Post your blog over a specific topic/focus from chapters 1-7. Blogs need to be original and not a repeat of one that has been posted. One quote should be included.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s infamous short story “Young Goodman Brown,” Faith’s pink ribbons parallel and symbolize her character. When the story opens, she is the young, innocent wife of Brown. Pink ribbons are worn by young girls, not mature women, and she lets “the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap.” Faith, however, is not as innocent and good as Brown naively believes. She also enters the forest, where her pink ribbon falls, indicating her fall from innocence and grace and causing Brown to abandon all faith in goodness and humanity. The pink ribbons are more complex than this. They can also symbolize the complexity of women and challenge the ideal of women. Pink is a combination of white and red. White, symbolizing innocence and purity, was the expectation and ideal of women. Red could symbolize sin, passion, temptation. Faith’s pink ribbons complicates this polarization. Women cannot be classified or viewed as either good or evil. Many vilify Faith for betraying Brown.
In the book Into The Wild, the author Jon Krakauer does something that is only unique to him. He started every chapter with a quote. “The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce conditions of trail life, it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control” (38). When he does this he gives an insight into the chapter and what it is about. It is very unequal to him and interesting. I have never read a book where they do that. Another thing that the author does that is unique is that he added a map on a few of the chapters. At the beginning of the chapter. This is showing where he is at, at that moment and time.
Into the Wild is so interesting. Jon Krakauer does such a good job investigating the story and life of Christopher/Alex McCandless. Alex didn’t appreciate conforming to society, he longed for adventure and exploration, he sought out the supposed simplicity of nature. The interesting thing to me was that controversy between his claims and actions. He seemed to claim certain things about society, he didn’t support “mainstream American life”. Instead he decided he would enjoy the solitude of nature, his own thoughts and ideas. It turns out, in order for him to do that, he was relying on the people he supposedly wanted to escape from to reach his destinations. He was contradicting his own claims with his own actions. It was not something I was expecting from Alex, since he was so educated and seemed to have strong morals and values that he was committed to following. But I also understand that that was how he made that dream possible by using the least amount of money he could. His education I think made his death so surprising to me. He used in in ways that I both expected and did not. Alex brought a book with him with edible plants so he was able to learn what he could eat safely, he used knowledge to fully rely on the earth as a source of food, an interesting experience in his adventure. I expected him to use that type of knowledge in his adventure, but what I did not expect was for him to use books written by Thoreau, Twain, London, and Tolstoy, to name a few. He highlighted passages important to him, that he wanted to remember. That shows that his eagerness to learn remained, whether it be from materials but also learning how to apply these concepts in real life both morally and physically. His adventure, curiosity and urge to explore was all backed by his need to constantly learn. This need took him all over the country, brought new people into his life, allowed him to build new relationships with others and himself. He learned to take advantage of the few social interactions he encountered and appreciate the people who helped him achieve his dreams along the way. He grew so much throughout this trip, and inevitably it ended with his death, just sooner rather than later.
In the book, “Into the Wild” written by Jon Krakauer he introduces many relationships that Alex forages throughout his journey to Alaska. Quite specifically, I was astounded by the dynamic between Ronald Franz and Alex. This relationship in many ways is telling of Alex’s character and illuminates characteristics otherwise not demonstrated thoroughly before. It is clear at this point that Alex does not want anything to hold him back from his advancement to Alaska. This has been made known previously within other relationships but here, it is clear that nothing will stop Alex from moving on. He avoids an entire relationship with Franz in order to keep himself moving. When Franz offers to adopt young Alex to carry on Franz’s legacy as a man, Alex deliberately rejects the request and mentions that he is lucky to have avoided ‘extra emotional baggage’ that would accompany this relationship. At this point it is also clear that Alex is filled with anger towards his parents specifically. Franz recalls that more often than not Alex would become overwhelmed by anger and would fume over politics and his parents and the idiocy of American life. Due to this anger, it’s reasonable to say that this was Alex’s main motivation for leaving a normal lifestyle behind. This anger and rejection of society is perhaps an act of rebellion against Alex’s parents and their overwhelming need to follow society’s footsteps. He mentioned earlier that he is absolutely infuriated with the fact that his parents offer money for schooling and a new car despite not needing one. Alex’s relationship with his parents may be a key reason that he chose this life and continue to motivate him to stay on this journey of self reliance and independence.
In the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, Alex decides to abandon his old life and start a new one, donating all of his money to charity and leaving all of his possessions behind. He attempted to live in the most simplest way possible, like Thoreau thought we should live. Alex trusted himself that he could live off of the things that he could carry on his back, and that everything else was unnecessary. Even when people tried to offer him clothes, food, etc, he denied to take them because he thought he knew what he needed to survive, and he didn't want help from anybody else because he wanted to do it himself. Galien tried to convince Alex that he was not prepared for the conditions, but Galien said "He wouldn't give an inch, he had an answer for everything I threw at him." Alex stuck to what he knew and his intuition guided the way for him, he wanted to be independent and in solitude. "I wont run into anything I can't deal with on my own" he said. I thought it was a bad idea that Alex didn't take Galien's advice since Galien had experience with the climate and conditions of Alaska, but Alex stuck to his gut and trusted what he knew, despite what anyone told him. He also looked for adventure anywhere he went and he wanted to explore the world without anybody holding him back. He relied on his own thoughts and ideas to get him where he needed to be and trusted nature to provide him with everything that he needed to live. Alex's death was shocking to me because he was a well educated man and I feel like he knew a lot more than what he applied to his experience in the wild. He used his book about edible berries to help him find food and he relied on nature as a source of food and knowledge, so it was surprising that he died knowing how he had knowledge about the natural world, and how he survived all of the places before he went on his last journey. Although his death ended tragically, he lived life to the fullest and went on many adventures, those that the average American could only dream about doing. He gave up so many things, but also gained a lot of knowledge, experience,and support along the way, but most importantly he gained an inner wisdom in himself.
I was captivated the most by Chris “Alex” McCandless’ personality. Although his itching need to be adventurous and his determination to satisfy his transcendentalist views helped him throughout his journey, I think that his charisma is what took him far. It’s interesting to see how much of an impact he made on other people’s lives in the limited time he spent with them despite his attempt to keep them away at arm’s length. I find it ironic that he touched the hearts of those he encountered during his expedition regardless of his effort not to become too attached. I think that this shows how extraordinary a person McCandless was. Mary Westerberg even went as far as to say “Gosh, he was fun to visit with; I didn’t want the night to end. I can’t get him out of my mind. Considering that I only spent a few hours in Alex’s company, it amazes me how much I’m bothered by his death.” Ronald Franz was also affected by McCandless. “When McCandless departed as suddenly as he’d arrived, Franz found himself deeply and unexpectedly hurt.” Franz said that “When Alex left for Alaska, I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die. ...when I learned what happened, I renounced the Lord. I withdrew my church membership and became an atheist. I decided I couldn’t believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex.” The fact that Franz abandoned his faith because of Chris’ death is another demonstration of the effect he had on people. I think it’s also ironic that he had the ability to be so amiable with people even though he made it a point to separate himself from society and ultimately sought solitude.
There are very large and various amounts of imagery in Into The Wild, it helps you comprehend or get into the story of Christopher McCandless. Such as the amount of imagery the author paints about his home life, his favorite car, where he travels and the people he meets along the way and even and sadly his death site. His dear car, he describes as “best car in the world…” which the author Say “... a beloved 1982 Datsun B210, slightly dented...yellow…” His car that was so special to him was a very prominent yellow, and yellow actually symbolizes many things one being “enlightenment”, could the yellow of his beloved Datsun represent his enlightenment of transcendentalism? McCandless’s travels land him somewhere near the coast of the Gulf of California, how the author describes such Gulf to be “...tarantula, plaintive sunsets, windswept dunes, the long curve of empty coastline.” the imagery helps to give you a peace of mind of what exactly McCandless experiences were and their beauty but also their danger. His unfortunate demise which is located in Alaska near the stampede Creek above Clearwater Fork of Toklat River in a broke down 1940’s bus that was used for coal miners, has probably the most creepily and carefully placed detail that sticks to my mind the most. “... a camera with five rolls of exposed film, the SOS note, and a diary-written across the last two pages of a field guide to edible plants that recorded the young man’s final weeks in 113 terse, enigmatic entries.”, “Virtually no subcutaneous fat remained on the body, and the muscles had withered significantly in the days or weeks prior to death” Overall the amount of imagery is very well detailed and very much so helps convey McCandless’s story and his journey or transcendentalism.
blog by: Makinzie Bedford from 7th period american lit
Throughout the first part of 'Into the Wild', it's stated many times that Chris McCandless' favorite author of all time is Jack London. Jan Burres commented that "London was his favorite. He’d try to convince every snowbird who walked by that they should read Call of the Wild.” I have a hard time believing this to be a coincidence and believe that authors like London and Thoreau heavily influenced McCandless' desire to rough it in the wild. Jack London has written multiple books about venturing into the wilderness, including 'Call of the Wild', 'White Fang', and 'To Build a Fire', the first being the most influential to Chris. "Call to the Wild" is from the perspective of a dog who is stolen from his home and sold as a sled dog in Alaska, and has to adapt to the harsh environment. He eventually has to shed his experiences of civilization and rely on his instincts. There are clearly many similarities between this story and McCandless'. Firstly, the story occurs in Alaska, which is Chris' overall goal as he hitchhikes across America. On a deeper level, Chris relates to Buck and aspires to leave civilization behind with only his intellect and instincts to rely on. This is seen when Chris repeatedly refuses items offered to him by the people he meets and creates relationships with throughout his journey. It's unfortunate that McCandless is this stubborn because who knows how much longer he would have lived if he had accepted all the aid he was offered by the kind people who crossed his path.
In the story “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer the main character Chirs McCandless disappears from his life and heads to the forest to with barely anything to survive with. He donates all of his money to charity and burns the cash that he has with him. He didn’t just give away all his money and go back to work to make more he actually had no interest in having money. I think this was a deeper meaning of him showing he was a non-conformist and he did not want to be apart of what society had in place. I think non-conformity is going to be a very recurring theme because McCandless being the main character was very passionate about living life in a transcendental lifestyle. He gave many examples of the way he believes in finding truth through nature and he values it very much his thoughts were the opposite of what society had in place. Honestly McCandless kind of seemed like he was above the law and makes it seem like anyone telling you what to do is the enemy such as the government. He says “How I feed myself is none of the government’s business. F*ck their stupid rules.” He is rejecting any sort of materialist life to live however he wants and I think he is selfish in a way. He made it impossible for anyone to find him and walked into his own death just so he could completely be separate from society. I think the theme is going to keep recurring because there are a lot of transcendental ideals and that goes along with non-conformity.
Alex McCandless, aka Chris, has the views of Emerson and Thoreau who were some of the biggest transcendentalist writers of all time. He wants to go out and connect with nature so he can truly be a nonconformist and become something greater than himself. However he is not quite a true transcendentalist. Alex uses people to get to where he wants and conforms to what they ask of him. When Alex finds himself in a tough spot he always has to rely on other people to help him. In chapter four Alex conforms because he does the following, “At the end of July, he accepted a ride from a man who called himself Crazy Ernie and offered McCandless a job on a ranch in northern California…”. By accepting a job Alex has agreed to work for someone who in return has agreed to give him money, a person who is truly transcendentalist would not care for materialistic things such as money. When Alex agreed to take the job he also showed that he was not expecting his journey to be this difficult; who in their right mind would work for a stranger named crazy Ernie. Another instance in which Alex was not a true transcendentalist was when he met Bob and Jan. “Alex took a ride from us up to Orick Beach, where we were staying, and camped with us for a week.'' this shows that Alex was not truly independent. Transcendentalist believed that being self-reliant and independent was the only way to be the best you can be, because Alex stayed with Bob and Jan he showed that he could not truly be independent since he needed their help in order to not die of starvation. Although Alex wants to be free from society and its pressure to conform he has run into obstacles that make is extremely hard for him to truly be free. The only way Alex can be a true transcendentalist is to be independent, no matter how hard it may be.
I was very interested into how committed Chris or Alex was to his adventure and how serious he was about it. He sold all of his money and didn't even tell his parents where he was going and what he was going to do. I also think that he was very selfish in not necessarily the odyssey he undertook but how he went about it. I believe that he should have told his parents what he was doing and at least say goodbye before he did. Another example of this is in the first chapter when Gallien offered to help him out a little just to be nice. He said "Gallien offered to drive Alex all the way to Anchorage, buy him some decent gear, and then drive him back to wherever he wanted to go." Alex could have at least accepted this and then just not have used the gear but he was too stubborn to even do this. This happens again in the story when Burres wanted to give Alex supplies he again didn't take it and left it in her car. Again Alex didn't even have to use these things he just could have took them and then got rid of them someplace else bit instead he did it in a rude and mean way. And am not disagreeing with his vision and what he wants to get out of this but he did not have to do it the way he did it. He could have gotten the same experience without being all alone and not accepting help from people because sometimes you have to be the one receiving the help instead of always giving it because it makes the other people feel good.
The novel ‘Into the Wild’ by Jon Krakauer is a very captivating book investigation the months in witch of a young man named Chris McCandless donated his trust fund to charity, loaded up his car with all his belongs, left the constraints of society behind and started a new nomadic life that ultimately lead to his death. McCandles death proved to be a sensation, the mystery behind a wealthy boy leaving it all behind him just be found dead in alaska a few months later. This is an investigative story that unravels the path Chris took on his adventure. Krakauer begins the book with a printed map of the alaskan peninsula on the begining left page. Chapter one is titled ‘The Alaska Interior’, evidently the title is significant because McCandless traveled to and presumably died in the alaska interior. Next, under the chapter name is an excerpt, this specific excerpt is a letter Alex McCandless wrote to Wane Westeberg. The exceptert states, “April 27th, 1992 Greetings from Fairbanks! This is the last you shall hear from me Wayne. Arrived here 2 days ago. It was very difficult to catch rides in the Yukon Territory. But I finally got here. Please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild. Alex”. This is the first thing a reader dives into when reading this book, an optimistic but realistic letter sent from the captivating and mysterious man Alex McCandless. This letter written by alex seems chilling to read, most likely the last letter he ever sent describing his newest adventure. The author puts this excerpt at the beginning of the text most likely to emotionally move and intrigue readers. A letter proving that McCandles didn't know his adventure would surely end in his death. A letter showing the reader Alex wasn't a crazy psychopath who went to Alaska with a deathwish, but that alex was just another person who liked a challenge. The placement of this excerpt gives the reader a peek into the book they are about to enter, emotionally heavy and raw. The strategic placement of this excerpt shows that the author knows what he is doing, drawing readers in with an unexplained letter while simultaneously revealing the focus as a real human, not just a media sensation. -Reese Van Osdel
Into the Wild by Jon Krakaur is one of those stories where you are already aware that the main character dies. It follows the journey of a young man named Chris McCandless, and his very interesting view of life, as he hitchhikes his way to Alaska. Unfortunately as we were told from the start Chris doesn’t survive the bitter wilderness of Alaska and ends up starving. From what the book pieces together, Chris had managed to make an imprint on the various people he met along the way. He was a very intriguing guy and for the most part he was often referred to as a ‘nice kid’. Initially, Chris got rid of most of his belongings and packed up in the car he owned since high school. He was immersed in the philosophy of transcendentalism and decided to follow this extreme minimalist life style. Eventually he ditched the car, most of his belongings, and even burned his money to force himself to rely on his own instinct and live more like a scavenger. Its quiet important to take into account the fact that he came from a financially comfortable home and had already graduated from college, so its especially interesting to see a well educated man ditch the luxuries of life for one of hardships. What is most interesting about what we know about Chris so far is how he tends to view people like objects and can have the tendency to come across as ungrateful. Material goods are extra, they’re only distractions, they aren't necessary, just like people. His ideologies consist of rejecting society and avoiding conformity, but in some form or another it was society who helped him make his way up to Alaska. Chris couldn’t solely rely on his intuition all the time, especially when he was lost in Mexico. Without the help from the Mexican officials, he would have certainly remained helpless and who knows if he’d still have the motivation to make it as far as he did. But it didn’t seem like he fully comprehended this idea because he was too caught up in his own self righteous mindset. Society and people are not inherently bad, but theres just something that doesn’t sit right with Chris. Likewise, It seemed like Chris expressed resentment to his parents who seem like a normal, caring people which makes one assume that his commitment issues stem from potential problems in his upbringing. Chris had a certain type of charm that he knew how to use rather effectively, so well that it almost seemed like he was taking advantage of the people he met along the way. Maybe he just saw deep and personal connections as a lot of ‘emotional baggage’ or maybe there more to him that lead him to adopt this avoidant attachment style. - Ileana
In the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Alex McCandless travels to many towns on his way to Alaska. One town in particular interested me. The town was Carthage, South Dakota, which was a small town where pretty much everyone knew and liked Alex. Wayne Westerberg was the man who brought Alex to Carthage, after picking him up on September 10. After 3 days, Alex left, only to return a few weeks later. Wayne later developed a close, almost father-like relationship with Alex. They grew very close during the period that Alex stayed in Carthage. This is shown on page 15 when Jon K states that “If McCandless felt estranged from his parents and siblings, he found a surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees, most of whom lived in Westerberg’s Carthage home.” Alex also came to be well known and liked in Carthage, as is shown in the next paragraph. “McCandless quickly became enamored of Carthage. He liked the community’s stasis, its plebeian virtues and unassuming mien. The place was a back eddy, a pool of jetsam beyond the pull of the main current, and that suited him just fine. That fall he developed a lasting bond with both the town and Wayne Westerberg.”(15) Alex worked in the grain elevator for Westerberg, and he worked hard. He stayed in the house with Westerberg, until he eventually left. Alex left after Westerberg was convicted of using his technology skills to illegally manufacture devices that decrypt video transmissions to get free television. Alex departed, and found his way to Alaska, only to die shortly after reaching his destination.
In chapter eleven, the idea of McCandless participating in normal life/activities as a teenager is first introduced. He begins as a instrumentalist and ends up impressing loads of individuals around him with his running capabilities. However, Chris may have been good at running because of his agility I believe there is a deeper meaning to this asset. A close friend mentions the fact that Chris went on a tangent that running was spiritual and was his way of "running against the forces of darkness." However, this idea of escaping "evil" also makes me wonder what evils he knew or had seen. As a boy that was raised in a relatively good home with a proper education and financial help, how bad could the "darkness" truly have been? This want to escape a normal life, reality and push his mind/body through terror as he tries to physically and metaphorically distance himself from one location and one reality to another is telling of perhaps why he wanted to escape from society in the first place. It leads me to believe that Chris could have been experiencing bouts of depression. If so, this would also align with the idea that he doesn't want to maintain many physical relationships as depression can make socialism difficult at times. Was this "darkness" a side effect of chronic depression in Chris or was he simply inspired by his books? To live so alone and enjoy it, is rather odd. I also wonder what became of the running? Did Chris give it up? Did the running stop and turn into traveling? Running longer distances from city to city, state to state, eventually to his death? Was the 'journey' to Alaska merely a continuation of this life long race from the "darkness"? Whatever it was, he's no longer running. Maybe he won the race... or maybe he just stopped running from the darkness and it caught him.
Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a story that follows the adventurous and mysterious life of Chris McCandless, also known as “Alex”. The events on Alex’s life in the book revolve around his isolated hike into the Alaskan wilderness that escalates in the result of his death. Between chapters one through seven I think the focus on Alex’s impact on is interesting and a key point of his journey. McCandless’s impact upon a rehabilitated alcoholic and veteran, Ron Franz, is very fascinating. On Alex’s expedition, he runs into Franz, an older gentleman, while he is camping out in Southern California. Franz becomes almost infatuated with Alex and his life and the two become close spending a lot of time together. Before Alex, Franz spent most of his life overseas and lost the lives of his wife and son. After recovering from being an alcoholic, he lived a routine life, going to church every Sunday. After McCandless’s arrival in his life, Alex lectures Franz to stop living his sedentary lifestyle. The impact of Alex on Franz’s life is so great to the point where Franz insists on adopting Alex. This symbolizes Franz’s strong connection for Alex because he has become an impacting factor in his life. Before McCandless’s death, he writes to Franz again saying, “I think you should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things, which you may previously never have thought of doing… The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences.” Alex continues to say he should live in a camper and be apart of nature. Alex’s advice takes on a transcendentalist type of style. He encourages Franz to stop living a modern life and take on a more adventurous and frugal one of his own. As soon as Franz hears about Alex’s death he quickly begins to renounce his worship for God. This is a key turning point in his life because for most of his life he went to church weekly, but he had prayed to God for Alex to come back. When he doesn’t he quits his church becomes an atheist. This proves another way McCandless had become a cause in affecting Franz’s life. Alex didn’t realize it, but the impact he had on people grew tremendous. -Maddie Anderson
The book "Into to the Wild" by Jon Krakuer is about Chris "Alex" McCandless and his journey to set off into Alaska. In chapters one through seven, McCandless stays the same. McCandless is portrayed as hard-working, distant, and free spirited. Although McCandless doesn't change, he changes the lives of the people around him. While on his hitchhiking journey, McCandless is picked up by Ron Franz. Franz was coming off of a devastating loss of his wife and son. Franz was a religious man who went to church every Sunday. When McCandless died Franz took it very hard, "When Alex left for Alaska, I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die. SO on December 26, when I learned what happened, I renounced the Lord. I withdrew my church membership and became an atheist. I decided I couldn't believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex." I think that Franz had suffered so much loss in such a short period of time that the loss of McCandless, the boy he had chosen to carry on his family name, was too much for Franz to handle. I don't think God wanted to punish Franz with the death of McCandless. I think he more wanted to put McCandless in his life, something good, something inspiring, something for Franz to hold on to. But McCandless and the connection and impact he had on Franz was too much for him too soon. Alex touched other lives, he wanted to keep everyone at a distance but yet everyone was almost infatuated with him instantly. Wayne Westerburg blatantly said that his mother doesn't like a lot of his hired help, but she sure did like Alex. When he died she was saddened by it although she had only met him once for a couple of hours. So even though McCandless didn't change in the chapters one through seven, he changed and touched the lives of the people he met on his journey. -Harper Snead
In the book, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Chris Mccandles- the main character- touches many people. This was surprising to me, because he just doesn’t seem likable in my opinion. At one point in the story, he meets a man named Franz who lost his son and wife. Franz evidently developed a deep connection with Alex -aka Chris- during the time they spent together. When Franz dropped Alex off, he was so heartbroken, he said “I turned my van around, drove back to the store, and bought a bottle of whiskey. And then I went out into the desert and drank it. I wasn’t used to drinking, so it made me sick. Hoped it’s kill me, but it didn’t. Just made me real, real sick”(Krauker 60). Even though they hadn’t been in contact for very long, Franz still had an extremely hard time letting him go. Later on in the book, we see an excerpt of Alex talking about his parents. He says “And then, once the time is right, with one abrupt, swift action I’m going to completely knock them out of my life” (Krakauer 64). It seems as though Alex loves to have control over the relationships he has with people. He doesn’t seem to care about how his actions affect the people who love him. He is able to leave whenever he wants to and disappear from the face of the earth without a word to anyone who cares about him. At another point in the story, we learn about Mary Westerberg and her connection with Alex. “Gosh, he was fun to visit with; I didn’t want the night to end. I was greatly looking forward to seeing him again this fall. I can’t get him out of my mind. I keep picturing his face-” (Krakauer 67). She was touched by Alex after spending only one night with him. Maybe people are intrigued by him. Alex is so mysterious and secretive. No one really knows anything about him, and that could be why so many people were so touched when they met him. - Lauren White
In Jon Krakauer's book, "Into the Wild", Christopher Jonathan McCandles's story is told through the stories of those he impacted. I loved getting to read the many different views people had on Alex throughout. There were many that adored him and there were some (mainly those he worked with) that were not so impressed with Alex's personality. Although hearing the great impressions of Alex in the book was great, I was more interested in Alex's goal in this lifestyle he has chosen for himself. It's very brave of Alex to drop everything in his life in the literal sense. I believe that Alex's bravery was so strong because his search for his own happiness was even stronger. In his previous life, is what I shall call it ("Before the Wild"), he lived in the society that we do today. A society filled with the judgment of those that are supposedly wiser and were are trained to believe that are right. Alex played along with the charade for as long as he could and realized that his true happiness DID NOT lie in the hands of society but in his own hands and his own head. And in which, both of those led him to the wilderness making him feel a happiness that most of haven't experienced yet. In the wilderness, Alex got to feel the freedom that he never got feel when we was living with his parents, under their arms. From the sounds of the characters in here, Chris didn't have much of a positive relationship with his parents, therefore, maybe giving him more of a drive to escape? This freedom allowed him to trust himself in what he wanted and how we was going to achieve. And from the sound of it, Alex doesn't want to be tied by anything except his own goals in life. Even when Franz suggest adopting Alex, he declined with, "We'll talk about it when I get back from Alaska, Ron." Then, he preceded to leave Mr. Franz in order to continue his journey. This surprised me the most because it seemed like Mr. Franz was more a parent/guardian to Alex than his parents seemed. But because Alex's want for Alaska was so strong, that did not matter much thus, making him one true Transcendentalist.
Over the last couple chapters in, "Into the Wild," the author is trying to make sense of the reasoning behind Chris's journey and comes to his defense and his story becomes public. The author talks about Chris's need to avoid society and the desire to distance himself from conformity, to be his own person. His own being. His own self. This is very Thoreau of Chris. I believe that Chris admired Thoreau and intended to take his philosophies into his own lifestyles. As Chris' story was released to the public he was often ridiculed by many readers and in fact verbally discouraged. They called him crazy, arrogant, and stupid on many occasions. The author comes to his rescue by illuminating the idea that Chris wasn't doing this 'journey' for fame or recognition, he was doing it for himself. He was being original. He was going against conformity. He was being self reliant and relying on his original ideas rather than being fearful of what other's would think. This was also very close to Thoreau's expectations. I also found the importance of the moose very telling of Chris and his character. Instead of being proud of his meaty kill, he felt that he had made a mistake and taken a life for his own merciless gain. Moose are known to stand for strength and the fight against opposition. Maybe Chris knew this significance deep down. When he began to regret his decisions, he probably began to understand that his journey was coming to close as the death of the moose occured. As the moose died, Chris lost his own strength and his own motivation to fight against the opposition. Shortly after, he would pass. This connection to land and his surroundings is also telling of how much Chris appreciated the land rather than abusing it, which many people said he did. Many people also tried to doubt that Chris actually killed the moose with his 'wimpy' tools, but he had. To the very end people doubted Chris but he always managed to do everything for himself and completely disregard their opinions. Even though his journey took an unexpected turn I believe Chris became the man he wanted to be in Alaska. I believe he reached contentment with the life he made for himself. This is the true prize, not a moose, not the length of the stay, or his success.
in the book "into the wild" written by Jon Krakauer he talks about Christopher Jonathan mcCandles story by talking to all the people he interacted with.Its a very interesting story because its told, not by the man him self but by the people he interacted with and impacted. In the first couple of chapters we get to learn about a boy named Chris and him going to Alaska to survive on his own. this wouldn't be the first time hes done something like this though he also survived by him self in the wilderness of the west. he hitchhiked all the way to Alaska and the very first part of the book it talks about how he was very unprepared to survive by him self he had little to no food or water and no tools or supplies. but yet he still presented him self with this challenge, which not only confused the person driving him and the reader but also the author because he writes this whole book trying figure out why he made the decisions he did.
Not Just a Pretty, Pink Ribbon
ReplyDeleteIn Nathaniel Hawthorne’s infamous short story “Young Goodman Brown,” Faith’s pink ribbons parallel and symbolize her character. When the story opens, she is the young, innocent wife of Brown. Pink ribbons are worn by young girls, not mature women, and she lets “the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap.” Faith, however, is not as innocent and good as Brown naively believes. She also enters the forest, where her pink ribbon falls, indicating her fall from innocence and grace and causing Brown to abandon all faith in goodness and humanity. The pink ribbons are more complex than this. They can also symbolize the complexity of women and challenge the ideal of women. Pink is a combination of white and red. White, symbolizing innocence and purity, was the expectation and ideal of women. Red could symbolize sin, passion, temptation. Faith’s pink ribbons complicates this polarization. Women cannot be classified or viewed as either good or evil. Many vilify Faith for betraying Brown.
In the book Into The Wild, the author Jon Krakauer does something that is only unique to him. He started every chapter with a quote. “The dominant primordial beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce conditions of trail life, it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control” (38). When he does this he gives an insight into the chapter and what it is about. It is very unequal to him and interesting. I have never read a book where they do that. Another thing that the author does that is unique is that he added a map on a few of the chapters. At the beginning of the chapter. This is showing where he is at, at that moment and time.
ReplyDeleteWhat insight does it provide?
DeleteInto the Wild is so interesting. Jon Krakauer does such a good job investigating the story and life of Christopher/Alex McCandless. Alex didn’t appreciate conforming to society, he longed for adventure and exploration, he sought out the supposed simplicity of nature. The interesting thing to me was that controversy between his claims and actions. He seemed to claim certain things about society, he didn’t support “mainstream American life”. Instead he decided he would enjoy the solitude of nature, his own thoughts and ideas. It turns out, in order for him to do that, he was relying on the people he supposedly wanted to escape from to reach his destinations. He was contradicting his own claims with his own actions. It was not something I was expecting from Alex, since he was so educated and seemed to have strong morals and values that he was committed to following. But I also understand that that was how he made that dream possible by using the least amount of money he could. His education I think made his death so surprising to me. He used in in ways that I both expected and did not. Alex brought a book with him with edible plants so he was able to learn what he could eat safely, he used knowledge to fully rely on the earth as a source of food, an interesting experience in his adventure. I expected him to use that type of knowledge in his adventure, but what I did not expect was for him to use books written by Thoreau, Twain, London, and Tolstoy, to name a few. He highlighted passages important to him, that he wanted to remember. That shows that his eagerness to learn remained, whether it be from materials but also learning how to apply these concepts in real life both morally and physically. His adventure, curiosity and urge to explore was all backed by his need to constantly learn. This need took him all over the country, brought new people into his life, allowed him to build new relationships with others and himself. He learned to take advantage of the few social interactions he encountered and appreciate the people who helped him achieve his dreams along the way. He grew so much throughout this trip, and inevitably it ended with his death, just sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteTitle: Book Smart or Street Smart
DeleteZoe Lutz
You bring up contrast in ideals and realities. Do you think Thoreau would have approved?
DeleteOld Man Franz
ReplyDeleteIn the book, “Into the Wild” written by Jon Krakauer he introduces many relationships that Alex forages throughout his journey to Alaska. Quite specifically, I was astounded by the dynamic between Ronald Franz and Alex. This relationship in many ways is telling of Alex’s character and illuminates characteristics otherwise not demonstrated thoroughly before. It is clear at this point that Alex does not want anything to hold him back from his advancement to Alaska. This has been made known previously within other relationships but here, it is clear that nothing will stop Alex from moving on. He avoids an entire relationship with Franz in order to keep himself moving. When Franz offers to adopt young Alex to carry on Franz’s legacy as a man, Alex deliberately rejects the request and mentions that he is lucky to have avoided ‘extra emotional baggage’ that would accompany this relationship. At this point it is also clear that Alex is filled with anger towards his parents specifically. Franz recalls that more often than not Alex would become overwhelmed by anger and would fume over politics and his parents and the idiocy of American life. Due to this anger, it’s reasonable to say that this was Alex’s main motivation for leaving a normal lifestyle behind. This anger and rejection of society is perhaps an act of rebellion against Alex’s parents and their overwhelming need to follow society’s footsteps. He mentioned earlier that he is absolutely infuriated with the fact that his parents offer money for schooling and a new car despite not needing one. Alex’s relationship with his parents may be a key reason that he chose this life and continue to motivate him to stay on this journey of self reliance and independence.
-Celeste Sandoval
Good prediction about the parents; they definitely have a conflict. His relationship or bond with Franz is very special.
DeleteAgainst The Mainstream Flow
ReplyDeleteIn the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, Alex decides to abandon his old life and start a new one, donating all of his money to charity and leaving all of his possessions behind. He attempted to live in the most simplest way possible, like Thoreau thought we should live. Alex trusted himself that he could live off of the things that he could carry on his back, and that everything else was unnecessary. Even when people tried to offer him clothes, food, etc, he denied to take them because he thought he knew what he needed to survive, and he didn't want help from anybody else because he wanted to do it himself. Galien tried to convince Alex that he was not prepared for the conditions, but Galien said "He wouldn't give an inch, he had an answer for everything I threw at him." Alex stuck to what he knew and his intuition guided the way for him, he wanted to be independent and in solitude. "I wont run into anything I can't deal with on my own" he said. I thought it was a bad idea that Alex didn't take Galien's advice since Galien had experience with the climate and conditions of Alaska, but Alex stuck to his gut and trusted what he knew, despite what anyone told him. He also looked for adventure anywhere he went and he wanted to explore the world without anybody holding him back. He relied on his own thoughts and ideas to get him where he needed to be and trusted nature to provide him with everything that he needed to live. Alex's death was shocking to me because he was a well educated man and I feel like he knew a lot more than what he applied to his experience in the wild. He used his book about edible berries to help him find food and he relied on nature as a source of food and knowledge, so it was surprising that he died knowing how he had knowledge about the natural world, and how he survived all of the places before he went on his last journey. Although his death ended tragically, he lived life to the fullest and went on many adventures, those that the average American could only dream about doing. He gave up so many things, but also gained a lot of knowledge, experience,and support along the way, but most importantly he gained an inner wisdom in himself.
-Olivia G.
Senior Surpurlative: “Most likable”
ReplyDeleteI was captivated the most by Chris “Alex” McCandless’ personality. Although his itching need to be adventurous and his determination to satisfy his transcendentalist views helped him throughout his journey, I think that his charisma is what took him far. It’s interesting to see how much of an impact he made on other people’s lives in the limited time he spent with them despite his attempt to keep them away at arm’s length. I find it ironic that he touched the hearts of those he encountered during his expedition regardless of his effort not to become too attached. I think that this shows how extraordinary a person McCandless was. Mary Westerberg even went as far as to say “Gosh, he was fun to visit with; I didn’t want the night to end. I can’t get him out of my mind. Considering that I only spent a few hours in Alex’s company, it amazes me how much I’m bothered by his death.” Ronald Franz was also affected by McCandless. “When McCandless departed as suddenly as he’d arrived, Franz found himself deeply and unexpectedly hurt.” Franz said that “When Alex left for Alaska, I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die. ...when I learned what happened, I renounced the Lord. I withdrew my church membership and became an atheist. I decided I couldn’t believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex.” The fact that Franz abandoned his faith because of Chris’ death is another demonstration of the effect he had on people. I think it’s also ironic that he had the ability to be so amiable with people even though he made it a point to separate himself from society and ultimately sought solitude.
- Mia Kawamitsu
People were very drawn to him, Franz especially.
DeleteThere are very large and various amounts of imagery in Into The Wild, it helps you comprehend or get into the story of Christopher McCandless. Such as the amount of imagery the author paints about his home life, his favorite car, where he travels and the people he meets along the way and even and sadly his death site. His dear car, he describes as “best car in the world…” which the author
ReplyDeleteSay “... a beloved 1982 Datsun B210, slightly dented...yellow…” His car that was so special to him was a very prominent yellow, and yellow actually symbolizes many things one being “enlightenment”, could the yellow of his beloved Datsun represent his enlightenment of transcendentalism? McCandless’s travels land him somewhere near the coast of the Gulf of California, how the author describes such Gulf to be “...tarantula, plaintive sunsets, windswept dunes, the long curve of empty coastline.” the imagery helps to give you a peace of mind of what exactly McCandless experiences were and their beauty but also their danger. His unfortunate demise which is located in Alaska near the stampede Creek above Clearwater Fork of Toklat River in a broke down 1940’s bus that was used for coal miners, has probably the most creepily and carefully placed detail that sticks to my mind the most. “... a camera with five rolls of exposed film, the SOS note, and a diary-written across the last two pages of a field guide to edible plants that recorded the young man’s final weeks in 113 terse, enigmatic entries.”, “Virtually no subcutaneous fat remained on the body, and the muscles had withered significantly in the days or weeks prior to death” Overall the amount of imagery is very well detailed and very much so helps convey McCandless’s story and his journey or transcendentalism.
blog by: Makinzie Bedford from 7th period american lit
Krakauer's word choice and imagery help to characterize Chris as a Transcendentalist.
DeleteMcCandless & London
ReplyDeleteThroughout the first part of 'Into the Wild', it's stated many times that Chris McCandless' favorite author of all time is Jack London. Jan Burres commented that "London was his favorite. He’d try to convince every snowbird who walked by that they should read Call of the Wild.” I have a hard time believing this to be a coincidence and believe that authors like London and Thoreau heavily influenced McCandless' desire to rough it in the wild. Jack London has written multiple books about venturing into the wilderness, including 'Call of the Wild', 'White Fang', and 'To Build a Fire', the first being the most influential to Chris. "Call to the Wild" is from the perspective of a dog who is stolen from his home and sold as a sled dog in Alaska, and has to adapt to the harsh environment. He eventually has to shed his experiences of civilization and rely on his instincts. There are clearly many similarities between this story and McCandless'. Firstly, the story occurs in Alaska, which is Chris' overall goal as he hitchhikes across America. On a deeper level, Chris relates to Buck and aspires to leave civilization behind with only his intellect and instincts to rely on. This is seen when Chris repeatedly refuses items offered to him by the people he meets and creates relationships with throughout his journey. It's unfortunate that McCandless is this stubborn because who knows how much longer he would have lived if he had accepted all the aid he was offered by the kind people who crossed his path.
Good explanation of London and insight into his significance.
DeleteChris McCandless, the Non-conformist
ReplyDeleteIn the story “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer the main character Chirs McCandless disappears from his life and heads to the forest to with barely anything to survive with. He donates all of his money to charity and burns the cash that he has with him. He didn’t just give away all his money and go back to work to make more he actually had no interest in having money. I think this was a deeper meaning of him showing he was a non-conformist and he did not want to be apart of what society had in place. I think non-conformity is going to be a very recurring theme because McCandless being the main character was very passionate about living life in a transcendental lifestyle. He gave many examples of the way he believes in finding truth through nature and he values it very much his thoughts were the opposite of what society had in place. Honestly McCandless kind of seemed like he was above the law and makes it seem like anyone telling you what to do is the enemy such as the government. He says “How I feed myself is none of the government’s business. F*ck their stupid rules.” He is rejecting any sort of materialist life to live however he wants and I think he is selfish in a way. He made it impossible for anyone to find him and walked into his own death just so he could completely be separate from society. I think the theme is going to keep recurring because there are a lot of transcendental ideals and that goes along with non-conformity.
Does this show an angry in him that might be anger for something more?
DeleteMcCandless and Transcendentalism
ReplyDeleteAlex McCandless, aka Chris, has the views of Emerson and Thoreau who were some of the biggest transcendentalist writers of all time. He wants to go out and connect with nature so he can truly be a nonconformist and become something greater than himself. However he is not quite a true transcendentalist. Alex uses people to get to where he wants and conforms to what they ask of him. When Alex finds himself in a tough spot he always has to rely on other people to help him. In chapter four Alex conforms because he does the following, “At the end of July, he accepted a ride from a man who called himself Crazy Ernie and offered McCandless a job on a ranch in northern California…”. By accepting a job Alex has agreed to work for someone who in return has agreed to give him money, a person who is truly transcendentalist would not care for materialistic things such as money. When Alex agreed to take the job he also showed that he was not expecting his journey to be this difficult; who in their right mind would work for a stranger named crazy Ernie. Another instance in which Alex was not a true transcendentalist was when he met Bob and Jan. “Alex took a ride from us up to Orick Beach, where we were staying, and camped with us for a week.'' this shows that Alex was not truly independent. Transcendentalist believed that being self-reliant and independent was the only way to be the best you can be, because Alex stayed with Bob and Jan he showed that he could not truly be independent since he needed their help in order to not die of starvation. Although Alex wants to be free from society and its pressure to conform he has run into obstacles that make is extremely hard for him to truly be free. The only way Alex can be a true transcendentalist is to be independent, no matter how hard it may be.
-Evelyn Zuniga
Some would argue that he is all talk, continue to explore this when he gets to Alaska.
DeleteI was very interested into how committed Chris or Alex was to his adventure and how serious he was about it. He sold all of his money and didn't even tell his parents where he was going and what he was going to do. I also think that he was very selfish in not necessarily the odyssey he undertook but how he went about it. I believe that he should have told his parents what he was doing and at least say goodbye before he did. Another example of this is in the first chapter when Gallien offered to help him out a little just to be nice. He said "Gallien offered to drive Alex all the way to Anchorage, buy him some decent gear, and then drive him back to wherever he wanted to go." Alex could have at least accepted this and then just not have used the gear but he was too stubborn to even do this. This happens again in the story when Burres wanted to give Alex supplies he again didn't take it and left it in her car. Again Alex didn't even have to use these things he just could have took them and then got rid of them someplace else bit instead he did it in a rude and mean way. And am not disagreeing with his vision and what he wants to get out of this but he did not have to do it the way he did it. He could have gotten the same experience without being all alone and not accepting help from people because sometimes you have to be the one receiving the help instead of always giving it because it makes the other people feel good.
ReplyDeleteHe is pretty stubborn and refusing to inform his parents does seem cruel, but it could also show what about his relationship with them?
DeleteThe novel ‘Into the Wild’ by Jon Krakauer is a very captivating book investigation the months in witch of a young man named Chris McCandless donated his trust fund to charity, loaded up his car with all his belongs, left the constraints of society behind and started a new nomadic life that ultimately lead to his death. McCandles death proved to be a sensation, the mystery behind a wealthy boy leaving it all behind him just be found dead in alaska a few months later. This is an investigative story that unravels the path Chris took on his adventure. Krakauer begins the book with a printed map of the alaskan peninsula on the begining left page. Chapter one is titled ‘The Alaska Interior’, evidently the title is significant because McCandless traveled to and presumably died in the alaska interior. Next, under the chapter name is an excerpt, this specific excerpt is a letter Alex McCandless wrote to Wane Westeberg. The exceptert states, “April 27th, 1992 Greetings from Fairbanks! This is the last you shall hear from me Wayne. Arrived here 2 days ago. It was very difficult to catch rides in the Yukon Territory. But I finally got here. Please return all mail I receive to the sender. It might be a very long time before I return South. If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t ever hear from me again I want you to know you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild. Alex”. This is the first thing a reader dives into when reading this book, an optimistic but realistic letter sent from the captivating and mysterious man Alex McCandless. This letter written by alex seems chilling to read, most likely the last letter he ever sent describing his newest adventure. The author puts this excerpt at the beginning of the text most likely to emotionally move and intrigue readers. A letter proving that McCandles didn't know his adventure would surely end in his death. A letter showing the reader Alex wasn't a crazy psychopath who went to Alaska with a deathwish, but that alex was just another person who liked a challenge. The placement of this excerpt gives the reader a peek into the book they are about to enter, emotionally heavy and raw. The strategic placement of this excerpt shows that the author knows what he is doing, drawing readers in with an unexplained letter while simultaneously revealing the focus as a real human, not just a media sensation.
ReplyDelete-Reese Van Osdel
It's kind of like watching Titanic. We know the ending, so they story focuses on the why/the how.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteInto the Wild by Jon Krakaur is one of those stories where you are already aware that the main character dies. It follows the journey of a young man named Chris McCandless, and his very interesting view of life, as he hitchhikes his way to Alaska. Unfortunately as we were told from the start Chris doesn’t survive the bitter wilderness of Alaska and ends up starving. From what the book pieces together, Chris had managed to make an imprint on the various people he met along the way. He was a very intriguing guy and for the most part he was often referred to as a ‘nice kid’. Initially, Chris got rid of most of his belongings and packed up in the car he owned since high school. He was immersed in the philosophy of transcendentalism and decided to follow this extreme minimalist life style. Eventually he ditched the car, most of his belongings, and even burned his money to force himself to rely on his own instinct and live more like a scavenger. Its quiet important to take into account the fact that he came from a financially comfortable home and had already graduated from college, so its especially interesting to see a well educated man ditch the luxuries of life for one of hardships. What is most interesting about what we know about Chris so far is how he tends to view people like objects and can have the tendency to come across as ungrateful. Material goods are extra, they’re only distractions, they aren't necessary, just like people. His ideologies consist of rejecting society and avoiding conformity, but in some form or another it was society who helped him make his way up to Alaska. Chris couldn’t solely rely on his intuition all the time, especially when he was lost in Mexico. Without the help from the Mexican officials, he would have certainly remained helpless and who knows if he’d still have the motivation to make it as far as he did. But it didn’t seem like he fully comprehended this idea because he was too caught up in his own self righteous mindset. Society and people are not inherently bad, but theres just something that doesn’t sit right with Chris. Likewise, It seemed like Chris expressed resentment to his parents who seem like a normal, caring people which makes one assume that his commitment issues stem from potential problems in his upbringing. Chris had a certain type of charm that he knew how to use rather effectively, so well that it almost seemed like he was taking advantage of the people he met along the way. Maybe he just saw deep and personal connections as a lot of ‘emotional baggage’ or maybe there more to him that lead him to adopt this avoidant attachment style. - Ileana
ReplyDeleteIn the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Alex McCandless travels to many towns on his way to Alaska. One town in particular interested me. The town was Carthage, South Dakota, which was a small town where pretty much everyone knew and liked Alex. Wayne Westerberg was the man who brought Alex to Carthage, after picking him up on September 10. After 3 days, Alex left, only to return a few weeks later. Wayne later developed a close, almost father-like relationship with Alex. They grew very close during the period that Alex stayed in Carthage. This is shown on page 15 when Jon K states that “If McCandless felt estranged from his parents and siblings, he found a surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees, most of whom lived in Westerberg’s Carthage home.” Alex also came to be well known and liked in Carthage, as is shown in the next paragraph. “McCandless quickly became enamored of Carthage. He liked the community’s stasis, its plebeian virtues and unassuming mien. The place was a back eddy, a pool of jetsam beyond the pull of the main current, and that suited him just fine. That fall he developed a lasting bond with both the town and Wayne Westerberg.”(15) Alex worked in the grain elevator for Westerberg, and he worked hard. He stayed in the house with Westerberg, until he eventually left. Alex left after Westerberg was convicted of using his technology skills to illegally manufacture devices that decrypt video transmissions to get free television. Alex departed, and found his way to Alaska, only to die shortly after reaching his destination.
ReplyDelete-Kayden B
Running with the Wind Chris
ReplyDeleteIn chapter eleven, the idea of McCandless participating in normal life/activities as a teenager is first introduced. He begins as a instrumentalist and ends up impressing loads of individuals around him with his running capabilities. However, Chris may have been good at running because of his agility I believe there is a deeper meaning to this asset. A close friend mentions the fact that Chris went on a tangent that running was spiritual and was his way of "running against the forces of darkness." However, this idea of escaping "evil" also makes me wonder what evils he knew or had seen. As a boy that was raised in a relatively good home with a proper education and financial help, how bad could the "darkness" truly have been? This want to escape a normal life, reality and push his mind/body through terror as he tries to physically and metaphorically distance himself from one location and one reality to another is telling of perhaps why he wanted to escape from society in the first place. It leads me to believe that Chris could have been experiencing bouts of depression. If so, this would also align with the idea that he doesn't want to maintain many physical relationships as depression can make socialism difficult at times. Was this "darkness" a side effect of chronic depression in Chris or was he simply inspired by his books? To live so alone and enjoy it, is rather odd. I also wonder what became of the running? Did Chris give it up? Did the running stop and turn into traveling? Running longer distances from city to city, state to state, eventually to his death? Was the 'journey' to Alaska merely a continuation of this life long race from the "darkness"? Whatever it was, he's no longer running. Maybe he won the race... or maybe he just stopped running from the darkness and it caught him.
-Celeste Sandoval
Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a story that follows the adventurous and mysterious life of Chris McCandless, also known as “Alex”. The events on Alex’s life in the book revolve around his isolated hike into the Alaskan wilderness that escalates in the result of his death. Between chapters one through seven I think the focus on Alex’s impact on is interesting and a key point of his journey. McCandless’s impact upon a rehabilitated alcoholic and veteran, Ron Franz, is very fascinating. On Alex’s expedition, he runs into Franz, an older gentleman, while he is camping out in Southern California. Franz becomes almost infatuated with Alex and his life and the two become close spending a lot of time together. Before Alex, Franz spent most of his life overseas and lost the lives of his wife and son. After recovering from being an alcoholic, he lived a routine life, going to church every Sunday. After McCandless’s arrival in his life, Alex lectures Franz to stop living his sedentary lifestyle. The impact of Alex on Franz’s life is so great to the point where Franz insists on adopting Alex. This symbolizes Franz’s strong connection for Alex because he has become an impacting factor in his life. Before McCandless’s death, he writes to Franz again saying, “I think you should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things, which you may previously never have thought of doing… The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences.” Alex continues to say he should live in a camper and be apart of nature. Alex’s advice takes on a transcendentalist type of style. He encourages Franz to stop living a modern life and take on a more adventurous and frugal one of his own. As soon as Franz hears about Alex’s death he quickly begins to renounce his worship for God. This is a key turning point in his life because for most of his life he went to church weekly, but he had prayed to God for Alex to come back. When he doesn’t he quits his church becomes an atheist. This proves another way McCandless had become a cause in affecting Franz’s life. Alex didn’t realize it, but the impact he had on people grew tremendous.
ReplyDelete-Maddie Anderson
The book "Into to the Wild" by Jon Krakuer is about Chris "Alex" McCandless and his journey to set off into Alaska. In chapters one through seven, McCandless stays the same. McCandless is portrayed as hard-working, distant, and free spirited. Although McCandless doesn't change, he changes the lives of the people around him. While on his hitchhiking journey, McCandless is picked up by Ron Franz. Franz was coming off of a devastating loss of his wife and son. Franz was a religious man who went to church every Sunday. When McCandless died Franz took it very hard, "When Alex left for Alaska, I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die. SO on December 26, when I learned what happened, I renounced the Lord. I withdrew my church membership and became an atheist. I decided I couldn't believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex." I think that Franz had suffered so much loss in such a short period of time that the loss of McCandless, the boy he had chosen to carry on his family name, was too much for Franz to handle. I don't think God wanted to punish Franz with the death of McCandless. I think he more wanted to put McCandless in his life, something good, something inspiring, something for Franz to hold on to. But McCandless and the connection and impact he had on Franz was too much for him too soon. Alex touched other lives, he wanted to keep everyone at a distance but yet everyone was almost infatuated with him instantly. Wayne Westerburg blatantly said that his mother doesn't like a lot of his hired help, but she sure did like Alex. When he died she was saddened by it although she had only met him once for a couple of hours. So even though McCandless didn't change in the chapters one through seven, he changed and touched the lives of the people he met on his journey.
ReplyDelete-Harper Snead
In the book, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Chris Mccandles- the main character- touches many people. This was surprising to me, because he just doesn’t seem likable in my opinion. At one point in the story, he meets a man named Franz who lost his son and wife. Franz evidently developed a deep connection with Alex -aka Chris- during the time they spent together. When Franz dropped Alex off, he was so heartbroken, he said “I turned my van around, drove back to the store, and bought a bottle of whiskey. And then I went out into the desert and drank it. I wasn’t used to drinking, so it made me sick. Hoped it’s kill me, but it didn’t. Just made me real, real sick”(Krauker 60). Even though they hadn’t been in contact for very long, Franz still had an extremely hard time letting him go. Later on in the book, we see an excerpt of Alex talking about his parents. He says “And then, once the time is right, with one abrupt, swift action I’m going to completely knock them out of my life” (Krakauer 64). It seems as though Alex loves to have control over the relationships he has with people. He doesn’t seem to care about how his actions affect the people who love him. He is able to leave whenever he wants to and disappear from the face of the earth without a word to anyone who cares about him. At another point in the story, we learn about Mary Westerberg and her connection with Alex. “Gosh, he was fun to visit with; I didn’t want the night to end. I was greatly looking forward to seeing him again this fall. I can’t get him out of my mind. I keep picturing his face-” (Krakauer 67). She was touched by Alex after spending only one night with him. Maybe people are intrigued by him. Alex is so mysterious and secretive. No one really knows anything about him, and that could be why so many people were so touched when they met him.
ReplyDelete- Lauren White
In Jon Krakauer's book, "Into the Wild", Christopher Jonathan McCandles's story is told through the stories of those he impacted. I loved getting to read the many different views people had on Alex throughout. There were many that adored him and there were some (mainly those he worked with) that were not so impressed with Alex's personality. Although hearing the great impressions of Alex in the book was great, I was more interested in Alex's goal in this lifestyle he has chosen for himself. It's very brave of Alex to drop everything in his life in the literal sense. I believe that Alex's bravery was so strong because his search for his own happiness was even stronger. In his previous life, is what I shall call it ("Before the Wild"), he lived in the society that we do today. A society filled with the judgment of those that are supposedly wiser and were are trained to believe that are right. Alex played along with the charade for as long as he could and realized that his true happiness DID NOT lie in the hands of society but in his own hands and his own head. And in which, both of those led him to the wilderness making him feel a happiness that most of haven't experienced yet. In the wilderness, Alex got to feel the freedom that he never got feel when we was living with his parents, under their arms. From the sounds of the characters in here, Chris didn't have much of a positive relationship with his parents, therefore, maybe giving him more of a drive to escape? This freedom allowed him to trust himself in what he wanted and how we was going to achieve. And from the sound of it, Alex doesn't want to be tied by anything except his own goals in life. Even when Franz suggest adopting Alex, he declined with, "We'll talk about it when I get back from Alaska, Ron." Then, he preceded to leave Mr. Franz in order to continue his journey. This surprised me the most because it seemed like Mr. Franz was more a parent/guardian to Alex than his parents seemed. But because Alex's want for Alaska was so strong, that did not matter much thus, making him one true Transcendentalist.
ReplyDelete- ILLiana Hammers
Originality is underrated
ReplyDeleteOver the last couple chapters in, "Into the Wild," the author is trying to make sense of the reasoning behind Chris's journey and comes to his defense and his story becomes public. The author talks about Chris's need to avoid society and the desire to distance himself from conformity, to be his own person. His own being. His own self. This is very Thoreau of Chris. I believe that Chris admired Thoreau and intended to take his philosophies into his own lifestyles. As Chris' story was released to the public he was often ridiculed by many readers and in fact verbally discouraged. They called him crazy, arrogant, and stupid on many occasions. The author comes to his rescue by illuminating the idea that Chris wasn't doing this 'journey' for fame or recognition, he was doing it for himself. He was being original. He was going against conformity. He was being self reliant and relying on his original ideas rather than being fearful of what other's would think. This was also very close to Thoreau's expectations. I also found the importance of the moose very telling of Chris and his character. Instead of being proud of his meaty kill, he felt that he had made a mistake and taken a life for his own merciless gain. Moose are known to stand for strength and the fight against opposition. Maybe Chris knew this significance deep down. When he began to regret his decisions, he probably began to understand that his journey was coming to close as the death of the moose occured. As the moose died, Chris lost his own strength and his own motivation to fight against the opposition. Shortly after, he would pass. This connection to land and his surroundings is also telling of how much Chris appreciated the land rather than abusing it, which many people said he did. Many people also tried to doubt that Chris actually killed the moose with his 'wimpy' tools, but he had. To the very end people doubted Chris but he always managed to do everything for himself and completely disregard their opinions. Even though his journey took an unexpected turn I believe Chris became the man he wanted to be in Alaska. I believe he reached contentment with the life he made for himself. This is the true prize, not a moose, not the length of the stay, or his success.
- Celeste Sandoval
in the book "into the wild" written by Jon Krakauer he talks about Christopher Jonathan mcCandles story by talking to all the people he interacted with.Its a very interesting story because its told, not by the man him self but by the people he interacted with and impacted. In the first couple of chapters we get to learn about a boy named Chris and him going to Alaska to survive on his own. this wouldn't be the first time hes done something like this though he also survived by him self in the wilderness of the west. he hitchhiked all the way to Alaska and the very first part of the book it talks about how he was very unprepared to survive by him self he had little to no food or water and no tools or supplies. but yet he still presented him self with this challenge, which not only confused the person driving him and the reader but also the author because he writes this whole book trying figure out why he made the
ReplyDeletedecisions he did.