“In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters”(Author’s Note).

“It should not be denied…that

being footloose has always

exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with

escape from history and

oppression and law and irksome obligations, with

absolute freedom, and the road has always led west.”(Wallace Stegner, From: The

American West as Living Space)

"Colorado River." Online Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2  June  2008  <http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-2636>.

“I NOW WALK INTO THE

WILD.”(ALEX, 1992)

Commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Mt_McKinley,_Denali_National_Park,jpg.

High Achiever: Academics, Athletics, MusicEntrepreneurial

Generous & CaringCold & Unforgiving

Impatient with othersSelf-absorbed

Harsh judge of parentsTolerant of artists& close

friendsPassionate

Self-righteousIntensely private

GregariousSocially conscious

www.datsunhistory.com/DATPICS/b210.jpg

“I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real Life has begun,” (Alex, June 1992).

“S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death and too weak to hike out of here….This is no joke…”

(Chris McCandless, August?)

THE SLABS

Carthage, South Dakota

EXPLOITS

Detrital Wash

Colorado River --canoe trip

Bullhead City McDonald’s

Salton City

Las Vegas

California/Mexico Border

ALASKA

Mt. McKinley…”Climb Mountain!”

“ I finally got here.” (April 22, 1992)

“I’ve decided to head for Alaska no later than May 1st…:

A babbling brook in spring, a rushing torrent in summer.

DENALI NATIONAL PARK & STAMPEDE TRAIL

The Journey of Chris McCandlessVisionary or Fool?Honest or Selfish?

Death Wish?Desire to confront and overcome fear of death?

CHRIS WAS INSPIRED BY:

LEO TOLSTOYTHOREAU JACK LONDON

•“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence,” -Tolstoy

•“It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity

laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life,” -London

•“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth,” -Thoreau

CHRIS’S RELATIONSHIPS

FamilyGrandfather: Lauren JohnsonFather: Walt Mother: BillieSister: Carine

On the RoadJan BurresWayne WesterbergRon Franz

AlaskaJim Gallien

-Happiness is only real when shared-There is refuge in nature-Wealth is shameful, corrupting, and evil-Absolutes: Life, Truth, Beauty-Love of one’s Neighbor-Free personality-Life as Sacrifice

CHRIS’S PHILOSOPHIES:

“I BELIEVE THAT…”

WHAT POISONED CHRIS?

SWEET PEA VS. WILD POTATO

“

I have had a happy life and thank the Lord.. Goodbye and may God bless all.”

(August 1992)

Jim Gallien: Takes Chris to Denali National Park

Butch Killian: EMT who arrives soon after Chris’s body is

discoveredWayne: Closest version of family to Chris-works on a grain elevator for Wayne’s company in South Dakota

Peter Kalitka: Private Detective hired to find Chris

Gene Rosellini, John Waterman, Carl McCunn and Everett Reuss:

Similar men who ventured into the wild

Ron Franz: Takes in Chris when he moves to Anza-Borrego

Ask Questions on any others…

PEOPLE CHRIS MET:

Krakauer’s use of methodology in Into the Wild is an important focus of his biography. It is inevitably what makes him a “partial” biographer.

Methodology: the methods of organizing principles underlying a particular art, science or other area of study.

*Manuscripts

*Maps

*Interviews

*Epigraphs

METHODOLOGY

Krakauer starts the novel with the ending completely in mind.

We know of Chris’ death by chapter two.

The epigraph is detailing his trip into the Yukon

Territory.

Westerberg’s letter is introduced before he is.

How is this effective story telling?

Why are we given the letter before a literary quote?

STRUCTURE:

The maps are used to personalize the odyssey.

Visual rendering of where he’s been. We see Chris’s plight and the trek he has made.

Also see the absurdity of his journey: jumping from one place to the next.

MAPS:

Personal connection to Chris.

He seems very candid and real in the letters.

Detection of his spite, anger and arrogance in the

letters.

Puts on a different face in front of strangers:

benevolent, spirited, kind.

The letters serve as his connection to the outside, evidence of his journey, and his bitter farewell to

society.

LETTERS AND MANUSCRIPTS

Story becomes real when we meet people Chris has befriended.

Provide personal account of his behavior.

Allow us to question his motives.

Aware of his inability to connect to humans.

Krakauer’s main attempt at being impartial.

INTERVIEWS

Symbolize Chris’s God

Religious connection for him.

Their imagination becomes his reality.

Inability to understand London, Tolstoy, Thoreau or Emerson, because he takes their ideas literally: or is this what he’s

supposed to do?

LITERARY ALLUSIONS

Transcendentalism New ideas in literature, religion culture and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early to

middle 19th century. It is sometimes called American transcendentalism to distinguish it from other uses of the

word. Transcendentalism began as a protest against the general state of culture and society and in particular, the state of

intellectualism at Harvard and the doctrine of the Unitarian church. Among transcendentalists' core beliefs was an ideal spiritual state that 'transcends' the physical and empirical

and is only realized through the individual's intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions.

TRANSCENDENTALISM

Unless otherwise cited, the pictures are all from http://images.google.com/imagesAll quotes are from: Krakauer,Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1997.

Constance D. Casserly, June 2, 2008