Into the Wild: Chris McCandless's Death

Sam McCandless

Chris was the family that Sam felt sorry for after reading about a man found dead in Alaska.

It shows that there was tension in the air, especially with Walt.

<p>He left the house and took candy from a neighbor's house, reflecting his ambitious side.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Billie's dad didn't fit into society, and he and Chris were a lot alike.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Running was 'spiritual' for him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He was talented but didn't want to master anything; when he favored something, he couldn't stop.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He pushed himself even more for the things he loved, such as running.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It was important because both Billie and Chris came from blue-collar families.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They guilt-tripped him into going by discussing financial problems.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He knew that nothing was going to stop Chris and that trying to change his mind would be useless.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He might have wanted to give Walt peace of mind so he wouldn't bother him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He discovered his father's second family when he went back to his childhood home.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He liked ridiculing the policies of the Democratic Party and co-founded a Republican club.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They were concerned for his well-being and felt hurt and angry.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He might have felt a personal connection to the quote, relating it to his old life with his family.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>She thought Chris would have risked his life to save Buck without hesitation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They were similar in height and looked identical, but Carine had no objection to their parents' wealth.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Krakauer's tone is mostly pitiful for Billie as she was in a depressive state.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He replies to a quote from someone else and transitions into his own commentary.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Their relationship with male authority was described as a confusing mix of fury and hunger.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He is trying to hurt himself to ensure that he confronts his feelings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It was the best way to get up the mountain.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Kai evoked intimacy in Krakauer.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He felt upset and abandoned because the supplies didn't reach him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Krakauer's tent burned down, and he was upset because it was his father's tent.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He was a volatile, extremely complicated person with a brash demeanor masking deep insecurities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He resolved not to go to an Ivy League school.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They were similar because he hated both of them with a passion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He decided to climb via another route and eventually reached the summit.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>No, it did not change Krakauer's life; it changed almost nothing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless promised to send a letter but refused to call his parents.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He expressed interest in looking at universities and continuing his education.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He was upset he couldn't preserve the meat, feeling angered for killing without good cause.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He discovered he could not safely cross the swollen Teklanika River.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>After 66 days, he attempted to return to civilization but couldn't cross the river.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Jon Krakauer initially wrote about Chris McCandless because he was asked by the editor of Outside magazine to write about the boy's strange death. He continued to write about the boy because he was fascinated with McCandless because he was similar to him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Krakauer thinks that McCandless's story speaks to 'young men of a certain mind.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>This changes the book because it gives the readers an idea of how the book will play out.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Some people thought he was amazing while others say he was 'wacko.' Krakauer does not state his opinion in the Author's note. He states 'my convictions should be clear soon.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Jim states that many people would look at the magazines of Alaska and decide to live off the land. While in reality, 'the rivers are big and fast. The mosquitoes eat you alive.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He might have changed his name as a way to reject his past and embrace his independence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Alex didn't have the correct gear and items to survive out in the wild.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He's an unprepared guy who does not want to do anything else but explore and be independent. He probably used this as a getaway from his old life.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He opens the chapter with a dark tone, foreshadowing what could happen in the chapter.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They get to the bus using lightweight all-terrain vehicles. This suggests that they go off the roads often and they are experienced in this field.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>There was a note on the bus exclaiming that Chris was injured/almost to death, and they smelled something foul coming from the bus. Samuel looked in the bus through the windows where he saw Chris's body.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He stated that it was a task for the Alaskan State Troopers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It can be inferred that he was starving to death and that it must have been miserable.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It was a small town in South Dakota. McCandless liked the 'community's stasis, its plebian virtues and unassuming mien.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Westerberg and McCandless had a father-son relationship in some ways. He fed McCandless, gave him a job, and took care of him like a father figure.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Westerberg thinks that McCandless's tendency to overthink got him in trouble.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Westerberg was imprisoned for building and selling black boxes which allowed people to watch encrypted cable programs without paying.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless's gift to Westerberg of a copy of War and Peace is revealing of McCandless's character. He values both charity and independent thought.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The reader can infer that McCandless was a very sentimental person. And that even though he left, he was grateful for his mother.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless's family were all well-educated. His mother had a 3.75 GPA and his father worked for NASA on high-profile projects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It seems that McCandless did not like that his parents would buy items for him. He didn't want a new car specifically.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless prevented his parents from finding out he left by asking the post office to hold the letters until 'August 1st'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Lake Mead was very hot and mostly desert. Chris camped next to the lake mead at the edge of the wash.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>This was because his car's registration was expired, along with its license. Additionally, he drove where he wasn't supposed to. It would have been more trouble to try to get it out.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He was aggravated and lost his temper, but then he felt excited to 'shed unnecessary baggage.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It shows that from then on he would have to rely only on himself and not be backed up with money.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He was hitchhiking and received a ticket which was sent to his parents.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He wanted to feel like the characters he read about in the survival books.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He felt amazing about his journey; his 'spirit was screaming.' I think this is because he felt free and felt he had changed for the better since when he first set off.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Bullhead City was a 'haphazard sprawl of subdivisions and strip malls.' Krakauer refers to it as an 'oxymoronic' community because it has distinguished places in the community but is also very dirty.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It is unusual for McCandless to be attached to Bullhead City because it does not 'appeal to an adherent of Thoreau and Tolstoy.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless's life was relatively normal. He held a job, created a bank account, and lived near his work. He ended up leaving because he wanted to see Alaska.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It seems that Krakauer sees Chris's dreams as almost childish. Krakauer makes Chris's admiration for the books seem immature.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless and Jan Burres had a meaningful connection because she took care of him and he helped her with her bookstore.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless was both social and introverted. He got along with people really well, but he also needed his own space.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>I feel that McCandless rejected the gifts and clothing simply because he believed he didn't need it.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Ronald Franz believed that McCandless was too nice to be living the way he is. But McCandless explained that it was his choice to live like that.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Franz was a broken war veteran who was very religious, which helped him heal. He grew attached to McCandless because he missed being a parent after his son and wife died from a drunk driver.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He resists attachment to people because he doesn't want anything expected from him. Additionally, he believed that joy does not emanate from relationships with humans. He pushed many people away or limited the relationships he had with people.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He wanted to adopt McCandless because he felt McCandless could be like another son to him. But McCandless was a bit uncomfortable with the question.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Franz is living in a very hot area in Southern California, and McCandless was in a new area with cooler weather looking for a job.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He took a light touch because of how much Alex meant to him, treating him like a grandson he never had.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless saw that his lifestyle was not fun nor adventurous. So he suggested hitting the road like him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>This means that McCandless wasn't lazy, but he simply missed or didn't notice specific things, for example the amount of oil in the microwave.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Alike - both stubborn and high-strung. Differences - Walt liked being in control of Chris and Chris liked being independent.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He was drawn to nature because of a desire for human contact too strong to be satisfied by other people.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It was a mother-son relationship.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It seems like he knew he would not be talking to anyone later, this shows he would be going on a long adventure without any contact.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The letters reveal that he is going to take risks in the future and he will not be surprised if he dies in the future.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They were critical of him because they stated 'McCandless was simply one more dreamy half-cocked greenhorn who went into the country expecting answers.' Krakauer also praised someone who died in the forest.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Generally, Alaskans were critical of Chris. They felt he was a misguided idealist at best.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He wanted to know 'if it was possible to be independent of modern technology.'</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A master climber who had suffered psychiatric breakdowns at different points in his life, Waterman died while attempting to summit Denali, one of the most difficult peaks in the world.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Carl McCunn was an amateur photographer from Texas. He went to the woods to take pictures and forgot to tell someone to come pick him up. He died by suicide and starvation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless, Rosellini, and Waterman were seekers and had an impractical fascination with nature. McCandless was unlike Waterman in that he was mentally stable. Rosellini used common sense and only went out into nature for an experiment. McCunn didn't really like the idea of staying in the wild for a long period of time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He might have used the stories to show how different each of these people was and to differentiate McCandless from others who did something similar.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They both have the same archetype of traveler and misfit. Both Chris and Everett were against what society was and what it was becoming; they just wanted to escape and be alone to do their own thing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He feels overwhelmed with the amount of things that he can do. But because of that, he feels he has a will to live to explore everything.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He might have used the name because it was a character from Jules Verne's 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,' a book Everett read many times.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Ruess might have been compelled to write his name on landmarks because it might have been a memorial for him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Ken Sleight believes Ruess drowned when trying to cross the San Juan River by swimming.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>I feel Krakauer included the story of the papar because it talks about the adventure of people from Iceland who felt the thrill of adventure like McCandless.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Jim Gallien thought that the hiker found dead might be Alex because of the information given through the radio.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They didn't take him seriously because many people had already called, claiming to know Alex.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>McCandless initially filled out the tax form with very little information, but after 1992, he filled out the tax forms with all his real information. This might have been because he was thinking of going back to civilization soon or he felt comfortable disclosing the information.</p> Signup and view all the answers