in the woods for about a month. His brother-in-law becomes irritated with Ray's lack of a productive job, and the older, retired locals also notice Ray's peculiar habit of spending long periods alone in the woods. When the locals ask what he is up to, he tells them he likes to go into the woods to sleep and be alone, which they find confusing and amusing. One night, Ray gets drunk with one of the locals, an older retired man, and Ray confides in him that in fact he likes to meditate in the woods. The man tells him that all men would all like to meditate in the woods, but they are too ashamed to be seen as bums. Instead, they spend their time trying to appear busy and productive even though everyone knows they are just pretending...