Independant Reflection

My first impressions of the book was that it could have a good story line that might be able to hook and keep my interest throughout the book. Since i am not a big book reader i was happy to see that Krakaur made the book an 'easy read' in the fact that there weren't too many WPP so i never got the feeling that i was reading the same page forever. Its about a man named Chris McCandles who comes from a wealthy family and one day decides to give all his possessions and money away to different charitys to travel the US's westcoast to eventually end up 'going into the wild' in the Alaskan wilderness. John wrote the book with a circle plot so the death of Chris came first then it rewinded time from the beginning while also have a side plot of John's own experiences climbing mountains, climbing, etc.. The main thing i didnt like was that there wasnt much time spent on what things he did in the different states he visited before going to Alaska. I feel like there could have been some stories within those states that could have made Chris's mindset a little more clear of why he wanted to live in the wild. Although there were some slight flaws i would recommend this book to people who like going outdoors or even thinking of doing the same thing; it would bring some dangers of the wilderness to sight and show that its no walk in the park.

Individual Written Reflection

My frst impressions of the book weren't very good. It started off really slow and was hard to follow because the time period would keep jumping around from time time so it was difficult to stay focused and interested. But as it went on it became a little more interesting. It was also hard to follow because Krakauer doesn't tell the reader right away that Alexander Supertramp and Christopher McCandless are the same person so for a little I thought the book was going to be based off of two different characters. My final impressions of the book weren't too fond because I thought it would of been better if Alex had survived. But at the beginning it tells you that he's going to die so that kind of ruined the book for me. I also felt kind of bad for Alex because if he were to survive nineteen days longer then he would of been found by those hikers and could of left the Alaskan wilderness. My favorite part of the book as in chapter two when Wayne Westerberg is the last person to see Aex before he goes into the wild. Why I like this part is because its a major turning point in the book and Westerberg is offering to buy Alex better materials so he has a higher chance of surviving but Alex denies his offer. At the same time this is my least favorite part of the book because this shows how ignorant Alex truly is for thinking he can urvive in the wild without the right materials. What I thought should have been different about the book was the time period jumping from time to time. If it wasn't like this it would of been easier to follow and I would of been more interested instead of being confused. Overall I thought Into The Wild was a solid book. I wouldn't recommend it to very many people, just to those who like the outdoors.

Independent Reflection

My first impression of this novel was that it seemed very interesting and definitely made me curious on how he died and his last 3 months of his life, what happened and how close was he to actually surviving in the wild. My final impression of the novel was sad and felt bad for him that he died and how close he came to still being alive if he would have stayed alive 12 days longer the hunters could of found him. My favorite part of the novel was when Krakauer was talking about climbing devils thumb and he almost didnt do it and at the last minute found a clear path to the peak I felt like him and chris were alot alike in the way they both loved to be in the wild and they both had problems with there dad. My least favorite part was the fact that chris was so stubborn to take any gear with him into the wild and the fact he really thought he could live off only a 10lbs bag of rice. I felt like they should have added more stuff about all the other places he visited I know it would of made the book longer but I feel like it should talked about his whole adventure.

Independent reflection

My first  Impressions of the book were that it would be pretty good. It starts our with a circle ending the tells us of Chris' death, then takes us back to the begining working towards the end.  My final impression of the book was that Krakauer glorified McCandless' journey and took away from the fact that he wasted his future on a stupid decision to go live in the wild with none of the proper equipment. I agree with the people who wrote in to Krakauer after he published his article. Every year it seems some group of stupid people who think they can climb a mountain go to Mt. Hood and end up getting lost and waste millions of Tax payer dollars looking for people who don't plan properly and only hurt those around them. I really don't have a favorite part but my least favoritpe parts of the book were when Chris' so called friend would give him shelter and try and help him but then when he is leaving they don't stop the kid and they are each equally responsible for his death. I really hope there were people along Chris' travels that tried to talk some sense into the him, if there were those people I am disappointed in Krakauer for not including them because then he is avoiding the fact that he neglected and common sense and went into the wild with a death wish.

Written independant review

My first impression of the book was very mediocre because it was only telling about the background knowledge that you would need to know when the author refers back to certain points. Some of my least favorite parts of the novel were when the author talked about his own personal experiences. I did not like this because I think the book should strictly should have talked about Alexander Supertramp's experiences and not some author's personal experiences that he relates to the character. If I wanted to hear about how people relate to the story or the characters in it I would go on a blog and read hundreds of them their. So what I think should have been left out was the author's personal experiences. If the author had no more to say then he should have just shortened the book entirely. Last, I no this is impossible but I just wish McCandles was around to tell in detail about his journey because that was the main focus of the story and the person was not around to tell about it. All together I think the book was worth while to read because it gave people a true insight about the Alaskan wilderness people who may live in the city know a little bit more about what it is truly like to try and survive in the wilderness.

Question 5

how could the conflict could have been handled differently?

Question 4

Who would you recommend the book to?

Question 3

Did the main character make good or bad decisions?

Question 2

Why was the story worth telling?

Question 1

What was the significance of the title?

Discussion Director 16-18

1. Gaylord Stucky is the man that gave him a ride into fair banks he tried to tell chris that it was to early to live of the brush and berries there is still 2 or 3 more feet of snow on the ground but McCandless wouldn't listen was that a bad decision?

2. Why is it do you think that McCandless had such a difficult time hunting for Game in the wild?

3.why do you think that McCandless decided to turn around and not go all the way to the baring sea and just use the bus as a base Camp?

4. why did McCandless choose stampeed trail? when in reality there was a highway, 3 unoccupied cabins and a state park all within a 10mile radius of were he was staying in the bus.

5.why do you think that McCandless was unsucssful in perserving the moose meat?

Illustrator chapter 9

This is Davis Gulch a area Chris traveled through when he was going through Arizona and Utah. I choose this because he described it as an oasis all the land around is dry rock or red clay and theres no were to hide from the sun until you enter down into the gulch its a whole new world 900 year old pictographs on the canyon walls and cool but not cold water tall grass on the shores swaying in the light breeze and small cottonwood trees providing slight shade from the sun.

Connector 16-18

In chapter 16 its about Jon Krakauer and when he was 23 it reminded me a lot of Chris McCandless except not quite as intelligent but still outdoor knowledgeable, Krakauer climbed a peak called devils thumb and it took him approx 20 days and lived off of little food but did have plaenty of gear for climbing mountins which is problly while he is still alive but after he climbed the mountian he scaled back down camped out on the beach and eventully caught a ride from a man into town 2 hours away. The reason this reminded me of chris or why jon would of enjoyed Chris's story because that they had similar features in thier personality and what they have expierenced in life, wether it be family problems or there just not happy with thier lives.

Summarizer

Chris McCandless leaves Carthage for Alaska on April 15, 1992. Along the way, he hitches with a trucker named Gaylord Stuckey for nearly a thousand miles in the state of Alaska itself. On his second day hiking the trail, he comes across the Teklanika River. In April, the river is tiny and easy to cross, not anywhere near the rapid it becomes in August when Alex tries to cross back over it. Alex leaves the bus on May 5 to head west, seeking game and hoping to hike 500 miles to the tidewater. Unfortunately, melting snow makes the hiking too hard and he returns to the bus for the summer. The bus is actually only 30 miles from the main highway, 16 from another road and within 6 miles of at least four other cabins.  He decides to return on July 3rd but is stopped by the slew of Beaver Ponds blocking the Stampede Trail on which he hiked in. Only a half mile away there is a basket on cables and pulleys to cross the river, which McCandless had no way of finding without the kind of map McCandless has. Initially annoyed at the company, Krakauer remarks on how lonely the area seems and how much he would have disliked having been alone. When they reach the bus, they find a variety of animal bones and the remains of the moose McCandless was unable to cure. Much of Krakauer’s hate mail regarding his Outside Magazine article was directly related to the fact that the initial moose hunters said the remains belonged to a caribou. However, Krakauer’s party finds that this is not the case. Inside the bus, Krakauer finds books, supplies, and remnants of unmade clothing. There are remnants of his stay everywhere, including clothing, pots and pans, and the knife sheath given to him by Franz.

DISCUSSION DIRECTOR!!

1. Do you think Alex should have taken a bigger gun into the wilderness to try and kill a big game animal and hopefully survive longer?

2. Should Alex have tried to hike up the river in order to cross and go back to civilization when his instincts told him to?

3. Do you think killing an animal should be treated as holy? Why or why not?

Literary Luminary Ch. 16-17

"Alex didnt come out and say too much at first," Stuckey reports. "But its a long, slow drive. We spent a total of three days together on those washboard roads, and by the end he kind of let his gaurd down. I tell you what: He was a dandy kid. Real courteous, and he didnt cuss or use a lot of that there slang.." -Stuckey, pg. 159

Experimentation in Language: You can see that Krakauer uses the native slang to Alaska. Instead of just saying he didnt cuss or use slang and was a nice kid he uses phrases like 'didnt cuss or use a lot of that there slang. Giving it more of a western twist to it. Using this technique helps the reader because it makes it more realistic and true to the culture of Alaska.

Discussion Director

1. Why do you think Krakauer was so determined to reach the summit of the mountain?
2. Do you think that Kakauer explaining why he realtes to Chris benifits the book?
3. Do you think being high on marijuana was what drove Krakauer to decide to go back up the mountain?

Summary Ch. 13-15

Krakuar goes to Carine's house which is Chris's sister in order to talk about him. Its been 10 months since Chris has died but she still cries hystarically over the thought of her late brother. She explains how his deatha has affected her diet because he died from starvation. Krakuar then explains at how when he was little he would go to Devils Thumb to climb it and mess around for fun. He descirbes his feelings of joy but also loneliness of being on the mountain since he liked having human contact. Instead of going to college he decides to become a carpentner and a climber since thats what he loves to do. Then a storm hits when hes climbing one time and he comes across a series of intense slips and encounters that could've cost his life but he finally makes it to the top to snap a few earned photographs of the beautiful scenery

CONNECTIONS!!

In chapter 14 Krauker talks about his own personal experiences when he was in a sense out in the wilderness. Such as when he decided to climb Devils Thumb in Alaska. This connection reminds me of times when I was a little kid playing in the forest and climging up trees in the neighborhood just for the fun of it. Alex makes me think at times about people and how some have no limits such as himself and what if their were thousands of people like him? What would the world be like? This book has a lot of controversal issues that allow me to question his motives and put myself in Mccandless shoes. I don't think Chris should have ever gone " Into The Wild."

Literary Luminary: Ch. 13-15

Author Style: At the beginning of every chapter, Krakauer puts passages of journals from people who have actually gone out into the Alaskan wilderness. I think he does this to give the reader an idea of what's going to happen in the upcoming chapter.

Chapter 13 pg. 123: "The trails I made led outward into the hills and swamps, but they led inward also. And from the study of things underfoot, and from reading and thinking, came a kind of exploration, myself and the land. In time the two became one in my mind."-John Haines
Simile: Haines does a good job of letting the reader know that he was basically meant to live in the wilderness and it had always been a part of his life.

Illustrator 11-13

This picture represents longs peak and is an actual picture of the mountain that Walt Mcandless took his wife Billie and kids from both Marriages to climb whit chris. Walt says that when they reached 13,000 a place named keyhole he decided to turn around and head back down the mountian,chris aprently wanted to keep going at the age of 12 but it was too dangerous and Walt said if chris was a little older he would have strated climbing up without him but since he was 12 all he could do was complain. I picked this this passage becuse it was a first sign of chris's ambition and indepence also the special drive he had to get things done and be in the wild. It can be found on page #109

Literary Luminary 11-13

"Samuel Walter McCandless, Jr., fifty-six years old, is a bearded, taciturn man with longish salt-and-pepper hair combed straight back from a high forehead."
Imagery: "a bearded, taciturn man with longish salt-and-pepper hair combed straight back from a high forehead"



"On weekends, when his high school pals were attending "keggers" and trying to sneak in Georgetown bars, McCandless would wander the seedier quarters of Washington, chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting ways they might improve their lives."
Character Development: Krakauer tells us this to show us how McCanlesss was always "detatched" from people his age"

Discussion Director Ch. 11-13

1) What do you think would be the greatest challange of going 'into the wild'?

2) Why do you think the author uses 'long' pages throughout the book? (high wpp)

3) What are the advantages/disadvantages of composing the story out of chronological sequence?

Literary Luminary 8-10

"It is widely believed that Ruess fell to his death while scrambling on one or another canyon wall. Given the trecherous nature of local topography (most of the cliffs that riddle the region are composed of navajo sandstone, a crumbly statum that erodes into smooth, bulging precipices)..." Pg. 94
Imagery: "...scrambling on one or another canyon wall."

"On September 13, he was rolling down an empty ribbon of blacktop outside Jamestown, North Dakota, leading his harvest crew home to Carthage after wrapping up the four month cutting lesson in Montana, when the VHF Barked to life."
Personification: "...the VHF barked to life."

Telescope

Quote- " I remembered sitting there when he gave Dad the Telescope."

- This shows that Chris truly did love his Dad and was grateful for everything he had done for him. This is the last thing Chris gave or did for his father before he left.

Summarizer Ch. 11-13

Wayne Westerberg heard radio talk-show host Paul Harvey talking about Alex trying to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. After hearing this, Westerberg called the Alaskan State Troopers to tell them what he knows about Alex. However, the police had a hard time believing him because they had already recieved over 150 calls from people saying they knew Alex. Westerberg insisted he knew Alex and would be able to give them his social security. With this information, they were able to contact Chris's brother, Sam, who lives in Virginia.

Connector

I can personally connect to chris because he really enjoys the outdoors and going on adventures, I really like to go camping and being in the outdoors although I wouldnt be able to hitch hike across the america living with no money/income or true place to call home if I were going to do what chris did I would have alot of money and a car with camping gear and hunting rifle and drive around checking out america

Illustrator

Alaska State Troopers had a difficult time identifying Chris McCandless’s body. But, when the story ran in the paper, Jim Gallien was for sure it was “Alex.” Gallien called police and described Alex; police finally believed Gallien when they saw his name in Chris’s journal.

Summarizer Ch. 8-10

Krakauer compares McCandless to all the other explorers before him. He also notes the lack of sympathy Alaskans feel for McCandless after they read the article Krakauer wrote about Alex's death. Many felt that he was a foolish child, who arogantly tried to brave the Alaskan wilderness. Alaska State Troopers had a very difficult time identifying McCandless's body. When Gallien read the story, he was certain that it was Alex. Jim called the police and gave them a description of Alex, the police finally believed Gallien when they saw his name in McCandless's journal.

Discussion Director

1) Why do you think the Alaskans had a lack of sympathy for McCandless after they read Krakauer's article about his death?

2) Why do you think so many people called the State Troopers and told them they were friends or family of chris when really they had no idea who they were?

3) How does Wayne know what Chris' social security number?

Illustrator post #2

Quote: "On McCandless's final night in Carthage, he partied hard at the Cabaret with Westerberg's Crew?
To me the visual represents Alex' last night in Carthage and how after 4 weeks he was alredy good friends with people he had just met. An example of how he is such a socable person.

Literary Luminary

Page- 70, Chapter 8,

We have in America " The Big Two-Hearted River" tradition: taking whatever wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conversion, a rest, or whatever. And as in the Hemingway story, if your wounds aren't too bad, it works. But this isn't Michigan (or Faulkner's Big Woods in Mississippi, for that matter.) This is Alaska.

Metaphor- Such as when the author says taking whatever wounds you have to the wilderness



Page- 47, Chapter 6

No man ever followed his genius till it missed him. Though the result were bodily weakness, yet perhaps no one can say that the consequences were to be regretted, for these were a life in conformity to higher principles. If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal,--that is your success...

Symbolism- ( life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs)
Allusion- ( The true harvest of my daily life is truly intangible )

Discussion Director Chapters 6 and 7

1. Who is Ronald A. Franz and do you think he'll have an effect on the book later?

2. Why do you think Alex doesn't want to be adopted?

3. Why do you think Alex took the plates off of his car when he abandoned it?

summarizer

in the chapters 1-5 a lot of events have taken place .. in chapter 1 a man traveling from anchorage picks up a young hitch hiker he sees on the highway little did he know that this young man named alex was on a life taking adventure . as alex explains to the man he is one hella of a journey .. his goal was to survive in the bush of alaska on his own with no electronics and limted supplies . the driver jim explains to him how dangerous it is to go out in the bush alone with no supplies needed to survive in any wild let alone alaska's wild. later on in the chapters we find out that jim was right when two hunters find chris McCandless body aka alex laying dead in this abandant fairbanks city ,bus used by local hunters as shelter. then the author changes things up again and starts going back in time and explains McCandless aka alex life before his death back in the lower 48 states.

Discussion Director

1. Why do you think that the main character changed his name from Christopher McCandless to Alexander Supertramp?

2. Do you think that his relationship with his parents pursuad him to leave?

3. If Alex changed his identity, why wouldn't he tell Jim his last name? (Supertramp)

Connections for Chapters 1-6

While reading these first few chapters I had found a handful of connections I was able to make from the book to either my life or the 'real' life as we know it. Here's two of them I came up with:

1) Alex tries to get back into the United States after going on vacation in Mexico but he doesnt have his ID with him so he gets arrested by the Mexican government. I related this to the fact that a ton of people, Mexican or not, try to get into our country everyday, some are successful and some are not.


2) When he decides to go out into the wild he changes his name from Chris to Alex so that his parents cannot track him down and he can begin his new life as a new person. I related this to the people who change their names either to escape the bad things that they've done in the past, or to simply just get a new start at life.

Summarizer chapters 1-5

so far we find out hes a hitchiker in alaska that has basiclly nothing just the clothes on his back and backpack with little gear and a bag of 10lbs rice, the man that picks him up in alaska and drops him off at stampeed trai is jim gallean he offered to take alex to anchorage to buy some better gear be he refused. you later find out that hes from virgina and attended collage in atlanta and as soon as he gradguated he didnt tell his parents anything he jus up and left his small aprtment in atlanta gave away 25,000 to charity and started driving around the nation heading west traviling through colorado, california, arizona, oregon, idaho and eventully makes his way down to mexico in a canoe. later he ditches his car in colorado because of a flash flood wetting his engine causing it not to start and he eventully draind his battery so he removed the licens plate and left the car. one main point so far was the fact that he loves the small city in south dakota that he tells everyone thats were hes from a palce were he setteled down for the longest except in bullhead city arizona he stayed for almost two months and had a steady job at mcdonalds. he also as soon as he left on his journey from then on out he went by alex supertramp except once when he was in bullhead city he applied for a job and and gave them his real social security number.

Literary Luminary

Passage 1, Page: 38, Quote: All Hail the Dominant Primordial Beast! And Captain Ahale too!

- Symbolism ( This shows symbolism because it gives the reader his/her own visual of what they think this primordial beast would look like.)

Passage @, Page 9, Quote: Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen wateryway. The trees had been stipped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even of sadness. There was a hint of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness-- a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and teh effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen hearted Northland Wild.

Allusion- ( This is an allusion because he is simply telling it from his point of view while he was extremely malnourished and was not in his right mind so it may not be a very accurate description.)

Author Style- ( Even though Alexander Supertramp did not write the book the author decided to put in this passage giving the reader a first person point of view and a style just his own.)

Sy

Lit roles 01/24/2011

This is the illustration for the first lit roles.

When Alex escaped from a Mexican prison after being caught trying to reenter the country he was forced to leave behing his, "beautiful Colt Python, to which he was much attatched." (p. 36)

This picture represents the fact that Alex couldn't get back into the country as a result of completely abandoning his true identity, Chris McCandless.

Questions

So far what we've read do you think that this a going to be a good book?

Map Of Alaska