Chapter 1 the Alaska Interior (Pgs 4-7)

1. Why does the cover include a succinct summary of Chris’ story which includes information about his death?

Author’s Note

2. What does Jon Krakauer want to know and why does he want to know it? What is the narrative behind his research?

3. What themes does Krakauer introduce?

Chapter 1 “The Alaska Interior” (pgs 4-7)

4. Read the quote from Chris’ postcard to Wayne Westerberg that begins the chapter.

What does this reveal about Chris’ character? Intentions?

5. Consider that this was the last correspondence anyone received from Chris before he went “into the wild” and it was sent to Westerberg, whom he had only known for a few years, instead of his parents. What questions does this raise?

6. What questions does the information in the postcard raise in general? 7. Summarize Jim Gallien’s perception of Alex (Chris). What was his initial perception versus his final conclusions?

8. Why was Gallien concerned about Alex’s preparedness, and what did he do in an attempt to help him?

9. Based on Gallien’s observations, what was Alex’s mood as he embarked on his final journey?

Chapter 2 "The Stampede Trail” (pgs 9-14)

10. Why would Krakauer include a quote from Jack London as the heading of this chapter? How does the information in the text relate to Chris and why did Chris think “Jack London is King”?

11. What is the history behind the Stampede Trail and why is this important?

12. What did the hunters find in the bus and how did this create the mystery behind Chris’ story? Chapter 3 “Carthage” (pgs 15-23)

13. Consider the quotes that open chapter 3: how do these tie into what we already discern about Chris?

14. Where was Chris originally from and why was he drawn to his surrogate family in South Dakota? How were the lifestyles different and why might that have appealed to Chris?

15. Describe the relationship between Westerberg and Chris. What drew Westerberg to Chris?

16. We learn more about Chris through the eyes of Westerberg; what are his observations of Chris?

17. Describe your perception of Chris’ relationship with his family. How did his outlook differ from his family’s? Explain how you would, or would not, consider this normal.

18. What was Chris’ college experience like and what clues premeditated his “disappearance”? Chapters 1-3 Response:

After graduating college, McCandless begins, “an epic journey that would change everything” (22). He saw his time in college as “an absurd and onerous duty” (22). In heading west he felt freed “from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess” (22). Using examples from the reading explain what he meant by this. Do you agree or disagree with his motivation for leaving?

Requirements:

 Proper MLA heading (first page top left: name, teacher, class, date – additional pages top right last name, page #)

 Answer all parts of the prompt

 Include specific examples from the first three chapters (parenthetical citations)

 No fatal errors