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“In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters”(Author’s Note).
“It should not be denied…that
being footloose has always
exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with
escape from history and
oppression and law and irksome obligations, with
absolute freedom, and the road has always led west.”(Wallace Stegner, From: The
American West as Living Space)
"Colorado River." Online Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2 June 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-2636>.
“I NOW WALK INTO THE
WILD.”(ALEX, 1992)
Commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Mt_McKinley,_Denali_National_Park,jpg.
High Achiever: Academics, Athletics, MusicEntrepreneurial
Generous & CaringCold & Unforgiving
Impatient with othersSelf-absorbed
Harsh judge of parentsTolerant of artists& close
friendsPassionate
Self-righteousIntensely private
GregariousSocially conscious
www.datsunhistory.com/DATPICS/b210.jpg
“I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real Life has begun,” (Alex, June 1992).
“S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death and too weak to hike out of here….This is no joke…”
(Chris McCandless, August?)
EXPLOITS
Detrital Wash
Colorado River --canoe trip
Bullhead City McDonald’s
Salton City
Las Vegas
California/Mexico Border
ALASKA
Mt. McKinley…”Climb Mountain!”
“ I finally got here.” (April 22, 1992)
“I’ve decided to head for Alaska no later than May 1st…:
A babbling brook in spring, a rushing torrent in summer.
DENALI NATIONAL PARK & STAMPEDE TRAIL
The Journey of Chris McCandlessVisionary or Fool?Honest or Selfish?
Death Wish?Desire to confront and overcome fear of death?
CHRIS WAS INSPIRED BY:
LEO TOLSTOYTHOREAU JACK LONDON
•“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence,” -Tolstoy
•“It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity
laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life,” -London
•“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth,” -Thoreau
CHRIS’S RELATIONSHIPS
FamilyGrandfather: Lauren JohnsonFather: Walt Mother: BillieSister: Carine
On the RoadJan BurresWayne WesterbergRon Franz
AlaskaJim Gallien
-Happiness is only real when shared-There is refuge in nature-Wealth is shameful, corrupting, and evil-Absolutes: Life, Truth, Beauty-Love of one’s Neighbor-Free personality-Life as Sacrifice
CHRIS’S PHILOSOPHIES:
“I BELIEVE THAT…”
Jim Gallien: Takes Chris to Denali National Park
Butch Killian: EMT who arrives soon after Chris’s body is
discoveredWayne: Closest version of family to Chris-works on a grain elevator for Wayne’s company in South Dakota
Peter Kalitka: Private Detective hired to find Chris
Gene Rosellini, John Waterman, Carl McCunn and Everett Reuss:
Similar men who ventured into the wild
Ron Franz: Takes in Chris when he moves to Anza-Borrego
Ask Questions on any others…
PEOPLE CHRIS MET:
Krakauer’s use of methodology in Into the Wild is an important focus of his biography. It is inevitably what makes him a “partial” biographer.
Methodology: the methods of organizing principles underlying a particular art, science or other area of study.
*Manuscripts
*Maps
*Interviews
*Epigraphs
METHODOLOGY
Krakauer starts the novel with the ending completely in mind.
We know of Chris’ death by chapter two.
The epigraph is detailing his trip into the Yukon
Territory.
Westerberg’s letter is introduced before he is.
How is this effective story telling?
Why are we given the letter before a literary quote?
STRUCTURE:
The maps are used to personalize the odyssey.
Visual rendering of where he’s been. We see Chris’s plight and the trek he has made.
Also see the absurdity of his journey: jumping from one place to the next.
MAPS:
Personal connection to Chris.
He seems very candid and real in the letters.
Detection of his spite, anger and arrogance in the
letters.
Puts on a different face in front of strangers:
benevolent, spirited, kind.
The letters serve as his connection to the outside, evidence of his journey, and his bitter farewell to
society.
LETTERS AND MANUSCRIPTS
Story becomes real when we meet people Chris has befriended.
Provide personal account of his behavior.
Allow us to question his motives.
Aware of his inability to connect to humans.
Krakauer’s main attempt at being impartial.
INTERVIEWS
Symbolize Chris’s God
Religious connection for him.
Their imagination becomes his reality.
Inability to understand London, Tolstoy, Thoreau or Emerson, because he takes their ideas literally: or is this what he’s
supposed to do?
LITERARY ALLUSIONS
Transcendentalism New ideas in literature, religion culture and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to
middle 19th century. It is sometimes called American transcendentalism to distinguish it from other uses of the
word. Transcendentalism began as a protest against the general state of culture and society and in particular, the state of
intellectualism at Harvard and the doctrine of the Unitarian church. Among transcendentalists' core beliefs was an ideal spiritual state that 'transcends' the physical and empirical
and is only realized through the individual's intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions.
TRANSCENDENTALISM