Lesson 22
Today’s Agenda
 Into
the Wild
 Chapters
 HW:

8 and 9 Activity
Read and annotate 10 for Lesson 23
OBJECTIVES

Students will examine how a writer weaves the narrative of multiple characters.

Students will understand how to develop; a subject through comparisons.
What is the purpose of using the stories
of other people in chapters 8-9? What
do you think is Krakauer’s reasoning
behind this choice? Is he successful?
“Some insight into the tragedy of Chris
McCandless can be gained by studying
predecessors cut from the same exotic cloth”
(85).
Compare and Contrast
Compare and Contrast

Establish groups

With your group, identify major events/characteristics of
your assigned person.

With your group, determine what is revealed about
McCandless via your assigned person. What was Krakauer’s
purpose for including the comparison in these chapters?


Gene Rosellini

John Mallon Waterman

Carl McCunn

Everett Ruess

Papar—Irish Monks
Be prepared to share your findings with the class.
Gene Rosellini
The Mayor of Hippie Cove (Cordova, Alaska)
 Early history










Father was a Washington governor and mother was a restaurant owner
Great student, master of martial arts, good athlete, never graduated college
Adult life
Decided to try and live independent of technology
Wondered if he could live off the land like a caveman, or if humans had
“evolved” too far
He believed that the current brand of human being was inferior to
cavemen
Wanted to return to humans’ “natural state”
Determined that this was not possible (after 30 years)
Committed suicide
John Mallon Waterman

Early History
Son of a musician, writer,
and mountain climber
 Third-youngest person to climb Mt. McKinley







Adult Life
Went to University of Alaska
Seemed weird to the other students there
Mom and Dad split up; dad wouldn’t have anything to
do with him
Brother took off and never was heard from again
Lost eight friends to climbing accidents
John Mallon Waterman (continued)







The Call to Adventure
Climbs 14,573 ft. Mt. Hunter alone—145 days solo
Three attempts to climb Mt. McKinley: 1) Got scared and backed out;
2) Cabin burned down and lost his things, checked himself into a
psychiatric hospital; 3) Starts at sea-level, which adds 160 miles to
the trek
Attempt #4: Crosses paths with two people who think he’s
underprepared (no sleeping bag, little food)
Gave away his radio, saying, “I won’t be needing this anymore.”
Left a note that read, “3-13-81. My last kiss 1:42 PM”
Waterman was never seen again. Probably broke through some ice
and fell into a crevasse.
Carl McCunn

Carl McCunn arranged to
be dropped by plane in
the Alaskan wilderness in
March 1981 with supplies
for the summer and 500
rolls of film. He planned
to spend the season
photographing wildlife.
What he didn't plan,
however, was his trip out
again. He forgot to
arrange for a plane to
come and pick him up.
Carl McCunn (continued)

Flew into the country to take pictures of wildlife

Threw away most of his shotgun shells because he
felt guilty for bringing so many

Flags down a plane, but it can’t land because it
has wheels instead of floats. McCunn feels
certain that they will send someone back to
rescue him.
Carl McCunn (continued)
Without knowing it, McCunn had given the plane the sign of “All OK. No assistance
needed.”
 McCunn just assumed someone would realize he was gone and come save him.
 He had a skewed
sense of reality.
 He actually thought
some beautiful woman
would drop everything
and go camping with him
out in the Alaskan wild.
 When he realized he
was going to die of starvation,
 He shot himself.

Everett Ruess






1934, 20 years old
Childhood
Dad was a minister, mom was a writer
Moved around a lot
Went to art school, began traveling
outdoors at 16
Decides he never want to return to
civilization, wants to live out in the
wild for the rest of his life
Everett Ruess (continued)




Theories about death
A fall while scrambling on a canyon wall
Killed by cattle rustlers
Escaped and began a new life under a pseudonym


Stories about Ruess marrying a Navajo woman and raising a family
Ken Sleight—investigator and outdoorsman
Thinks Ruess drowned
 Ruess liked to be alone, but he also liked to be around other
people sometimes. He couldn’t have stayed hidden forever.

Papar—Irish Monks





Iceland, 500-600 AD
The Papar crossed the treacherous ocean in small, open boats.
Many died
Wanted to find isolation, peace, quiet, undisturbed land
They decided Iceland was too overpopulated, so they got back
in their boats and rowed off to Greenland.
 Why
does Krakauer use these people
for comparison? How do they add to
your understanding of Christopher
McCandless?
5-7
sentences about how learning of
these people aided in your
understanding of McCandless. Cite at
least one specific example from your
notes.

What is Krakauer’s attitude toward Chris’s
endeavor?
 "Although
he was rash," Krakauer summarizes,
McCandless "wasn't incompetent — he wouldn't have
lasted 113 days if he were. And he wasn't a nutcase, he
wasn't a sociopath, he wasn't an outcast. McCandless
was something else. . . . A pilgrim perhaps."
Read and annotate chapter 10 for
Lesson 23