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...