Into the Wild
Author’s Note and Chapter One: “The Alaska Interior”
Vocabulary
1. Asceticism – the doctrine that through renunciation of worldly pleasures it is possible to achieve a high spiritual or intellectual state
2. Divergent – diverging from another or from a standard
3. Enigma – mystery; something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
4. Fulminated – to issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation
5. Moral Rigor – extreme attention to ethical questions and shadings
6. Muskeg – boggy areas, especially those where peat is formed
7. Renunciation – repudiation; rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
8. Shards – a broken piece of a brittle artifact
9. Transcendent –exceeding or surpassing usual limits especially in excellence
10. Unsullied –spotlessly clean and fresh
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?
Chris McCandless was a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family who hitchhiked to Alaska and went forth into the wilderness, alone. He dropped out of sight after graduating from Emory University (with honors) in 1990. He grew up in Washington D.C., excelling in academics and sports. (information from the first page of “Author’s Note”)
2. What themes does Jon Krakauer introduce in the “Author’s Note”?
Jon Krakauer introduces peril, adversity, determination, perseverance, heartbreak, and failure in the “Author’s Note.” Parental relationships (information from the second page of “Author’s Note”)
3. What is the purpose of the quoted material at the start of Chapter One?
The purpose of the quoted material at the start of Chapter One is to jump-start the reader with a bit of background from McCandless’s life. It gives a small amount of insight to McCandless’s situation and prepares the reader of a story of Chris McCandless’s life in the wild. (pg. 3)
4. Who is Alex?
Alex is the alias name of Chris McCandless. He uses it when introducing himself to Jim Gallien. (pg. 4)
5. Who is Jim Gallien, and how did he meet McCandless?
Jim Gallien is a union electrician. He met McCandless by picking him up on the side of the road when McCandless was hitchhiking. (pg. 4)
6. What was Gallien’s assessment of McCandless?
Gallien said that McCandless was “Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build,” unprepared, and determined. (pgs. 4-5)
7. What kind of advice did Gallien give McCandless?
Gallien tried to convince McCandless to not go out into the wild, and when that doesn’t work he makes sure he has everything he needs and gives him his boots. (pgs. 6-7)
8. What was McCandless’s response to Gallien’s offer? Also, what gift did Gallien give to McCandless?
McCandless denied Gallien’s offer, and Gallien gave McCandless his hiking boots. (pg. 7)
9. Why did Gallien decide not to alert the authorities about McCandless?
Gallien decided not to alert the authorities about McCandless because he figured that, “…he’d be OK. I thought he’d probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway. That’s what any normal person would do.” (pg. 7)
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?
The irony of that statement is discovered at the end of Chapter 2, because McCandless, despite Gallien’s belief, did not turn around and walk to the highway once he got hungry. The wild is where he died. (prior knowledge, also pg. 13)
Chapter Two: “The Stampede Trail”
Vocabulary 2
11. Amalgam – a mix
12. Anomaly – an exception to the standard or norm
13. Contumacious – stubborn, especially stubbornly disobedient
14. Cordillera – a string of parallel mountain ranges
15. Escarpments – a series of long, high rocky ridges
16. Glacial Till – mixed soils and rocks carried by a glacier’s movement
17. Ominous – warning of danger
18. Ramparts – rocky supports (in this case, supporting ridges or foothills)
Reading Interpretation Q & A
11. Why would Krakauer include a quote from another author such as Jack London as the heading for this chapter?
Krakauer would include a quote from another author such as Jack London because Chris greatly admired Jack London, and also because Jack London wrote about the wild.
12. What is the purpose of the detailed descriptions of Mt. McKinley, Denali, and the Stampede Trail?
The purpose of the detailed descriptions of Mt. McKinley, Denali, and the Stampede Trail are to acquaint the reader with the conditions and terrain Chris McCandless would be dealing with in this story.
13. What was considered to be the cause of Chris McCandless’s death?
Starvation was considered to be the most probable cause of Chris McCandless’s death. (pg. 14)
Chapter Three: “Carthage”
Vocabulary
19. Altruistic – motivated purely by charity or kindness
20. Anthropological – relating to the study of cultures
21. Apartheid – the legalized separation of people by different races
22. In Stir – in jail
23. Grain Elevator – a building used to elevate and store grain
24. Contrite – repentant
25. Hyperkinetic – overactive
26. Itinerary – a list of destinations on a trip
27. Odyssey – a long, complicated journey
28. Vulnerability – the capacity to be bruised or hurt; tenderness
Reading Interpretation Q & A
14. Who is Wayne Westerberg and how do Wayne and Chris get along?
Wayne Westerberg is a resident of Carthage, South Dakota, who took McCandless in under his wing and helped him make a life for himself in Carthage. He and Chris get along very well, with Westerberg serving as a kind of mentor figure for McCandless. (pgs. 15-19)
15. Local color is introduced when a writer uses regional or colorful terms to present an image of a distinct area or culture. The terms “leather tramp” and “rubber tramp” qualify as examples of local color. What culture do they describe, and what is the difference between rubber tramps and leather tramps?
Rubber tramps were vagabonds who owned a vehicle; leather tramps were those who lacked personal transportation and were thus forced to hitchhike or walk. (pg. 17)
16. Why did the author say that McCandless found a “surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees”?
The author said that McCandless found a “surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees” to represent that McCandless was really accepted in Carthage and taken in not only Westerberg but the other residents too. (pg. 18)
17. Why did McCandless leave Carthage?
McCandless left Carthage because Westerberg got in trouble with the law and McCandless left his job to resume his existence as a nomad. (pg. 19)
18. How does the reader know that War and Peace was important to McCandless?
The reader knows that War and Peace was important to McCandless because he gave Westerberg his treasured 1942 edition of the book before he left Carthage. (pg. 19)
19. Describe McCandless’s early years and family life.
McCandless was raised in Annandale, Virginia. His father Walt was an aerospace engineer, and his mother Billie was his father’s partner in business. Chris had one little sister named Carine and six half siblings. Chris graduated with honors from Emory University in 1990. He drove a yellow Datsun, and took off in it the summer of his graduation to begin his journey into the wild. (pgs. 19-21)
20. What clues did McCandless give that he was out of step with the commercialism of contemporary society?
McCandless had stated that he didn’t want a nice car and that he wouldn’t give or receive gifts, which were both clues that he was out of step with the commercialism of today’s society. He also thought that titles and honors were irrelevant. (pg. 21)
21. What change did McCandless make that symbolized the new life he expected to build after he left Atlanta?
He adopted the name Alexander Supertramp which symbolized how he severed himself from his previous life. (pg. 23)
Chapters 4-5 “Detrital Wash” and “Bullhead City”
Vocabulary
1. Concave – hollowed out
2. Inimical – hostile
3. Physiologically – relating to the health of internal organs
4. Bourgeois – materialistic
5. Denizens – residents
6. Fatuous – foolish, ridiculous
7. Ideologue – someone who follows a defined set of ideas or way of thinking
8. Oxymoronic – containing a contradiction ( e.g., jumbo shrimp)
9. Primordial – the basic or primitive developmental level
10. Turgid – heavy, graceless
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?
This statement applies to Chris because he went to the desert to find revelation and to get away from what he considered to be bad in society.
23. Who is Jan Burres, and how did she figure into Chris’s travels?
Jan Burres is a 40 year old leather tramp. She figures into Chris’s travels by camping with Chris and helping him out. He keeps up communication with Jan and her boyfriend months after he leaves them. (pg. 30)
24. Describe the trip that Chris took in the old metal canoe that Chris bought in Topock, Arizona.
Chris paddled down the Colorado River to the Gulf of California in his metal canoe that he bought in Topock. While paddling over 400 miles he was captivated by the austere landscape and saline beauty. (pg. 32)
25. This chapter contains numerous excerpts from the journal Chris kept. What is noticeable about the writing in his account of his Mexican adventure?
Chris writes his journal in third person. (pg. 34-35)
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.)
When Chris leaves Las Vegas, he reaches the conclusion that, “It is te experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found.” (pg. 37)
27. What kind of life did Chris lead in Bullhead City?
Chris lead an ironically rather conventional life in Bullhead City. He liked the town so much that he abandoned his life as a nomad and settled down, holding down a job and acquiring a residence. He even opened a bank account.
28. Describe the conditions and the residents of the Slabs. Note some of the local color that makes this community memorable.
29. What character traits and skills does Jan Burres recount about Chris in chapter 5?
Jan Burres recounts that Chris had great musical talent and also a way with animals; she said that he had a real good time when he was around people, he needed his solitude at times- but he did a lot of socializing, and that he was really into the classics. (pgs. 43-45)
30. What was Jan Burres’s assessment of Chris’s ability to survive in Alaska? (end of chapter 5)
Jan Burres said, “I thought he’d be fine in the end, he was smart. He’d figure out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to score a bed at inner-city missions. He figured all of that out on his own, and I felt sure he’d figure out Alaska, too.” (pg.46)
Chapters Six and Seven: “Anza Borrego” and “Carthage”
Vocabulary
39. Arroyos – dried creek beds
40. Bajada – plain, open land
41. Creosote – a desert plant with a thick, sticky resin
42. Desiccated – dried out
43. Geothermal – heated by the temperature of the earth
44. Hegira – a pilgrimage
45. Ocotillo – a flowered dessert plant
46. Snafu – a disaster
47. Grubstake – money and/or supplies for a trip
48. Maw – a large, intimidating opening
49. Succor – aid and comfort
50. Surfeit – an excess (Remember Shakespeare’s use of this word in MND)
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?
Ron Franz wrote a letter to John Krakauer asking him for a copy of the magazine that carried the story of “Alex McCandless’s” death in Alaska. He drove Alex to Grand Junction Colorado, but then left him to hitchhike to South Dakota. Krakauer thought that McCandless had the most profound impact on Franz in comparison to everyone he ever met. (pgs. 48-49)
32. What is Anza-Borrego?
Anza-Borrego is a desert state park in which McCandless set up camp after he bid farewell to Jan Burres. (pg. 48)
33. What was the tragedy of Ron Franz’s life?
In 1957 on New Year’s Eve, Franz’s wife and only child were killed by a drunk driver. He then started to heavily drink, only to quit cold turkey six months later and begin to adopt indigent Okinawan children. (pg. 50)
34. How did he feel about Chris and what request did he make of Chris?
Franz thought that Chris was polite, friendly, well-groomed, and intelligent. He wanted to help him, to give him an education and a job along with something to make out of his life. He asked Chris if he would be his grandson. (pgs. 50, 55)
35. What role did leather making take in their relationship?
Franz taught Alex the secrets of his craft because he was a master leatherworker. It strengthened the bond in their relationship. (pgs. 51-52)
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?
The author said that McCandless didn’t want to be burdened by the baggage of friendship. (pg. 56)
37. When Chris sent Franz a letter from Carthage, what advice did Chris give to Franz and how did Franz respond to this letter?
Chris said to Franz, “…I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been to hesitant to attempt. …If you want more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. …And so, Ron, in short, get out of Salton City and hit the road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did. …don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.” Ronald Franz did that. He put his furniture and most of his other possessions in a storage locker, bought a GMC Duravan, and moved out of his apartment to set up camp on the bajada. (pgs. 56-58)
38. How did Ron Franz learn that McCandless had died and how did this death change Franz’s life?
Ron Franz learned that McCandless had died from a hitchhiker he picked up in 1992. This caused Ron to become an atheist and to resume his drinking addiction. (pg. 60)
39. Why was Wayne Westerberg annoyed at the beginning of chapter Seven?
Wayne Westerberg was annoyed at the beginning of chapter Seven because he was working a lot without much sleep and because Alex wasn’t back at work. (pgs. 61-62)
40. What is the author’s analysis of the relationship between McCandless and his father? How did Chris feel about his sister Carine?
Chris got along very well with his sister Carine, he said she was very beautiful. He said that he didn’t get along with his father. (pg. 63)
Chapters Eight and Nine: “Alaska” and “Davis Gulch”
Vocabulary
51. Academia – the world of education
52. Alpinists – specialists in climbing high and challenging mountains
53. Athapaskan – a local Alaskan population with their own language and culture
54. Bight – a small bay formed by a curve in the shoreline
55. Clich̩ Рan overused expression, example, or type
56. Countercultural – against established norms of a culture
57. Eremitic – hermit-like or reclusive
58. Hubris – overblown pride (watch this word in Julius Caesar too)
59. Pseudoliterary – a false display of scholarship
60. Seine – fish with nets
61. Defile – a route notable for its narrowness; a gorge
62. Ephemeral – fleeting; dying quickly
63. Esthete – one who sees beauty; Esthetics – the philosophy that beauty is an important basis of moral good.
64. Nom-de-plume – a French word meaning pen name
65. Veracity – truth
Reading Interpretation Q & A
41. What is the purpose of including the full story of Gene Rossellini?
The purpose of including the full story of Gene Rossellini is to show how similar he was to Chris McCandless. Both were great athletes and even better students in their youth. Rossellini and McCandless both read obsessively and had amazingly good grades throughout their high school and college years. Both came from well-to-do families and neither collected degrees or honors upon graduating college because neither felt the need. Both sought greater knowledge of the meaning of life, and made the decision to live off the land. When Rossellini died, he was given recognition for his endeavors, similar to Chris McCandless. (pgs. 73-75)
42. What motivated Krakauer to include the story of John Waterman?
The fact that John Waterman was a commendable mountaineer inclined Krakauer to write about him. (pg. 76)
43. Finally, what is the purpose of including the story of Chris McCunn in the narrative?
44. Summarize the story of Everett Ruess and his fascination with the American West and natural beauty.
45. What Ken Sleight’s conclusion about Ruess and McCandless?
