Just Mine Now

Now, I'd like to say a few words about the process used to create these blog entries.  No, I didn't just sit down at the computer, and start typing.  Just as with anything you write, planning is needed as well as close proofreading.   As I read, I made notes in the book (one perk for owning my own book), and I also kept a journal.  So, as I read and reread, I made notes about different points I wanted you to understand while you read the book.  Then I reread the notes I wrote in the journal as well as those I wrote in the text itself.  After completing that process, sometimes for several chapters at a time, I then signed into this blog, and  began transferring my thoughts to the entries.  I hope you noted that I documented the quotations I used.  After completing the writing portion, a sort of rough draft, I opened preview pages of what I had written.  I'd reread what I had written, stopping often to revise the wording and/or order...

If, perchance, you have viewed the film made of Into the Wild , what similarities/differences do you notice?  How would you rate the film?  Explain.

Most chapters throughout the text average around fifteen pages a piece, yet the Epilogue is only four pages.  Think about the following questions: Is it too short?   How does it fit Krakauer's purpose?  Were you satisfied with the way Into the Wild concluded?  Explain.  Then think about what Krakauer includes in this section. Reflect on your thoughts once you've finished reading.

Most of the second "Stampede Trail" chapter's focus analyzes what actually killed Christopher McCandless.  How did reading these different interpretations affect your opinion of the book and Christopher McCandless?  We know that Krakauer completed extensive research, trying to understand what the actual culprit was. Besides this focus, however, Krakauer also asserts that McCandless was ready to come home, emphasizing this fact because he has repeated this particular idea throughout the text, not just in chapter 18.  He even conjectures how things might have been different had McCandless had a topographical map, all those what ifs.  Consider this sentence: "McCandless's apparent salvation, in other words, seemed to be only a three-hour walk upriver" (196).  It's almost as if Krakauer is trying to change McCandless's final outcome. For another example, read the following paragraph, then think about how Krakauer came to his conclusions: "It is te...

I several suggestions for you to think about doing while reading chapter 14. First, do you buy into Chris McCandless being suicidal as others have claimed him to be from the following quotation, (also part of the opening quote for chapter 1): "If this adventure proves fatal and you don't ever hear from me again I want you to know you are a great man.  I now walk into the wild" (133-134)?  Explain. You've been presented with many allusions within this text, something that should have meaning for you if you understand the allusions, a skill also needed in AP English Lit.  Do you know where "siren song" comes from or its meaning?  (You probably came across it in 9th grade.) The definition given in the free dictionary site online fits how it is used here.  Here are a couple others mentioned: Nietzche John Kerouac   To better understand the challenge Krakauer was facing climbing Devil's Thumb, try this link .  Scroll down toward the bottom of the...

What do you think about what Carine said, that "[t]here's no way he [Chris] would have taken the same kind of chances if Buck had been with him" (128)?  Explain your response.

Something that you will be identifying in works under study include logos, pathos, and ethos.  But identification is not enough.  Your focus should be the effect of these appeals on the content, and how it is presented.   You're far enough in the book by now (if you've read through chapter 13) where you should be able to identify how Krakauer's ethos is established.  But even though you see this now, you should have been noticing  the pathos and logos present, too - again, their effect. So now please describe how Krakauer has established his credibility.  Think about some of the other things I've asked you to notice while reading like different points of view presented in responding to this post.   Second, does his inclusion of pathos, especially in those parts in chapters 12-13 when you learn about Chris's personality/actions in college (the logos is here, too), and again later with his family members' reactions to is passing, how it...

Point of view of several family members is found in this chapter along with that of several of the people McCandless went to high school with who also shed some light on his life. Walt McCandless is here. Try speculating answers to the question he poses at the end of the first paragraph in page 104: "'How is it. . .that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain'" (104)? Speculate also as to why so much specific detail about Walt McCandless is given. Is it necessary? Krakauer's purpose? Note that Walt McCandless also said of his son: "We were always trying to pull him back from the edge" (109). The connections of Billie's father to Chris? List as bullet points. Why is this important to know to understand Chris McCandless? What about the effect of their (Christopher and Carine) parents working all the time? The point of view of former classmates: Gordy Cucullu - Think about whether Chris did "push [himself] in...

Here is a link to a complete article mentioned in chapter 10: "Dying in the Wild, A Hiker Recorded the Terror" Unfortunately some of the other sources mentioned in the text have not been located. The Washington Post has an archive; perhaps this can be found through the digital library at the Los Angeles Public Library. The Paul Harvey broadcast doesn't seem to be available nor does the article that Jim Gallien read in the Anchorage Daily News . However, a couple articles still available at the Anchorage Daily News shed more light on what others thought about McCandless. You might want to check out these two articles: McCandless: Hero or dumb jerk? Theories differ on the cause of McCandless' death Another source, a book by W. L. Rusho, Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty , originally published in 1973, might include some helpful information that may further enlighten us more in terms of the comparison of Ruess and McCandless. It'll be rereleased in September.

Do you think that information about the Irish monks is a necessary inclusion at the end of chapter 9? Or do you think it is superfluous? Explain. Instead, should Krakauer have ended the chapter with Everett Ruess on page 96? Explain.

More is given about Ruess in this chapter, the 2nd quote used to open chapter 9 and the excerpt within the chapter from Stegner's opinions about Ruess. Again, you will have to look at both in your copy of the text. Compare and contrast what is said about Ruess with what you know about McCandless so far. Be sure to include evidence from these quotes in your response. Note what Krakauer's connections on pages 92 and 93. Also think about why Krakauer may have devoted almost an entire chapter to Everett Ruess. What do you think his purpose is here?

To give you a better understanding of who John Muir was, you might want to click on this link to learn a little more about him so that you can understand why his name is mentioned in Into the Wild. Then reflect on what you learn, and make the connections.

If you are completing a close reading of Into the Wild , and are reading this blog over the summer, you might want to respond to the questions posed here in the blog instead of responding to the written assignment you were given before the end of school. The purpose of these posts is to get you thinking about what you're reading. So, whichever you're most comfortable with handling at this point is okay. You might choose to do a little of both. It's all up to you.

I'm speaking of those by Everett Ruess (from the last letter sent to his brother), and Wallace Stegner on Everett Ruess. You'll have to read them in your copy of the book. How are they similar to what you envision to be the character of Christopher McCandless?