Go back through the reading and connect details in the text to essential questions below. Write your comment below the question you are choosing.
In your comment,
1) identify the textual detail -- either a quote or a paraphrase of an incident from the book.
2) explain how that detail connects to the question you are responding to -- what insight into the question does analysis of that piece of text provide.
DO ONE COMMENT FOR CHAP 1-3
DO TWO COMMENTS FOR CHAP 4-7
In your comment,
1) identify the textual detail -- either a quote or a paraphrase of an incident from the book.
2) explain how that detail connects to the question you are responding to -- what insight into the question does analysis of that piece of text provide.
DO ONE COMMENT FOR CHAP 1-3
DO TWO COMMENTS FOR CHAP 4-7
WHO IS CHRIS MCCANDLESS?
ReplyDeleteWHAT DOES THE WRITER WANT US TO THINK ABOUT HIM AND HIS CHOICES?
WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT HIM?
WHAT IS ACCOMPLISHED BY HIS JOURNEY?
WHAT MEANING CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM HIS LIFE?
Chelsea Snide
Delete"No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny" pg 23
Chris McCandless is the boy everyone wanted him to be, the boy that was forced upon him. There is no Chris McCandless but there's an Alexander Supertramp. Alex is the real Chris. In this quote it shows that he's gotten rid of everything from his past life (Chris) and started fresh and started differently. Chris was the boy going along with comformity. Living his life how everyone else does, and doing what is normal. But that wasn't who he was or what he believed in, that's shown through Alex. Alex wanted to "create his own destiny" meaning he wanted to do his own thing instead of following what other people did. So there answer to "Who is Chris McCandless?" is that there never really was one.
Maeve Gurbey
DeleteChapters 1-3
Describing Chris McCandless, Wayne Westerberg said, "If he started a job, he'd finish it. it was almost like a moral thing for him. He was what you called extremely ethical. He set pretty high standards for himself" (page 18). This shows why Chris chose to stay in the wild for such a long time and did not go home instead. Chris wanted to finish the journey that he started because finishing something he started was part of his moral values.
Matt McDermott
DeleteChapters 1-3
Chris McCandless was a graduating senior at Emory University, had a bright future ahead of him, to attend law school the following year. Although he could do almost anything with his future, Chris decided to throw it all away and start over with a new identity. Jon Krakaur, the author of Into the Wild describes Chris McCandless as an intelligent, adventurous and daring young man. In the end however, none of Chris' actions would be able overcome the harshness of the winter, and he eventually died a slow death alone in the Alaskan wilderness. Although things did not end well for Chris, the intent of his Journey is clear, and in a way he succeeded in escaping the pressures of normal society, at least for a time. His goal was to seek a simpler life away from the influences and stresses of our normal everyday life, and by attempting to do so exemplified what it takes to escape society and live life to its freest and fullest extent.
“ … he assured Gallien, “ I’m won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own.” “ Chris Mccandless to Jim Gallien chapter 1 page 6
DeleteWhat do we think about him?
This whole first chapter all I could think was, who how earth is this stupid to go and walk into the woods in Northern Alaska with nothing but 25 pounds of rice, yes rice, and except to come out alive. My first general impression of Mccandless is that he arrogant. He thinks he can just go somewhere and do something all on impulse and there not to be consequences. I understand that he might have been a very nice and polite young man from the accounts in the book. But what I see is that he thought he would be able to purely survive off the land, he pointedly dismisses Gallien’s advice and offers to get more supplies, to me this is arrogance and ignorance, ignorance to the people around him who care and arrogance to the fact that he would be able to survive. If he was so intelligent as Westerberg made him out to be later on then he should have known how different Alaska is from South Dakota, how the climate is harsh, how the wilderness is rough and unyielding. I understand that Mccandless was looking for something raw and simple, that nature intrigued him but there’s a difference between foolishness and blatant stupidity.
Chris McCandless is a man who had come from a well to do family. He had hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone in the wilderness. Four months later his body was found by a party of moose hunters. Nobody at first had known who he was. He had changed his name, burned up all of his money and had scouted out into the wild not really knowing what he is going to do with himself. Chris McCandless may seem very crazy as a person but he is in fact very intellegent. " You could tell right away that Alex was intellegent," Westerberg reflects, draining his third drink. " He read alot. Used alot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried to hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often. A couple of times I tried to tell him it was a mistake to get too deep into that kind of stuff, but Alex got stuck on things. He had to know the absolute right answer before he could go on to the next thing." This quote tells us specifically that McCandless has a very deep mind when he thinks.
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DeleteNick Paquin
DeleteChap 4-7
What meaning can we take from Chris life? That's an interesting question, I feel the best message we can gather from Chris is perspective and self fulfillment. Chris is a young runaway traveler roaming North America, with little to nothing and meets tons of people. He ends up leaving a lasting impression on every single one of them to the point where some of them become family to him. Because of Chris’s unique perspective on life and one’s mindset he attracts other to himself, becoming the image of a “City upon a hill.” He interests others with his radical point of view and he has converters to his cause especially Ron Franz who he meets in Southern California. Ron converts to Chris perspective on life after he receives a letter from him. In the the letter Chris preaches about self fulfillment through Thoreau and Emerson's writings. stating in the letter “ The very basic core of a man’s living spirit in his passion for adventure.The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron you must lose you inclination for monotonous security.” (P.57) This strikes Ron hard because Chris lured him out of his isolation and he became a son figure to him. It creates a satisfactory feeling of fulfillment for Ron to help this young idealist. Through the interaction between Ron and Chris we can draw the lesson of perspective and how one’s lens can alter an others view and how self fulfillment can have the same effect once achieved.
After Chris leaves his home and becomes a nomad living off of the land, he is not the same person. He adopts a new lifestyle, a new outlook, and with that, a new name. "The hitchhiker…introduced himself as Alex"(Krakauer 4). The name that heave himself, Alex Supertramp, represented a new chapter in his life. When he was a simple boy who had a promising future ahead of him and followed what was expected of him, he was Chris. As Alex, he becomes his own person. He does whatever he wishes and he is free of any expectations. He lives to the fullest that he can, and he is no longer weighed down with riches and possessions. He doesn't want to know his future; he wants to have adventures and "suck the marrow out of life" as his hero Thoreau would say.
DeleteChap. 4-7
DeleteChris is a mysterious character who is hard to understand as he didn't write his motives for his epic journey. But one this we do know is that he became Alex. On page 40 Krakauer talks about how Alex applied for the job at McDonalds. He gave his real name and social security number. He "...broke his cover that might have easily alerted his parents to his whereabouts..." This sentence proves that Chris was very determined not to let anyone or anything stop him from his journey and this explaination of the slip up lets light on his name change.
Chap. 4-7
DeleteChris accomplished some very important things while out on his vast journey around the United States. Most importantly he changed the lives of the people he met along the way. For some of those people he was just another hitchhiker but for others he became like family. For Ronald Franz, Chris was like a son. He had lost all his family in a motor accident and was addicted to alcohal for a long time. He was able to give it up but his life was still miserable. He ran into Chris and helped him in his journey, wrote and received many letters from Chris until He passed away in Alaska. Chris's journey changed Franz's life because when he wrote to him while he was residing in South Dakota he explained a new out look on life. He tells his to get out of the city he lived and go far away. Franz took his advice and moved out to the old campsite and waited for his younger friend to return.
Chapters 1-3
DeleteChris McCandless is an interesting and a mysterious person. Chris had a good life ahead of him. He was an Honor student, as the author said; he “had distinguished himself as a history and anthropology major with a 3.72 grade-point average, (20)” and an Emory University graduate in Atlanta. Chris chooses to throw all of his time and dedication that he had spent in school and college to find his freedom. His freedom was to be out in nature. I believe that it was very odd of him to throw away his life just to be out in nature in the woods. He had a loving family, a great education, money, (even though he gave all his money, $24,000, to OXFAM which was a charity dedicated to fighting hunger) and many things that other people thrive to have. When Chris was hitch hiking to Denali National Park, a man named Gallien offers him a ride there. The author says, “Gallien reached behind the seat, pulled out an old pair of rubber work boots, and persuaded the boy to take them, (7)” meaning that Gallien offers Chris boots to wear, but Chris denies the offer. At first, you would think that Chris is an idiotic person, but really, he just wants to do the things for himself that makes him happy without any help from anyone else. I believe that he had problems where he lived; maybe it was financial problems, maybe it was social problems/drama, or maybe it was stress about the things in his life etc. This is an opportunity for Chris to live a life that he really wants to live without any problems. People may think he’s “dumb” or an “idiot” for doing the things he’s doing. I think the author is sending out a message. I believe the author’s message is that you should do what you feel is best for you to do, if you strongly feel it is necessary to do it. If you strongly feel it is right to do a bizarre thing that no one else will do, then you should do it, because no one has the right to say you can’t do it for any reason.
Chelsea Snide
DeleteChapters 4-7
What is accomplished by his journey, is his self-fulfillment and leaving a lasting presence
on the people he meets. Particularly, a guy named Ron Franz, whom he converts Ron to his different ideas and to self fulfill and live more nomadically. He does this through various letters. Chris wrote to Ron saying “And yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” pg 57. Chris tells Ron in this letter that it’s important to adventure, and that will fulfill a life filled with meaning and purpose. From his journey he wants to achieve a life filled with adventure and experiences. You won’t be able to live a full life if all you do is live in the same secured place. That you have to get away from that place to live.
Austine Bodenstab
DeleteChapter 1-3
During the course of Chris's journey he begins to transform into a totally new person. "No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny." (p. 23) By leaving his past life and name behind, he has shown that he is setting himself completely free of his past, and will only focus on the present. He can become whoever he wants to. He can now show who he really is instead of being suppressed by society. By running he is leaving his past behind and can now start fresh and create his own life instead of living the life that has been created for him. Chris is someone who doesn't want to be stuck in society like everyone else with all of the rules that come with it. When asked if he had a hunters license, he replied, "...How I feed myself is none of the government's business. F*** their stupid rules." (p. 6) He obviously doesn't like to be controlled or watched. This line leads me to believe that he is sick of being controlled, and wants to be free to do what he wants. He wants to be set free of society and live like we are meant to live... In the wild.
Chad
DeleteChapters 1-3
Who is Chris McCandless?
Chris was like many people are. He felt trapped and contained in the society we live in. As stated in chapter three, "he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience." He wanted to take charge of his own destiny and wanted to be free from societal conformity. He no longer wished to be controlled by the government and his parents, but wanted to make his own future and decide for himself what he was meant to do in the world. He knew something that was very vital for his independent nature; the 'norm' is not always right. And then this all led to his fascination with life, its meaning, and right and wrong, but right and wrong are only a matter of opinion derived from a consensus of the ages. Chris wanted to figure out for himself what right and wrong really were.
Austine Bodenstab
DeleteChapter 4-7
When Chris goes back to Detrital Washington to the place he left his car he dug up his camera in order to take some pictures. Sadly, burying a camera isn't the best way to keep it working, so it broke. In response to this, Chris writes, "It is the experience, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it's great to be alive." (p.37) Chris is the kind of person that wants to see all that there is to see. He appreciates being alive, and doesn't want to miss any opportunity and seeing the beauties of the world. This quote from him reminds me of the saying, it is not about the destination, but the journey there. Chris is enjoying his adventure, and it doesn't matter where it takes him, because he will enjoy every moment of it. He wants to enjoy life, and live life to the fullest because you only live once.
Chad again
DeleteChapters 4-7
What do I think of Alex/Chris?
What is accomplished through his journey?
What meaning can we take away from his life?
I think that Alex, like all of us did not have the answers to his many questions. The only thing he accomplished through his journey was death. I believe that throughout his journey, he was exposed to many answers about the meaning of life. He just did not realize them. While traveling around the country, searching for fulfillment, he met many people. All of whom made a bond with him. Their life was forever impacted by his presence. He made friends wherever he went and truly made others happy. He had so much to give to others and in his lifetime he gave more than most, but it all ended when he left the people who loved him and those that he loved. One of them being "Ron". When he found out about Alex's death, he began to tear up. I find myself very sad about his tragic end. I just think that the world would be a better place with him in it.
Haley Bialobzeski
DeleteChapters 1-3
When Wayne said, "If he started a job, he'd finish it. It was almost like a moral thing for him. He was what you'd call extremely ethical. He set pretty high standards for himself." So Chris McCandless is someone who doesn't like to give up on things that he already started. He set high standards for himself to prove to him that he can live in the wild.
brandon farah
Deletechapter 4-7
what do we think about him?
I think that chris was a very simple person. I think that it was very easy to see what he wanted out of life. But the complicated part is to figure out why he wanted those things and how he was going to get them. It was obvious. He didn't want to live by anyone else's rules but his own. If he had to he would like when he was working and staying at other peoples homes. But he wanted to be close to nature, the essentials in life. Not all the excess that everyone feels obligated to have. It was simple but it was very challenging to figure out why he wanted these things and how to get them. He always seemed to know the next step but he never knew farther than that. He was a man that lived for that day. He could care less about tomorrow until he woke up that morning.
brandon farah
Deletechapter 4-7
who is chris mchanless?
I think chris is a unique individual. How he interacts with people on his jorney. How he wouldnt take money or cloths from people. And when he wants to take off his socks and doesnt like waering them. People always said they thought he had a couple screws loose. I think that he wanted to do things his way but I never found out why he took it as an insult when people tried to give him supplies and give him money. He would always leaving it behind or not take it. I never understood that.
Chad
DeleteChapters3-7
What can we take from his life?
When Ron found out that Chris was dead, he lost his faith in God. Before Chris set off for Alaska, Ron "asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one" and then states that God "let" him die. I think that God was protecting Chris on his journey through the people that Chris met. As Brandon said above, many people tried to help him, giving him supplies and jobs and inviting him into there lives. He dismissed all of this and Ron failed to see how God's work is done. It all reminds me of that one fable/story whatever you want to call it about some guy in a flood. He was on his roof to stay above the water and a boat cam by and he did not get on saying that God was going to save him. Then a helicopter came and some other vehicle and he stayed put. He died, then in Heaven he asked God why he had not saved him and God replied "I sent you two boats and a helicopter"...or something. Anyways, in the Bible it is said that God takes care of us, but we are not supposed to test him. So that is how I view Alex's trip to Alaska.
Mike Walsh
Delete1-3
“‘You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent,’ Westerberg reflects, draining his third drink. ‘He read a lot. Used a lot of big words.’”(Krakauer 18).
Some people might think that it is stupid to leave your life behind and live in the wilderness. Especially if you went to a great college and have a full life of wealth in front of you. I disagree with that opinion. If you do this you are either really really stupid, or really really smart with no middle ground. If you leave your life for no reason, that is dumb, but if there is a reason, I logical , well thought out reason, then you are smart. Chris is that level of smartness that is required to go through with something like this. Most people, the people who are in between, just live their lives. Nothing special, just floating aimlessly through life from birth to death. Alex is so smart that he doesn’t want to do that. This is because to the vastly intelligent, life is incredibly boring, doing the same thing day in and day out. Alex , being that intelligent, knew this and knew that unless he did something incredibly radical, his life would have no meaning. So because of this, he did something very radical.
Haley Bialobzeski
DeleteChapters 4-7
"He was alone." says James Joyce. (31) So Chris McCandless is independent. He likes to do everything himself and doesnt rely on anyone else but himself. He likes to be alone. Stress free, no problems, dont have to worry about anyone but himself. Thats why he wanted to get away from everything and everybody. He didnt like his life he had so he went into the wild.
Mike Walsh
Delete4-7
“Even though McCandless rebuffed Tracy’s advances, Burres makes it clear that he was no recluse” (Krakauer 44).
Alex is so into the whole transcendentalist thing that he even declines a relationship with another person. Even though he doesn’t want a romantic relationship, he still wants to meet people and be social. He makes friends and lives happily. This is more than can be said for most people. He sort of has phases, like sometimes he wants to be with people, other times he doesn’t. like most things are, I guess he thought of people the same as other things, being best in moderation.
WHAT MEANING DOES THE "WILD" HOLD FOR CHRIS? FOR KRAKAUER? FOR OTHERS? FOR US? FOR AMERICA?
ReplyDeleteThe wild is a place that people long to go to for the freedom and the free space where no one is in charge but them. For Chris the wild holds an escape from his, in his mind, overbearing family, insane workload and craziness of his predetermined life, predetermined by his parents. The wild is a place for him to escape all of these things that in his mind shorten his life. He ended up stortening his life by escaping and living the "wild" life. He doesn't want help from anyone beucase he might have been afriad that those who help him might turn out like his family. He tells Gallian he is fine with what he has with him which is neary nothing and has a responce for all of the advice Gallian trys to give him. He wants to go to the wild to live a life without any help because all the help he received from his family made him upset.
DeleteNick Paquin
DeleteChap 1-3
The wild is a unique place that isn't ruled by man or any factor but nature itself. The wild is everywhere and in everything, because the “wild” is an element of perspective and fear. Thus it runs through our minds and the unknown. The “wild” for Chris is quite different than what others think. He thinks society is wild and unknown to him, as society thinks the opposite of nature and simple living. Just the title “ Into the Wild” shows this as, nature is where Chris wants to be and roam. As for most of society we think its something to fear because we don't have our flat screen TVs and fancy cars. Simple living is hard and tough task to do that's why we industrialized as a race to make things easier for use while we lost who we were as individuals to conform to the mold of society. The Wild is somewhere to be yourself and prosper, explore yourself and grow out of what we've been molded into as pupils of the modern age.
The “wild” is a mysterious, beautiful and captivating place, it mean something to you or it doesn’t. To Chris the wild seems to be a place, where he goes to really connect with himself, and to nature. In a letter to Wayne Westerberg he wrote “ As for me, I think I’m going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and beauty of it is just too good to pass up.” chapter four page 33 the “wild” though a daunting place at times does offer Chris the freedom any transcendentalist would love, there’s no structure of society, or laws that would lead to immediate arrest, the wild defiantly through chapter four is a freedom for Chris from society and the materialistic ways he hates, it’s a makes it easier for him to live by the simplest means which basically a 25 pound of rice.
DeleteThe wild holds a very different meaning for Chris than it does for us. To us, the wild is a dangerous place full of forests and creatures and countless risks. For Chris, however, it is home. On page 69, when he writes the letters to his new friends, he says "I now walk into the wild"(Krakauer 69). He also talks in the letter about how it will be a great adventure. He does not see it as scary, uncharted territory; he sees it as the heart of nature. He wants to get the most out of life and experience the epitome of nature, and this is his way to do it.
DeleteChapters 4-7
Delete“The wild” means the world to Chris McCandless. “The wild” is what Chris McCandless sees every day and where he spends most of his life in. Chris does not like the city life because he is not interested in it at all; he would much rather live in the wilderness than in the city because in the wilderness, he is a free man in which he can do whatever he wants without being criticized. When humans turn the age of 18, we are technically considered as adults. As adults, we feel that we are our own person, but truthfully, we are tied to other people as well. Considering our parents, we owe them much gratitude to how they raised us and all the things they have done for us, such as education. Chris McCandless is an individual person. He does not belong to no one but himself. Chris is very picky on who he attaches himself to. Even though Chris does not push “the wild” onto very few people, he tries pushing “the wild” onto was a person named Ron Franz who both established a great bond with one another, however, Chris leaves Ron and promises to come back to him. On pages 56-58, Chris writes a letter to Ron urging Ron to live in “the wild” with him. After seeing Chris personality and the type of picky/choosy person he is throughout the whole book, I found quite shocking that Chris is committed to Ron. Chris loves “the wild,” it means so much to him more than anything else. Chris loves “the wild” so much that he tries to spread his ways to Ron, who is a close friend in who he is committed to. The passion Chris has for the wild shows how the wild is his life. He hated his old life when he lived just like everyone else in the city, however, he created a new life that he loves that makes him happier more than ever.
Chapter 1-4
Delete“The wild” can mean many different things and it means different things to Chris McCandless at different times of his journey. One specific moment, when Chris leaves Franz, he says that he was “thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well-relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it.” (55) For Chris, “the wild” is where he can get away from all of the social aspects of life and only have to worry about himself. He is able to escape the pressures that todays society puts on people. He would rather be alone in the wilderness where the only person he needs to be concerned with is himself than being caught up in the drama and emotions that come out of friendships.
Chapter 4-7
DeleteAs the book develops we start to learn more and more who Chris is certain characteristics about him.When he worked in Carthage, his boss Wayne Westerberg said that Alex was a hard worker but “Alex wasn't a total space cadet or anything.” says Westerberg; “don’t get me wrong. But there was gaps in his thinking.” (62) Now we know that Alex can be spacy sometimes and that could cause him to make dumb choices or forget important information or supplies. He appears to be that type of person that is always ready to go but with gaps in his thinking it could really cause him harm. If he doesn’t think before he acts he could get into trouble or worse, get himself killed.
chapters 4-7
DeleteThe wild is a place to have a free spirit of mind and freedom. Chris McCandless thinks of the wild in this way. he feels as if he is free to be his own person as he is out exploring the world. Chris is a man who can live on his own and not need guidance from anyone else but himself. We think however that the wild is a very interesting and mysterious place to explore because we have never lived in the wild like Chris has. He doesn't find any interest in the city life as we do because the wilderness is where he believes life can be the most freer to live. I believe that if the choices you make are the choices you want then that is the way you should be living your life, the way you want to.
Chpt. 4-7
DeleteThe "wild" to Chris McCandless means a whole lot of adventure. He didn’t worry about his parents or anything else he owned. He wanted to go by himself and see what was going on out in the world. In chapter 6, Chris starts becoming a hobo. He told Burres on the postcard that he felt excited to be a hobo. "I'm a hobo!" (pg 5) The exclamation point showed that he was excited to be a hobo. Krauker wanted for us to see that the "wild" to Chris was a type of expedition. To other people, they might think that Chris was too crazy for him to go and live in the wild without somewhere to live in . But to him, he wanted to complete a type of mission of what would a poor life be like. During this part of the book, the train was part of the wild for Chris.
Chapters 4-7
DeleteFor Chris McCandless, the Wild represents an escape from the pressures and strains of modern civilization. Although he frequently spent his time alone in the desert or wandering the fields of the Midwest, he just as often was around other people and traveling through urban development. The wild was less about getting back to nature as it was getting away from his family and the stresses they brought upon him. Chris seems to enjoy the thrill of running away and when he so happens to stay in one place to long he says, "...I feel extremely uncomfortable in society, I must return to the road immediately." In this case, his adventure initially seems to be more focused on escaping his past and family and later anything that reminds him of them, and only after an extended period of time on the road does he consider making his journey about something more.
Austine Bodenstab
DeleteChapters 4-7
The wild is a place left untouched by civilization. It is a place where Chris, and many other people enjoy being. Once you go into the wild, and experience all of the beauties of nature, you can never forget it. At one point, after Chris had been traveling for a little over a year, he attempts to live in the city again, and work at McDonald's. During an interview, on of the employees that worked with him said, "...When he talked, he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that." (p. 40) Chris could not get nature off his brain. The wild is a place in which someone can be totally at ease, and just relax. There is no crazy rushing around that is caused by society. When you enter the wild you can completely let go. That is why Chris talked about it so much to those working with him. He wanted to enlighten them on the beauties of the world. The wild can completely change a persons point of view on the world, as it did to Chris. The wild changed him from a college graduate who was just following the flow of society into a enlightened man, trying to just be free from the pressure of society.
For Chris wild means wilderness. Being out in the world in nature and not having any worries. Everyone kind of thinks its the same thing. Being in the wild is being free of people. A lot of times people put stress and expectations on you that you don't want to have and you go into the wild to get away from them. Chris's parents wanted him to go to college and get a job but that's not what he wanted. He wanted to be free. Chris saw his only option to be free to go where there weren't any people.
Delete4-7
DeleteFor Chris, the wild is where he gets to leave everything that he dislikes about the world behind. He also romanticizes the wild into some beautiful lush paradise due to his literary interests. He thinks that life in the wild will be great and that everything will be peaceful. Although he has a cirtain view on what he thinks the wild should be, he eventually underestimates it with his eventual death.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE YOUR OWN PERSON, TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL?
ReplyDeleteWHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE MEANINGFULLY?
Chpt. 1-3
DeleteThe meaning of being an individual is trying to stay away from society and trying to stay by yourself without anyone with you. It also means that you try to accomplish an adventure or a life problem by yourself and not asking anyone for help. An example of being an individual in "Into The Wild" was when "Alex" was going out into the forest and trying to go to his own destination. A stranger named Gallien tried helping him by giving him food and money, but he refused. Alex gave Gallien his own belongings like his comb, his watch, and 85 cents in change."Alex" was trying to be an individual by not receiving any help from anyone. He just wanted to be alone on his own adventure by doing it his own way.
Marcus Charland
Deleteyour own person means that you choose what you do with your life and that you are your own choice. Chris McCandless choose to go live out in the wild and in the book it shows an example of this on page 22 Chris McCandless parents drove down to Atlanta to visit, when they arrived at his apartment, it was empty,a for rent sign was taped on the window and when they returned home they found all the letters they sent him at there house because he did not want anyone to know where he was. Living a meaningfully means that you live the way you want to live like Chris did an example of that is on page 23 he wanted to be free to wallow in an unfiltered experience.
Nick Paquin
DeleteChap 4-7
I feel that the concept of the individual has been warped from society and the stereotypes that are placed on people. Reading through some of the comments to the question above I see that the “Individual” is described as an outcast of society, which is mostly not true. Every one in their own terms is an individual because no one his exactly the same, but not everyone sees that because of conformity. Often those who call themselves the “True individuals” live on the fringes of society avoiding conformity and the lust of connectivity because of the funneled perspective of life. Were all taught to think and act a certain way and when someone doesn't follow that, their cast out or deemed undesirable by the population. Which sets up the stereotype for individuals, true individuals are creative, intuitive, and resourceful in the best sense of the the word. Their often overlooked because they can't connect with others and often stick out like a sore thumb. As a creative individual myself I can relate and yearn to have a expedition like Chris, going to the fringes of society to seek out other individuals that you can bounce ideas off of. This best shown through out all the people Chris meets and impacts in the short time he meant them. All of them as individuals share a common outlook on life that's draws them together. Over all in my belief true individualism is to live out your thoughts and beliefs without stopping for judgement or scrutiny from society.
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DeleteIn Chapter 6 when Chris is living in South Dakota he writes to Ronald Franz his friend from Salton City, who cared greatly for Chris and saw him as a son. In this letter Chris tells Ron many things, the whole letter is very interesting and in many ways philosophical and unconventional ways to think. Though this sentences sticks out “ My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it.” page 57-58 Chris meant is you shouldn’t need another person to tell you how to live life especially yours, it doesn’t matter what your past holds all that matters is how bright your future can be if you run after you will find it. “ you do not need me or anyone else around” I think this part also homes in on how important he believes being a individual is, he is saying that other people shouldn’t have a influence or power over your life or who you are, you have that power and you need to use it. Ultimately, I believe “ to live meaningful” by what he wrote is to live by your own rules and morals not by the laws and structure society has put in place, you have the power of your future and you can make it into anything, don’t just limit yourself.
DeleteBeing an individual is about living for yourself. You do what you do because you want to, not because anyone else wants you to. When your choices and your actions are what make you happy, that is when you are living meaningfully. When Franz tries to talk to him about cleaning up his act, Chris stops him and says, “ ‘I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m living like this by choice’ ”(Krakauer 51). Chris felt a void in his life when he was a normal kid and a college student and he knew what he had to do to make himself happy. He needed to experience life and connect with nature and have adventures of his own. He left his home and became a drifter with no money, no job, and no home because he wanted to.
DeleteChelsea Snide
Delete4-7
Living meaningfully means to live life how you want to, not how others want you to. Meaning, most people are set up and directed to continue education to college because if its considered the norm, but if thats not what you want to do but do it anyways thats going against living meaningfully. You have to do what makes you happy, not society. Chris lives meaningfully because he sets out to do stuff that makes him happy. What makes him happy is exploring the world rawly. He has nothing and wants nothing. Franz says to Chris, “I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m living like this by choice” pg 51. This shows that he is doing what makes him happy even though its frowned upon. Because in the end why would you want to live your short life how others want you too. To live meaningfully you need to be able to make your own choices and ways of living to fulfill your happiness.
Chapters 4-7
DeleteKnowing how to live meaningfully is something that every person must come to terms with at some point in their life. According to Chris McCandless, in order to live a meaningful life he must not become a part of the American system that he found to be so wrong, and must escape and explore the world on his own. Chris' mom once said, "Chris is very much from the school that you should not own much more than you can carry on your back at a dead run." Clearly Chris has decided that in order to live with purpose he must not get caught up in materialistic wealth and come to enjoy the few things he has, and as a result be able to not be weighed down both physically and psychologically by possessions on order to explore the wonders of the world.
Chpt. 4-7
DeleteTo be an individual is trying to explore the world by yourself. In chapter 5, Chris left his broken camera and left his journal. He didn't want to be distracted by the stuff that he had. When he arrived in Bullhead city, he wanted to stay at Bullhead city for good. "'It's a good place to spend the winter and I might finally settle down and abandon my trampling life, for good. I'll see what happens when spring comes around,..." (pg. 39) When he was working at McDonalds, he felt good that he was getting money on the job. He felt that he was going to achieve his goal by himself.
ReplyDeleteChris McCandless has figured out how to become his own person on his expedition into the wilderness. A big aspect of becoming your own person is having a personalized name. Chris changes his name to Alex when he leaves his old life. On page four in Into The Wild,Chris introduced himself as “Just Alex.” He decided to change his name and he also did not give his last name. He was able to change his name, and with it his identity. A name can define who you are and by changing his name Chris was able to start a whole new life and become a brand new person. Chris is taking the literal idea of becoming your own person and making it a reality by changing his name.
Gallien asked whether he had a hunting license. "Hell no" Alex scoffed. "How i feed myself is none of the governments business. F**k their stupid rules."
ReplyDeleteSince Chris mccandless changed his name to Alex supertramp he does'nt care about the government or the law anymore. he dropped out of school and gave away $23,000 so he obviously does'nt care.
Brandon Farah: CH 1-3 Chris Mccandless was a well educated young man. He was Leaving college and going to make a very succsessful life for himself. But he just blew off the face of the earth, he no longer exists. This is now Alex and the story about how Alex lived. He did not want to be know as Chris anymore, Chris was dead to him.
ReplyDeleteChris Mcandless confuses me. He is extremely intelligent, yet when he is offered help he more often than not is too stubborn and often pigheaded. through out the book so far when people try to give him advice, money, or supplies; he refuses. like right in the first chapter, the man hasto beg him to take work boots that will keep his feet dry and warm
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ReplyDeleteChapters 4-7
ReplyDeleteThe concept of being an individual is being an independent, meaning living the way you want to live. You make your own choices in life because it is your decision to do so, not because someone forces you to. On page 51, Franz “decided to talk to Alex “about how he was living. Somebody needed to convince him to get an education and a job and make something out of his life. (51)” Chris gets defensive and says to Franz, “Look, Mr. Franz, you don’t need to worry about me. I have a college education. I’m not destitute. I’m living like this by my choice. (51)” Chris was unhappy with his life as a normal person during his childhood and college life. He wanted to make himself happier, and the only way to do that was to change his whole life style and be in the wild. He left his home with no money, no food, and not allot of clothing all because he felt that that was the right thing to do.
Chapter 4-7
ReplyDeleteTo live like an individual means to live without the guidance of those around you to live alone the way you want to. Chris McCandless is an example of someone who lives this way. Chris's journey makes him an even bigger individual because he is the one who makes the choices with the way that he lives out in the wild. His journey has led him to become an even more independent person without having those around him. I believe that if he can live more open minded out on his own, then he should. If society is not a place that he feels he belongs in, then the wild is wear he belongs. whatever will make Chris's life meaningful to him then that is the path that he should go. A life cannot be lived meaningfully if you don't live it the way you want. In the book Chris writes a letter to Ron which spoke of many things, one of them involved telling Ron to get out an enjoy life as we know it the way that Chris had enjoyed it. "You will see things and meet people and there is much to learn from them. And you must do it economy style, no motels, do your own cooking, as a general rule spend as little as possible and you will enjoy it much more immensely (58). This shows that he is encouraging others to do the same things that he has done, to be an individual and to live life out the way you want to.
Lexie Guest
ReplyDeleteChapters 1-3
WHO IS CHRIS MCCANDLESS?
Who is Chris McCandless? Chris, who soon will go by the name Alex in which he gave that name to himself, is just your average kid. He had a lot going for him, good education, wealthy family, and a nice life. But he felt trapped and suffocated by the everyday life and busyness of everyone. He wanted to get away and travel to where he would soon end up in Alaska. He wasn’t worried about having any materials with him, he just needed something to clothe his body. He wandered the Wilderness carefree- which is the life he wanted for himself. Alex tried hard at everything he did, “He was the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. Didn’t matter what it was, he’d do it.” (page 18). Chris McCandless is a hard worker, he goes above and beyond for everything, he knows hes not staying in this town for long, but that doesn’t matter to him. For him thats not a reason to slack off on his work, but another reason why to get the job done. Chris really never understood his family, to him he just saw them as other people living in the same house that he was also living in. He wanted out and to get rid of the relationships he had with them. “McCandless felt estranged from his parents and siblings, he found a surrogate family in Westberg’s Carthage home.” (page 18). People aren’t suppose to feel weird around their parents, but I see this as another reason why it was so easy for Chris to just get up and leave his “home”.
Lexie Guest
ReplyDeleteChapters 4-7
What do we think about him?
It is hard to make of what I think of Chris McCandless. By only reading the first several chapters of the book Into The Wild, I can definitely say that I think McCandless is a bit crazy for doing the outrageous things that he did in the first place. I would never be able to see myself leaving behind everything that I know, to get up and take a hike up to Alaska. That seems insane to me. But besides that fact of those certain things, I think Chris McCandless is a hardworking, intelligent man, who knows what he wants in life and exactly how he wants to live his life. He doesn’t want to feel pressured by the norm of society which is to get a job, get married, and have a family, he would rather travel by foot and life his life carefree and in the moment. He acts much older than his actually is which can came off as very mature, “Alex struck me as much older than twenty four. Everything I said, he’d demand to know more about what I meant, about why I thought this way or that. He was hungry to learn about things” (page 67). This not only shows that Chris cares about what people tell him but also shows that he is an in depth thinker, most people who are told something forget about it when the conversation is over but no, not Alex. Alex wants to know why. Knowing why fascinates him, only a mature person would even care enough to ask a follow up question. I think that he acts older than he actually is because he displays no acts of being immature at all, he was keeping to his beliefs but wanted to know why people follow the customs that they do.
Maeve Gurbey
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to be an individual?
Chapters 4-7
Chris was a very independent person. He believed that to be an individual you should stay true to yourself and do not let anyone else influence or change your beliefs. Chris did not listen to his parents, the police, or any one else. he had his own morals which he lived by and he refused to let anyone else control him. Chris took being an individual to the extreme, by changing his name and moving far away from his home without contacting his family. He provided for himself, worked hard, and lived by his own rules.
Maeve Gurbey
ReplyDeleteWhat does it mean to live life meaningfully?
Chapters 4-7
I believe that if you are happy, you are living your life meaningfully. Writing to Ron Franz, Chris tells him "the very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure." Chris tried to tell Ron that in order to be happy and live your life meaningfully you do not have to have close relationships with other humans. Chris said that being close with nature can bring you happiness too. Going out into nature and experiencing new things will be able to make someone happy, and as long as that person is happy they are living their life meaningfully.
What i think about chris mccandless is that he's going on this journey to full fill a dream that isnt really there, for example he didnt go to college he left to go to be a hobo basically and wants to make and save money to go to alaska but hes smaelly and hasnt washed for days/months. So there really isnt a dream there, thats whats i think.
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ReplyDeleteChris is the main character. He wants to live in Alaska. He came from a loving family and was all set for college by he walked away from life and wants to reject owning a lot of stuff like a new car. On page 21 He already had a perfectectly good car, he insisted: a beloved 1982 Datsun B210, slightly dented but mechanically sound, with 128,000 miles on the odometer. "I can't believe they'd try and buy me a car," he later complained in a letter to Carine." I don't understand why he would do something like this. this doesnt go with american morals
ReplyDeleteChapters 4-7 What is accomplished by his journey?
ReplyDeleteSo far, nothing has really been accomplished by his journey. He ditched his car, burned his money, gave away his college fund, left his family, lost weight and is hungry. His major goal is to make it to Alaska and be free. He has not even come close to doing that. He has done nothing, maybe met a few people, but not really accomplished what he wanted to do.
Chapter 4-7 Owen McK
ReplyDeleteWhat does the writer want us to think about him and his choices? I feel like somewhat this story has been modified to make it more of a life lesson type of book instead of what actually happened. The thing is that I will never know that because the only thing I know is what this book has told me. From Chris’s standpoint it was a good thing that he did what he did because he’d rather be dead in a bus than working for someone all his life. If I was wrong he would be alive somewhere else. The author shows us how harsh everything was for him even though I promise Chris could have been the happiest man in the world even the day before he died. As a wise man once said “don’t be sad about dying when dying’s meant to be.” I feel like Chris has already known this naturally but the book or movie doesn’t show that at all, because they don’t want it to look like a good thing so kids don’t go running away.
Owen McKinney
ReplyDeleteBy Chris McCandless exploring the country and just living his life after disappearing from his apartment, some people think that there was no meaning into doing what he did. Chris is a boy who was used to going along with everyone else and conforming to what his parents wanted him to be. Overtime it seems as if he realized what has been going on his whole life and wanted to put it to a stop. “There was just no talking the guy out of it” “he was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn’t wait to get out there and get started.”-Gallien pg.6 the reason he was so determined and excited for the journey is because in Chris’s mind that’s what is normal and there is nobody to tell him that he’s wrong because it’s what he believes in. So? What is accomplished by his journey? The feeling of being free or not having any sort of tight schedule to always worry about, going out into the wild he already knew that he could die and if he wasn’t okay with that he wouldn’t have went there in the first place. That man accomplished one thing that no one I know has ever done and that’s living his life to the fullest.
Chapter 4-7 Owen McK.
ReplyDeleteWhat do we think about him? I feel like people think that he is crazy for ditching everything he had just to go die in the woods. But what other people think about him doesn’t matter to him because he’s happy to be free from the government and not have to worry about anything but what the present has to bring to him. In most cases doing what you want should be accepted, but most people that see his situation would have gone to get a job and get the new car and NOT give away 23,000 dollars to the hungry when he was hungry. In this time and century it’s not acceptable for a man to do that its UN heard of but that’s because people are too busy being brainwashed thinking that the society is normal. But that’s saying living in the woods is normal and if it were, than that’s what we would be doing now. Normal is what you make it, so be happy with what you do in your life and don’t conform for others. Unless that’s what makes you happy, we think Chris is a bunch of different bad things but in reality he’s just being himself which is normal.
in chapters 4-7 Chris Mccandless ,I mean Alex Supertramp is like thos open, nature loving, person and wants to go to Alaska and takes a very long journey to diiferent places. We know hes gonna die in a truck in the middle of no where so he technically achieved the goal he wanted but I feel like he went to Alaska just to die that's how I feel.
ReplyDeleteMarcus Charland
ReplyDeleteIn chapters 4-7 Chris Mccandless now Alex took away the meaning of money and other thing by tossing them and burning them on (page 29) it shows how he doesn't care for those things at all and how he could survive with out money or a home to be happy.
Marcus Charland
ReplyDeleteChris is the kind of person who loves being in the wild and trying new things like on page 32 when he tried canoeing, I think he reached his goal because on page 37 when he wrights in his journal on page 34 and talks how he got stuck and finally
found his way to land.