Into the Wild
by: John Krakauer
Chapter 1 - "The Alaska Interior"
Reading Interpretation Q & A – Answer in complete sentences and include page number at end of sentence where you found the information.
1. What is the personal history of Chris McCandless? He was a very smart graduate
2. What themes does Jon Krakauer introduce in the “Author’s Note”? attraction of dangerous things to young men, attraction of nature to people, allure of adrenaline
3. What is the purpose of the quoted material at the start of Chapter One? To show where McCandless is, and to give the feel that McCandless is going to kill himself.
4. Who is Alex? Chris McCandless
5. Who is Jim Gallien, and how did he meet McCandless? He was a electrician who picked up Chris and gave Chris a job and hospitality in Carthage
6. What was Gallien’s assessment of McCandless? He was young and unprepared, and he worried about Chris.
7. What kind of advice did Gallien give McCandless? Do not do anything reckless
8. What was McCandless’s response to Gallien’s offer? Also, what gift did Gallien give to McCandless? Boots, and food, he offered to drive McCandless to Anchorage, buy supplies for him and drive him back.
9. Why did Gallien decide not to alert the authorities about McCandless? He thought that McCandless would just run back to civilization
10. Gallien’s statement that McCandless would “probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway. That’s what any normal person would do,” is an example of the literary device of irony of situation. What is ironic about the statement? We know that he could not walk to the highway because of the thawed lake. McCandless is not a “normal person”.
Chapter 2 - "The Stampede Trail"
Reading Interpretation Q & A
11. Why would Krakauer include a quote from another author such as Jack London as the heading for this chapter? To show that there were many adventurers
13. What was considered to be the cause of Chris McCandless’s death? Starvation – weighed 67 lbs. and he left a death note.
Chapter 4 & 5 - "Detrital Wash" and "Bullhead City"
Reading Interpretation Q & A
22. The head note to this chapter concludes that people go to the desert “not to escape but to find reality.” How does this statement apply to Chris? Chris wants to escape the contemporary world to know what it was when people were at one with nature.
23. Who is Jan Burres, and how did she figure into Chris’s travels? Jan was a rubber tramp who picked up Chris with her boyfriend, Bob. P30
24. Describe the trip that Chris took in the old metal canoe that Chris bought in Topock, Arizona. He paddled down the river, went up a tributary to the Colorado, went through a government facility,then he goes through a dam, and loses his way in the canals. P32-34
25. This chapter contains numerous excepts from the journal Chris kept. What is noticeable about the writing in his account of his Mexican adventure? The gaurds were compassionate for him, and helped him to the Gulf of California. P34
26. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the individual’s responsibility and free will to direct the course of his/her life. What existential conclusion does Chris reach when leaving Las Vegas? (Look at end of chapter 4 for ideas.) He did what HE wanted, no one could tell him what to do. P37
27. What kind of life did Chris lead in Bullhead City? He had a permanent job at McDonalds and was considering settling down, he even opened a bank account.
28. Describe the conditions and the residents of the Slab. Note some of the local color that makes this community memorable. The slab was like a huge flea market that was in full swing at the moment. P43
29. What character traits and skills does Jan Burres recount about Chris in chapter 5? Chris was not a recluse or a hermit. Chris could talk forever with people, but he did need solitude at times, but he was no hermit. P44
30. What was Jan Burres’s assessment of Chris’s ability to survive in Alaska? (end of chapter 5) He figured out how to paddle to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to get a bed a missions, and she thought he could figure out Alaska like the rest. P46
Chapter 6 & 7 - "Anza Borego" and "Carthage"
Reading Interpretation Q & A
31. Who was Ron Franz, and how did he enter the story? What does Krakauer think about the relationship between Franz and McCandless? He drove Chris from Salton City, California, to Grand Junction, Colorado. P48
32. What is Anza-Borrego? Phantasmal badlands. P49
33. What was the tragedy of Ron Franz’s life? His wife and only child were killed by a drunk driver. P50
34. How did he feel about Chris and what request did he make of Chris? He treated Chris like his son, and asked him to get an education. P51
35. What role did leathermaking take in their relationship? They bonded over leathermaking, and Chris made a very good engraved leather belt of his adventures. P51
36. The author gives a brief character analysis of McCandless after recounting that Franz dropped him off in Colorado. What does the author say about McCandless? He is avoiding human intimacy. P55
37. When Chris sent Franz a letter from Carthage, what advice did Chris give to Franz and how did Franz respond to this letter? He wanted Franz to do bold things he never thought he’d ever do. P56
38. How did Ron Franz learn that McCandless had died and how did this death change Franz’s life? The author told him through photographs, and Franz left the church and started drinking again. P60
39. Why was Wayne Westerberg annoyed at the beginning of chapter Seven? He is trying to repair the machine before nightfall, and his companions are not paying attention. P62
Chapter 8 & 9 "Alaska" and "Davis Gultch"
Reading Interpretation Q & A
41. What is the purpose of including the full story of Gene Rossellini? Gene had a similar experience to Chris’s adventure in Alaska. He was well educated, but decided to leave for the wilderness, even with all his good fortune. P 73
42. What motivated Krakauer to include the story of John Waterman? Parallels were made between John and Chris. P80
43. Finally, what is the purpose of including the story of Chris McCunn in the narrative? The story is included to provide another point of view at Chris’s adventures, and McCunn died by starvation, the same as Chris. P84
44. Summarize the story of Everett Ruess and his fascination with the American West and natural beauty. Everett was born
45. What is Ken Sleight’s conclusion about Ruess and McCandless? Ken idolized Ruess and McCandless at their boldness to follow their dreams that others would ignore.
Good completion, but answers are brief and some page numbers missing. 80/100 B
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