AP Language and Composition Independent Reading Project 2nd Quarter, 2008-2009
Read Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild. Answer the questions below.
Keep this in mind as you read the novel: “Did Chris McCandless also leave a literary message behind?
Did he found a political movement anything akin to civil disobedience – a breakthrough in human
thought? Thoreau's message about living simply was not to live simply for the sake of that but also
through living simply to think on a higher plane and possibly do greater things. Chris McCandless died
- we need be careful not to romanticize his death. Most Alaskans think him just plain foolish and
disrespectful of the wilderness and its power.” Sara
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In the author's note Jon Krakauer claims that Christopher McCandless “invented a new life for
himself' searching a “raw, transcendent experience.” Do you agree with the author's assessment?
How did McCandless re-invent himself? How was his life “transcendent” after he graduated from
college?
Krakauer titles his book Into the Wild which echoes Jack London’s work, The Call of the Wild.
McCandless was obviously influenced by London, and Krakauer suggests that McCandless’s
experience demonstrates the “grip wilderness has on the American imagination, the allure highrisk activities hold for young men of a certain mind...” How do you define “the call of the wild?”
Does the call still exist in the same form it existed in previous periods in America’s history? How
is the “wild” or the wilderness important to us as a people? To you as an individual?
McCandless was also greatly influenced by Henry David Thoreau. What did he borrow from
Thoreau’s interaction with nature? How did he differ from Thoreau?
Gordon Young, who reviewed Into the Wild, said that McCandless did not die in vain, and that his
life was enviable in many respects. Young asserts that McCandless was “a profoundly American
figure, uncompromising 'in his approach and thoroughly optimistic about the future.” How is
McCandless representative of the American character? Or how does McCandless fall short of
what it means to be an American? Indeed, does McCandless in any way represent everything that
is wrong about the American character?
Jon Krakauer first wrote about McCandless in “Death of an Innocent” in Outside magazine,
January, 1993. According to McCandless the article generated more mail than any other article in
the magazine’s history. How did the story affect you?
In conjunction, read poetry from Transcendentalist Walt Whitman: “Song of Myself” Leaves of
Grass”, “Song of the Open Road”, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, “By the Bivouac’s Fitful
Flame”, “I Hear America Singing”, “A Noiseless Patient Spider”, “Thoughts Under an Oak”, and
others you may find.
The transcendentalist movement was more than about Thoreau going off to live in the woods. It was a
focus on the inner self, reflection, contemplation as a journey toward truth, celebration of the
individual and the common man, and found both a literary expression and a religious expression
and invented the idea of civil disobedience.
Transcendentalism was 1) free thinking in religious spirituality, 2) idealistic in philosophy, and 3)
romantic and individualistic in literature.
You will keep a journal in which they respond to quotes and prompts.
After reading Leaves of Grass, consider whether Whitman's ideas about the individual, nationhood,
and poetry seem to express his interest in Transcendentalism or not. Explain.
Journal Entry: You will be doing some nature writing of your own. How do you feel about nature?
Consider the following questions in forming your response: Is it important to you? Do you seek it
out? Where do you find nature? Do you think about environmental issues?
In addition to Whitman, you will also read poetry and essays from Transcendentalist Henry David
Thoreau: “Walden”, “Civil Disobedience”, and others you may find; answer the questions below
regarding these pieces (some of the questions will be allowed class time).
What does Thoreau mean when he says…? (Quotes from Walden)
1. “As long as possible, live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are
committed to a farm or the county jail” (283).
2. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…” (285).
3. “I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow out of life” (285).
4. “Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity!” (285).
5. “Time is but the stream I go a fishing in” (286).
6. “I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there” (286).
7. “Our life is frittered away in detail” (286).
8. “How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition
and conformity!” (286).
9. “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different
drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away” (286).
10. “Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself to get new things,
whether clothes or friends” (287).
11. “…if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life
which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours” (286).
Journal Entry: Judging from these quotations and your interpretations, write a brief paragraph
explaining what kind of person Thoreau is.
Some suggestions for your Thoreau Field Trip:
1. Observe a natural inanimate object (tree, flower, spider web, rock, etc.) very closely for 15
minutes. Take notes on every detail you can see, hear, feel or smell.
2.
Observe an animal, bird or insect for 15 minutes. Take notes on appearance, movements,
sounds, etc.
3.
Find something very small (acorn, berry, leaf). Describe it and its location.
4.
Sketch any of the above.
5.
Listen for any sounds of nature (wind, birds, thunder, leaves).
6. When you are back in class or at home, read over your notes. Turn any of your observations into
a poem, short story or essay.
Students will read excerpt from Civil Disobedience.
Answer the following questions in your group.
1. Thoreau believes that people should not participate in injustice but that they do not have to actively
promote a more just world. What is the difference between these two concepts, and why does
Thoreau make this moral distinction?
2. Is Thoreau's conception of civil disobedience compatible with democratic government? Why or
why not?
3. What is Thoreau's opinion on wealth and consumption? Why does he say that the rich are less
likely to practice civil disobedience?
4. What might Thoreau think about the role of government in today's society? (In particular, think
about the modern welfare state and the military complex.)
5. Thoreau asks rhetorically, "Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his
conscience to the legislator?" How would you answer this question? Is compromise on moral issues a
necessary part of living with other people?
6. How does Thoreau justify the moral need for civil disobedience? What principles does he rely on in
his justification?
7. Many leaders (Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr.) have used Thoreau's ideas on civil
disobedience as the guiding force of political movements. Is such a use of these ideas consistent with
Thoreau's skepticism about politics? Which (if any) of Thoreau's ideas are valuable in the context of
political activism? Which do not pertain?
8. In what ways is Thoreau's essay based on the concepts of individualism and self- reliance?
9. Thoreau combines his arguments about why people should practice civil disobedience with personal
anecdotes and discussions specific to his own time and place. Is this a rhetorically useful approach?
Why or why not?
10. Would you describe Thoreau as optimistic or pessimistic about people's ability to improve the
world? Explain.
Journal Entry: Do you agree with Thoreau’s idea that you should ignore a law if you think it is
immoral? Can you think of a law that you would be willing to break as a matter of conscience? Who
else in history has practiced civil disobedience? Are there any dangers to practicing civil
disobedience?
Write a thesis for each prompt:
Essay 1: Being Alone
Authors write about isolation in different ways. Being alone can be a positive experience or a negative
experience. How do you feel about being alone? Write about a time when you felt alone. Were you
choosing to be alone, or were you feeling left out or unhappy?
Also, think about your own personal need/desire to have time by yourself. Are you the type of person
who needs space, or do you thrive in the company of others?
And finally, does our society encourage people to spend time alone, or does our society make it
difficult to be alone?
Essay 2: To Conform or Not to Conform?
Does our society reward people who conform and punish those who do not? Or does our society
tolerate those who choose not to conform? Write an essay in which you discuss the issue of
conformity in our society. You must have an introduction with a clear thesis statement, at least two
strong examples that support your thesis statement, and a conclusion. In your concluding paragraph
discuss how you feel about the issue of conformity.
Essay 3: A Walk in the Woods
Take yourself on a fieldtrip. Find a quiet place to sit outside and observe a natural setting for at least
15 minutes. Following Thoreau’s example, take notes on what you see. Start with broad observations
of the entire scene and then focus your attention more narrowly on one aspect of the scene. When you
return home, write an essay in which you use vivid details to describe what you have observed. As a
conclusion, describe how you felt as you sat observing nature.
AP Language and Composition Independent Reading Project 2nd Quarter, 2008-2009
Read Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild. Answer the following questions below.
Keep this in mind as you read the novel: “Did Chris McCandless also leave a literary message behind?
Did he found a political movement anything akin to civil disobedience – a breakthrough in human
thought? Thoreau's message about living simply was not to live simply for the sake of that but also
through living simply to think on a higher plane and possibly do greater things. Chris McCandless died
- we need be careful not to romanticize his death. Most Alaskans think him just plain foolish and
disrespectful of the wilderness and its power.”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In the author's note Jon Krakauer claims that Christopher McCandless “invented a new life for
himself' searching a “raw, transcendent experience.” Do you agree with the author's assessment?
How did McCandless re-invent himself? How was his life “transcendent” after he graduated from
college?
Krakauer titles his book Into the Wild which echoes Jack London’s work, The Call of the Wild.
McCandless was obviously influenced by London, and Krakauer suggests that McCandless’s
experience demonstrates the “grip wilderness has on the American imagination, the allure highrisk activities hold for young men of a certain mind...” How do you define “the call of the wild?”
Does the call still exist in the same form it existed in previous periods in America’s history? How
is the “wild” or the wilderness important to us as a people? To you as an individual?
McCandless was also greatly influenced by Henry David Thoreau. What did he borrow from
Thoreau’s interaction with nature? How did he differ from Thoreau?
Gordon Young, who reviewed Into the Wild, said that McCandless did not die in vain, and that his
life was enviable in many respects. Young asserts that McCandless was “a profoundly American
figure, uncompromising 'in his approach and thoroughly optimistic about the future.” How is
McCandless representative of the American character? Or how does McCandless fall short of
what it means to be an American? Indeed, does McCandless in any way represent everything that
is wrong about the American character?
Jon Krakauer first wrote about McCandless in “Death of an Innocent” in Outside magazine,
January, 1993. According to McCandless the article generated more mail than any other article in
the magazine’s history. How did the story affect you?
In conjunction, read poetry from Transcendentalist Walt Whitman: “Song of Myself” Leaves of
Grass”, “Song of the Open Road”, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, “By the Bivouac’s Fitful
Flame”, “I Hear America Singing”, “A Noiseless Patient Spider”, “Thoughts Under an Oak”, and
others you may find.
The transcendentalist movement was more than about Thoreau going off to live in the woods. It was a
focus on the inner self, reflection, contemplation as a journey toward truth, celebration of the
individual and the common man, and found both a literary expression and a religious expression
and invented the idea of civil disobedience.
Transcendentalism was 1) free thinking in religious spirituality, 2) idealistic in philosophy, and 3)
romantic and individualistic in literature.
You will keep a journal in which you respond to quotes and prompts.
After reading Leaves of Grass, consider whether Whitman's ideas about the individual, nationhood,
and poetry seem to express his interest in Transcendentalism or not. Explain.
Journal Entry: You will be doing some nature writing of your own. How do you feel about nature?
Consider the following questions in forming your response: Is it important to you? Do you seek it
out? Where do you find nature? Do you think about environmental issues?
In addition to Whitman, read poetry and essays by Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Nature”, “Self-Reliance”, The Concord Hymn, The Rhodora and others you may find.
Journal Entry: Choose two of the selected quotations below (or find your own), explain what
Emerson is saying and then respond to each quotation: Do you agree? Is the quotation relevant today?
Why or why not?
Emerson’s essay Nature has been called the manifesto of transcendentalism as it expresses many of the
movement’s central tenets:



Human spiritual qualities are reflected in nature.
Nature and humans are both connected to the Creator.
Humans can intuitively perceive truth in the contemplation of nature.
In Nature, Emerson describes a mystical experience, possible only when alone with nature. Within
your group answer the following questions.
What does Emerson mean when he says?
1. “In the woods, too, a man casts off his years…”
2. “I become a transparent eyeball…”
3. “The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation
between man and the vegetable.”
4. “…the power to produce this delight does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both.”
5. “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.”
Answer the following questions:
1) What does Nature reveal about Transcendentalists’ attitude toward nature?
2) How does Nature convey the Transcendentalists’ belief in the Over-Soul?
Read the excerpt from Self-Reliance by Emerson and working with your group, students will
answer questions.
1. What does “self-reliance” mean? Is it a good title for this essay?
2. What does Emerson mean when he writes that “envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide”?
3. How does Emerson describe society?
4. How does Emerson feel about conformity?
5. What is Emerson’s comment about consistency?
6. Why, according to Emerson should people trust themselves?
Answer the following questions:
The Concord Hymn
1. What event took place by the “rude bridge”?
2. What is meant by “the shot heard round the world”?
3. What transcendentalist idea is expressed in the last stanza?
4. Find an example of alliteration.
5. Find an example of assonance.
The Rhodora
1. What question might sages ask the rhodora?
2. How does the speaker’s attitude toward the rhodora differ from that of the sages?
3. What might the rhodora represent?
4. What transcendentalist belief does the final line reflect?
5. What is apostrophe and where is it used in this poem?
6. How does the use of apostrophe reinforce a theme of this poem?
Write a thesis for each prompt:
Essay 1: Being Alone
Authors write about isolation in different ways. Being alone can be a positive experience or a negative
experience. How do you feel about being alone? Write about a time when you felt alone. Were you
choosing to be alone, or were you feeling left out or unhappy?
Also, think about your own personal need/desire to have time by yourself. Are you the type of person
who needs space, or do you thrive in the company of others?
And finally, does our society encourage people to spend time alone, or does our society make it
difficult to be alone?
Essay 2: To Conform or Not to Conform?
Does our society reward people who conform and punish those who do not? Or does our society
tolerate those who choose not to conform? Write an essay in which you discuss the issue of
conformity in our society. You must have an introduction with a clear thesis statement, at least two
strong examples that support your thesis statement, and a conclusion. In your concluding paragraph
discuss how you feel about the issue of conformity.
Essay 3: A Walk in the Woods
Take yourself on a fieldtrip. Find a quiet place to sit outside and observe a natural setting for at least
15 minutes. Following Thoreau’s example, take notes on what you see. Start with broad observations
of the entire scene and then focus your attention more narrowly on one aspect of the scene. When you
return home, write an essay in which you use vivid details to describe what you have observed. As a
conclusion, describe how you felt as you sat observing nature.