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English 12R
English 12R - Study Guide
To receive full credit, answer each question in complete sentences using quotations to support your answers
when appropriate.
Chapter 1
1. Characterize Alex (a.k.a. Chris McCandless). What are some of his opinions and plans?
What does this tell about him?
2. Why is Jim Gallien concerned about Alex?
Chapter 2
1. This chapter begins with an epigraph from Jack London. An epigraph is a quotation at the
beginning of a chapter or a piece of literature that suggests its theme. What is the purpose of
the epigraph which opens this chapter? What Does Jack London feel about nature and man’s
place in nature?
2. Why do you suppose Chris McCandless adopted a pseudonym (fake name) on his journey?
3. What did McCandless’ body and “disquieting note” suggest about the circumstances of his
death?
4. What is your initial impression of McCandless? Is he merely a reckless, narcissistic idiot as
some have claimed, or is he someone to be immortalized and revered? Explain.
Chapter 3
1. How is McCandless further characterized by the epigraph from Tolstoy (a passage highlighted
by McCandless)?
2. What is the purpose of the Stegner epigraph?
3. Characterize Wayne Westerberg.
4. What information does Westerberg reveal about McCandless?
5. Westerberg suggests that McCandless’ reading may have been detrimental to him. How?
Explain.
6. What sort of life did McCandless find in Carthage?
7. Would McCandless be comfortable in a life of luxury? Support your answer.
8. Given his background, how can Chris McCandless be described as dynamic in character?
Chapter 4
1. How does Paul Shepard describe the desert in the epigraph to Chapter 4? How might this
description have appealed to Chris McCandless?
2. Why did McCandless abandon his car?
3. How does McCandless react to the abandonment of his car? What does the abandonment of
his car indicate about him?
4. When describing his adventures in his journal, McCandless often wrote in the third person
(“he” instead of “I”). What do you make of this?
5. What mistakes did McCandless make along his journey as illustrated in this chapter?
6. Is there anything ironic about Chris’ actions and/or reactions in this chapter? Explain.
Chapter 5
1. Examine the epigraph from Jack London that begins this chapter. How does it relate to
McCandless?
2. What is ironic about McCandless’ fast food job at McDonald’s?
3. How did McCandless’s bosses at McDonald’s view him? Give specific examples.
4. How does Charlie describe McCandless?
5. Why was McCandless “infatuated” with Jack London? What fact about London’s fate did
McCandless overlook?
6. Jan Burres says, “Alex was a great kid, but he could really make me mad sometimes.” Why?
Chapter 6
1. Paraphrase the epigraph from Thoreau that begins the chapter. What is the purpose of this
quote?
2. Why was Ronald Franz drawn to McCandless? In turn, what did McCandless find in Franz?
3. Discuss the symbols on the belt McCandless made.
4. Although he had several friends, how did McCandless handle his relationships with most of
these people?
5. What kind of lifestyle did McCandless urge Franz to adopt?
6. Despite his desire for independence, what effect did McCandless have on the people who
surrounded him?
Chapter 7
1. What does the epigraph by Anthony Stork suggest about McCandless’ personality?
2. What kind of jobs did McCandless do while working in Carthage? What does this suggest
about his character and/or motivation?
3. Krakauer writes, “McCandless [was not] endowed with a surfeit of common sense.” How is
this shown?
4. What do we learn in this chapter about McCandless’ relationship with his family?
5. Although Westerberg didn’t initially concern himself with McCandless’ family problems, his
perspective changed after McCandless died. How and why?
6. What do we learn in this chapter about McCandless’ romantic relationships (or lack thereof)?
What does this knowledge say about him?
7. What concerned Gail Borah about McCandless’ departure from Carthage? How does his
correspondence to Westerberg and Jan Burres legitimize her feelings?
Chapter 8
1. In the first epigraph for Ch. 8, Theodore Roszak discusses “pathological extremes that yield
remarkable insights but no durable way of life.” What does this mean? (Use a dictionary if
necessary!) How might this phrase be applied to Chris McCandless?
2. What is Edward Hoagland’s point in the second epigraph?
3. What major criticisms were made of McCandless by readers of Outside magazine when
Krakauer’s article first appeared?
4. Who was Gene Rosellini and what was his motivation for going “into the wild”? What
parallels can be drawn between Rosellini and McCandless?
5. Who was John Waterman and what was his motivation for going “into the wild”? What
parallels can be drawn between Waterman and McCandless?
6. Who was Carl McCunn and what was his motivation for going “into the wild”? What parallels
can be drawn between McCunn and McCandless?
7. What is the point of comparing these men to McCandless?
Chapter 9
1. According to the epigraph, what was Everett Ruess’s motivation for leaving civilization?
2. Describe Davis Gulch.
3. Writer Wallace Stegner called Ruess, “a callow romantic, an adolescent esthete, an atavistic
wanderer or the wastelands.” Explain this comment. (Use a dictionary if necessary!)
4. How can we compare McCandless and Ruess?
5. What is the point of Krakauer’s description of the Irish monks?
Chapter 10
1. What clues did the Alaskan state troopers use in their search for McCandless’ identity?
2. How did Wayne Westerberg hear of McCandless’ death?
3. How did the state troopers receive Westerberg’s attempt to volunteer information about
McCandless? Why? What changed their minds?
4. Which family member received the news of Chris’ death first? How did his parents find out?
Chapter 11
1. Comment on the Pasternak epigraph and its significance. What did McCandless highlight in
the epigraph?
2. Characterize Walt McCandless.
3. Based on the description of Walt McCandless, why wouldn’t he and Chris get along?
4. What were the circumstances of Walt and Billie’s early relationship?
5. Describe Chris McCandless’ childhood. In what ways did his childhood shape him into the
adult he became?
6. In what ways was Chris similar to his grandfather?
7. What early signs indicated that Chris felt distaste for rules and conformity?
8. As a teenager, how did Chris spend his weekends? What does this reveal about him?
9. Explain the tension between Chris and his parents over Chris’ initial refusal to go to college.
What was Chris’ view of college? What was his parents’ perspective?
10. Describe Chris’ paradoxical nature as revealed in examples on pp.115-116.
11. What did Chris plan to do after high school?
Chapter 12
1. Explain the epigraph by G.K. Chesteron. What does it mean, and how does it apply to Chris
McCandless?
2. What did Chris do for his father before he left for his cross-country trip? How was this
uncharacteristic of him?
3. What was Chris’ condition upon returning from his trip? Why was he in this condition?
4. What unusual items did Chris insist on bringing to college? What does this reveal about
Chris’ personality?
5. What did Chris discover about his parents? How did this affect his relationship with them?
6. Krakauer states, “[McCandless] measured himself and those around him by an impossibly
rigorous moral code” p.122. Explain what he means by this. Do you agree with this
assessment?
7. What were McCandless’ somewhat contradictory political beliefs?
8. What did his mother imply about Chris in her letter that angers him? What might have led
Billie McCandless to imply this?
9. What woke up Billie McCandless in the middle of the night in July of 1992? Why does
Krakauer include this anecdote?
Chapter 13
1. What is Chris’ expression in both of the photos on Carine’s mantelpiece? What does this
suggest about his character?
2. Compare and contrast Chris and Carine.
3. Describe the reactions of Chris’ family to his death.
Chapter 14
1. Explain the purpose of the Edwards epigraph. How does it set forth the theme of this chapter?
2. What is Krakauer’s suspicion about Chris’s death?
3. How does Krakauer compare himself to McCandless?
4. What is the purpose of Krakauer’s comparison?
5. Do you think it is a worthwhile comparison or merely a show of hubris to include his own
story? Why?
6. How did Krakauer feel at the end of his climb? What does this suggest about his personality?
Chapter 15
1. What is the meaning of the Donald Barthelme epigraph?
2. What does Krakauer say about his own relationship with his father?
3. How did Krakauer’s relationship with his father change over time?
4. What is the irony Krakauer’s father “failed to appreciate”?
5. According to Krakauer, why did he climb Devil’s Thumb?
6. How does Krakauer’s own story help illuminate McCandless’?
7. After reading Krakauer’s story, has your opinion changed about whether McCandless’ death
was a suicide? Explain.
Chapter 16
1. In one of the epigraphs that begins Ch. 16, Roderick Nash suggests that the wilderness
appeals to the “Romantic individual.” How does McCandless fit the definition of a
Romantic?
2. Characterize Gaylord Stuckey.
3. Why did Stuckey decide to pick up McCandless despite company rules?
4. What problems did McCandless encounter after leaving Stuckey and beginning his journey
through Alaska?
5. What is ironic about the location of the bus?
6. How did McCandless view meat?
7. How does Krakauer know that McCandless intended to leave his solitary life in Alaska?
8. What can be speculated about his return home from reading his journals?
9. What made McCandless return to the bus?
Chapter 17
1. How was Krakauer better prepared than McCandless to cross the Teklanika River and traverse
the Stampede Trail?
2. How did Krakauer feel about seeing the interior of the bus for the first time?
3. Krakauer says, “It would be easy to stereotype Christopher McCandless as another boy who
felt too much, a loopy young man who read too many books and lacked even a modicum of
common sense. But the stereotype isn’t a good fit.” Why not, according to Krakauer?
Chapter 18
1. After reading Doctor Zhivago, McCandless wrote, “HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN
SHARED.” What might this suggest about his change of heart in the last weeks of his life?
2. What might have caused McCandless to become suddenly ill resulting in his death? How is
this debated?
3. What is the irony of McCandless’ dying belief that he was “trapped in the wild”?
4. How did he sign his last note begging for help? What does this suggest?
5. What do McCandless’ last words suggest about his attitude towards death?
Epilogue
1. In one of the epigraphs for the epilogue, writer Annie Dillard is quoted as saying, “There are
no events but thought and the heart’s hard turning, the heart’s slow learning where to love and
whom. The rest is merely gossip, and tales for other times.” What is meant by this? How
does it apply to Chris? Walt and Billie?
2. Why do Walt and Billie go to Alaska? What do they gain from this experience?
3. Many people have been moved by the story of Chris McCandless, most notably movie
director Sean Penn, and Jon Krakauer himself. Why?
4. Krakauer has said, “It’s just not a mystery to me why he wanted to [go to Alaska]… And I
know there a lot of people for who it is a mystery. But it’s another one of those things—if you
have to ask, you’re not going to understand…” Do you understand McCandless’ desire to go
out into the wild? Can you relate to him or not? Explain.
5. Name five themes you can draw from Into the Wild. (Remember: a literary theme is a
complete statement, not just a word or phrase!)