Itinerant
 An itinerant is a person
who travels from place to place with no
fixed home.
Into the Wild
 After graduating from Emory
University, top student and athlete
Christopher McCandless abandons his
possessions, gives his entire $24,000
savings account to charity and
hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the
wilderness. Along the way, Christopher
encounters a series of characters that
shape his life..
Christopher Johnson
McCandless
 Born: February 12, 1968
 Died: August 1992 (aged 24)
Stampede Trail, Alaska, United States
 Body discovered: September 6, 1992
Into the Wild—A deeper
look
-Reader will think deeply about human
motivation and understand something
about the complexity of maturity
-Investigate Christopher McCandless—
he was an avid reader of American
Transcendenalists and Russian novelists.
- Transcendentalism: group of new
ideas in literature, religion, culture, and
philosophy that emerged in early 19th
cent. Known for protest against general
state of culture and society. Spiritual
“transcends” they physical and is only
realized through intuition rather than
doctrines
McCandless continued
- He used writers ideas such as Tolstoy,
Emerson, Thoreau, and Jack London to
form his life philosophy and he often
twisted their idealism
- As you read, you must evaluate and
think about the choices McCandless has,
the decisions he makes, and the mistakes
and misjudgments that resulted…
Author’s Note
Guiding Questions
Should we admire
McCandless for his
courage and noble ideas?
2. Was he a reckless idiot?
3. Was he crazy?
4. Was he an arrogant and
stupid narcissist?
1.
Christopher McCandless