INTO THE WILD
BY JON KRAKAUER
“In April 1992, a young man
from a well-to-do East Coast
family hitchhiked to Alaska
and walked into the
wilderness north of Mt.
McKinley. Four months later
his decomposed body was
found by a party of moose
hunters”
(Author’s Note).
“It should not be
denied…that being
footloose has always
exhilarated us. It is
associated in our
minds with escape
from history and
oppression and law
and irksome
obligations, with
absolute freedom,
and the road has
always led west.”
(Wallace Stegner, From: The
American West as Living Space)
"Colorado River." Online Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
2 June 2008
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-2636>.
“I NOW
WALK
INTO
THE
WILD.”
(ALEX,
1992)
Commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Mt_McKinley,_Denali_National_Park,jpg.
High Achiever: Academics,
Athletics, Music
Entrepreneurial
Generous & Caring
Cold & Unforgiving
Impatient with others
Self-absorbed
Harsh judge of parents
Tolerant of artists& close friends
Passionate
Self-righteous
Intensely private
Gregarious
Socially conscious
www.datsunhistory.com/DATPICS/b210.jp
g
“I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real Life has
begun,” (Alex, June 1992).
“S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near
death and too weak to hike out of here….This
is no joke…” (Chris McCandless, August?)
THE SLABS
Carthage, South Dakota
EXPLOITS
Detrital
Wash
Colorado River -canoe trip
Salton City
California/Mexico Border
Bullhead City McDonald’s
Las Vegas
ALASKA
“I’ve decided to head for Alaska
no later than May 1st…:
Mt. McKinley…”Climb
Mountain!”
I finally got here.” (April 22,
1992)
“
A babbling brook in spring,
a rushing torrent in summer.
DENALI NATIONAL PARK & STAMPEDE
TRAIL
The Journey of Chris McCandless
Visionary or Fool?
Honest or Selfish?
Death Wish?
Desire to confront and overcome fear of death?
CHRIS WAS INSPIRED BY:
LEO TOLSTOY
•“I
THOREAU
JACK LONDON
wanted movement and not a calm course of existence,” Tolstoy
•“It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity
laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life,” -London
•“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me
truth,” -Thoreau
CHRIS’S RELATIONSHIPS
Family
Grandfather:
Lauren Johnson
Father: Walt
Mother: Billie
Sister: Carine
Alaska
Jim
Gallien
CHRIS’S PHILOSOPHIES:
“I BELIEVE THAT…”
-Happiness is only real when shared
-There is refuge in nature
-Wealth is shameful, corrupting, and
evil
-Absolutes: Life, Truth, Beauty
-Love of one’s Neighbor
-Free personality
-Life as Sacrifice
WHAT POISONED CHRIS?
SWEET PEA VS. WILD POTATO
“
I have had a happy life and thank the Lord..
Goodbye and may God bless all.”
(August 1992)
PEOPLE CHRIS MET:
Jim Gallien: Takes Chris to Denali National
Park
Butch Killian: EMT who arrives soon after
Chris’s body is discovered
Wayne: Closest version of family to Chrisworks on a grain elevator for Wayne’s
company in South Dakota
Peter Kalitka: Private Detective hired to
find Chris
Gene Rosellini, John Waterman, Carl
McCunn and Everett Reuss: Similar men
who ventured into the wild
Ron Franz: Takes in Chris when he moves
to Anza-Borrego
Ask Questions on any others…
METHODOLOGY
Krakauer’s use of methodology in Into the
Wild is an important focus of his
biography. It is inevitably what
makes him a “partial” biographer.
Methodology: the methods of organizing
principles underlying a particular art,
science or other area of study.
*Manuscripts
*Maps
*Interviews
*Epigraphs
STRUCTURE:
Krakauer starts the novel with
the ending completely in
mind.
We know of Chris’ death by
chapter two.
The epigraph is detailing his trip
into the Yukon Territory.
Westerberg’s letter is introduced
before he is.
How is this effective story telling?
Why are we given the letter before
a literary quote?
MAPS:
The maps are used to personalize the odyssey.
Visual rendering of where he’s been. We see Chris’s plight and the trek he has made.
Also see the absurdity of his journey: jumping from one place to the next.
LETTERS AND MANUSCRIPTS
Personal connection to Chris.
He seems very candid and real in the
letters.
Detection of his spite, anger and
arrogance in the letters.
Puts on a different face in front of
strangers: benevolent, spirited,
kind.
The letters serve as his connection to
the outside, evidence of his
journey, and his bitter farewell to
society.
INTERVIEWS
Story becomes real when we meet people Chris has befriended.
Provide personal account of his behavior.
Allow us to question his motives.
Aware of his inability to connect to humans.
Krakauer’s main attempt at being impartial.
LITERARY ALLUSIONS
Symbolize Chris’s God
Religious connection for him.
Their imagination becomes his reality.
Inability to understand London, Tolstoy, Thoreau or Emerson, because he takes their
ideas literally: or is this what he’s supposed to do?
TRANSCENDENTALISM
Transcendentalism New ideas in literature, religion culture and philosophy
that emerged in New England in the early to middle 19th century. It is
sometimes called American transcendentalism to distinguish it from other
uses of the word.
Transcendentalism began as a protest against the general state of culture and
society and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard and the
doctrine of the Unitarian church. Among transcendentalists' core beliefs was
an ideal spiritual state that 'transcends' the physical and empirical and is only
realized through the individual's intuition, rather than through the doctrines
of established religions.
ATTRIBUTION
Unless otherwise cited, the pictures are all from
http://images.google.com/images
All quotes are from: Krakauer,Jon. Into the Wild. New
York: Anchor Books, 1997.
Constance D. Casserly, June 2, 2008