Chapter One: “The Alaska Interior”
1. The personal history of Chris McCandless is that he graduated from Emory University in 1990, but then he left out of sight until no one heard of him again. He threw away all of the possessions that mattered to him and he gave all the money he had to charity. He then set off for an unexpected journey wandering North America for some reason. Even though he excelled academically and athletically growing up, he somehow wanted to create a new life for himself. He did not even tell his family about his journey and they did not know at all, and he eventually died in the Alaskan wilderness. (pg. 1 of Author’s Note)
2. The themes Krakauer introduces are “the grip wilderness has on the American imagination, the allure high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mind, and the complicated, highly charged bond that exists between fathers and sons”(Krakauer, pg.2 of Author’s Notes).
3. The purpose of the quoted material is that Chris has a lot of respect for Wayne Westerberg and must be good friends and Chris is telling him that it will be hard to survive in Alaska and he might not make it and die. (pg. 3)
4. Alex is really a name for Chris McCandless and Chris uses this name so no one knows that Chris is actually venturing to Alaska by himself. Alex is introduced when he is picked up by Jim Gallien since he was a hitchhiker and he really does not say much while in the truck. (pg. 4)
5. Jim Gallien is a union electrician who picks up Alex on the side of the road near Fairbanks, Alaska and asks him about his journey so far. He is also a skilled hunter and outdoorsmen who can survive in the wild by himself. He meets Chris McCandless by picking him up in his truck because Chris was a hitchhiker and Jim wanted to help him. (pgs. 3-4)
6. Gallien’s assessment of McCandless was that Chris could never survive in the wilderness of Alaska near Denali National Park and he did not have enough supplies to live off the land for the time he intended to. Gallien knew his rifle was too small to hunt large animals and he did not have any navigation except for a road map. Gallien was concerned for Chris because he knew he would not last long and he tried to help him as best as he could. (pgs. 4-5)
7. The advice that Gallien gives to McCandless is that he could go days without killing anything so he should be prepared to have a different source for food and hunting was not as easy as Chris thought it was. He also says that Chris should watch out for bears because there are so many of them out in Alaska and he has to know what to do when condition become worse. Gallien also offered to drive Chris to Anchorage to buy him new gear and then drive him back to wherever he wanted. (pgs. 5-6)
8. When Gallien offered to but Alex decent gear and help him out a bit, McCandless responds by saying that he would be fine with all the supplies he has. There were some gifts that Gallien gave to Chris to help him on his journey, including a pair of rubber work boots and a piece of paper with his phone number on it so Chris could call him. (pgs. 6-7)
9. Gallien decided not to alert the authorities about McCandless because he thought Chris would be OK by himself and he thought he would use his brain if worse came to worse. He also thinks that Chris would walk out onto the highway if he got hungry since that is what a smart person would do. (pg. 7)
10. This statement is ironic because at this point in the story, most people would think that Chris would go try to survive in the wild by himself but when they hear this, they think he might do something else. Now, another ending might happen because Chris might abandon his journey and go get help even though we are expecting he will go live in the wild for a while. (pg. 7)
Chapter Two: “The Stampede Trail”
11. Krakauer included a quote from another author because he wanted to describe how difficult it was to survive off the land in Alaska at the time of the year when Chris was going to live off the land for a while. He also wanted to describe the appearance of the Stampede Trail and get his readers to picture what is was like in the wilderness of Alaska when Chris tried to survive off of it. (pg. 9)
12. The purpose of these detailed descriptions is to really understand the main setting of the book and how the setting really affects the life of Chris McCandless forever. The descriptions help the reader understand the harsh conditions of Alaska and how it is very difficult to survive in this part of Alaska for a long period of time, (pgs. 9-11)
13. The probable cause of Chris McCandless’s death is starvation because when the police came to rescue his body and took it to a laboratory for an autopsy, there were no broken bones or any internal injuries. There was hardly any fat on the body and since his body only weighed sixty- seven pounds, Chris must have starved to death. (pgs. 13-14)
Chapter Three: “Carthage”
14. Wayne Westerberg is a good friend of Chris and lives in Carthage, South Dakota. He also is a hyperkinetic man with a black goatee and owns two separate grain elevators, which helped him with his main job. Wayne was in his mid-thirties and was a farmer and liked to do things with electronics. Wayne and Chris get along great because Chris really starts to admire Wayne for who he is and Wayne tries to help Chris when he was in desperate need. Even when Chris leaves Carthage, he still writes to Wayne often and he had all his mail sent to Wayne’s address, which showed how much trust Christ had for Wayne. (pgs. 16-19)
15. The terms “leather tramp” and “rubber tramp” describe the culture of how people around, depending on if they are rich or poor. The main difference is that leather tramps are people who did not have transportation and had to walk or hitchhike everywhere, whereas rubber tramps were people who owned a vehicle. (pg. 17)
16. He said this because Chris pretty much found a family that could replace his old family because he really got along with Wayne and his employees so he really felt these people were his main family now. Wayne and his workers could support Chris and really understood him and Chris needed someone to love since things were not right with his old family. (pg. 18)
17. McCandless left Carthage because Wayne was caught building and selling illegal satellite-television transmissions, which allowed people to have cable without them paying for it. Wayne was caught and sentenced to four months in prison two weeks after Chris arrived in Carthage and there was no work at the grain elevator, so Chris left to pursue his journey. (pg. 19)
18. The reader knows that War and Peace was important because this piece of work was given to Wayne Westerberg, who was his good friend and it was a treasured gift that McCandless gave to Wayne. It must have been important if Chris gave it to Wayne and it must have been important if Chris gave up one of his most sacred gifts. (pg. 19)
19. McCandless’s early years were well remembered and very active. Chris grew up in a very friendly environment in Annandale, Virginia, and his father was a major influence in NASA and on space shuttles. There were eight children in Chris’s family and he was very close to his sister, Carine, and his mom, Billie. He graduated from Emory University in 1990 and donated the money intended for him to go to law school to a charity that helps fight hunger. Chris then suddenly left in his car for a road trip and he left a letter to his parents, which would be the last time they would hear from him. The parents got worried since he left his apartment in Atlanta and Chris was on his way to a new life for himself. (pgs. 19-23)
20. The clues that say McCandless was out of step are that he did not accept gifts from his parents, especially when his parents wanted to buy him a new car and he refused. Also, all the money that Chris’s parents gave to him for law school was donated to a charity, which most people in society just would not do. (pg.20-21)
21. The change that symbolized the new life Chris was about to build was how he changed his name. He changed his name from Chris McCandless to Alexander Supertramp so his family would not find out he left. (pg. 23)
Chapters 4-5 “Detrital Wash” and “Bullhead City”
22. This statement applies to Chris because ultimately wants to experience life to the fullest rather than just escape his previous life at college. He also wants to live a new life and see what the world has to offer him and wants to be able to see all parts of the world rather than just one place. (pg. 25)
23. Jan Burres is a forty-one-year-old hitchhiker that goes around selling very cheap items with her boyfriend, Bob. Krakauer says, “A forty-one-year-old rubber tramp who was traveling around the West selling knick-knacks at flea markets and swap meets with her boyfriend, Bob” (pg. 30). She figures into Chris’s travels because she picks up Chris near the town of Orick, California, and lived with Jan and Bob for a week in Orick Beach. The Northwest started to inspire Chris so he continued to travel up the Pacific Coast until he reached Seattle, Washington. (pgs. 30-31.)
24. Chris used the metal canoe to paddle from the Colorado River near Topock, Arizona, to the border of Mexico using the Gulf of California. From Topock, Chris paddled south to Lake Havasu and continued downstream through the Colorado River. He finally reached the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, which was off- limits but he still went through anyway. He then reached Morelos Dam and the Mexican Border, and he paddled through the open floodgates without identification. After arriving in Mexico, Chris lost his way numerous times from canals to dead-end channels. Chris finally reaches the Gulf of California using the Wellteco Canal and with the help of the duck hunters dropping him in a fishing village on the Gulf of California. (pgs. 32-35)
25. The one noticeable thing about his excerpts is that he is not using I but instead is using he. It seems as if Chris did not write the excerpts because they use the name Alex and they look like they were written by someone else. The excerpts are describing what Alex did during his Mexican journey and there is not much detail about Alex himself, meaning that Alex probably did not create the journal entries. (pgs. 34-36).
26. The existential conclusion is that Chris left Las Vegas to experience “the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found” (pg. 37). Chris wants to find the joy of living such a fulfilled life and since Chris is willing to do anything, this will affect how he lives the rest of his life. (pg.37)
27. The kind of life that Chris led was a kind of unusual yet satisfying life in Bullhead City. Chris enjoyed Bullhead City since he stayed there for more than two months but he did not fit in too well. His employees probably thought he was a strange man since all he did was talk about nature. Chris was definitely getting tired of the people in Bullhead City because they bothered him and he did not get along with one of his assistant managers, Lori Zarza. The trailer that Chris stayed at was not right for him and he probably lived in Bullhead City just for the scenery. (pgs. 39-42)
28 The conditions of the Slab were not very good because it had been an old naval base that was abandoned. It was very cheap there because there was hardly anything there and flea markets were always taking place so people could sell their junk. It was not the ideal living conditions but since it was warm there in the winter, a lot of vagabonds in the area would migrate there for the winter. People of all age lived there and most of the people were very friendly and nice to each other since they were experiencing the same things. The Slab was a place for all the destitute people of society to gather and share their stories. The people were so nice to Chris that he socialized frequently with them and enjoyed meeting new people of the Slab. Krakauer says, “The Slabs function as the seasonal capital of a teeming itinerary society- a tolerant, rubber-tired culture comprising the retired, the exiled, the destitute, the perpetually unemployed” (pg. 43). (pgs. 43-45)
29. Jan Burres recounts that Chris was very good with animals and he was very helpful whenever she needed him to do something. She also says he was constantly socializing with the people of the Slab and he was usually having a good time talking to all the people who came by. She says Chris had a great voice and he was musical and she thought Chris was a skilled outdoorsmen since Chris told her about his journey to Alaska.
30. Jan’s assessment was that he would be fine in Alaska in the long run and he was smart enough to survive in Alaska. She says if Chris could figure out how to paddle a canoe to Mexico and do other dangerous missions, he could definitely figure out how to survive in Alaska, too. (pg. 46)
Chapters Six and Seven: “Anza Borrego” and “Carthage”
31. Ron Franz is an eighty year old man who is lives alone because his wife and his only child were killed by a drunk driver in 1957. He was a devout Christian and spent most of his life in the army, which was stationed in China as well as Japan. He enters the story in the beginning of Chapter 6 when he writes a letter asking for the issue of the Outside magazine so he can know how Chris died in Alaska. Krakauer thinks that the relationship between Franz and McCandless went smoothly because they both got along very well and they spent a lot of time together talking. They grew fond of each other after a while and the two really understood each other. (pgs. 47-52)
32. Anza- Borrego is a large desert east of Salton City in California where Chris camped for a while. It is east of the Salton Sea and includes the bajada, which was open, dry land and got very hot when the sun scorched it during the day. (pgs. 48-49)
33. The tragedy of Franz’s life was when his wife and his only child were killed by a drunk driver on New Year’s Eve of 1957. This changed his life as Franz started to drink a lot more and he tried to adopt boys and girls so he would not be so lonely. (pg.50)
34. He felt Chris was “polite, friendly, well-groomed” and an “extremely intelligent” young man. He knew he was a nice kid but felt Chris needed a job and an education to make something of his life. The request he made to Chris was if he could adopt him because his family would be finished if he died so he wanted Chris to be his grandson. (pgs. 50-51, 55)
35. Leathermaking played a role in their relationship because Franz taught Chris the secrets of leathermaking and helped Chris make a leather belt, which contained details of Chris’s journey so far. It was produced perfectly and without much error so Franz thought he taught Chris well about leathermaking. (pgs. 51-52)
36. The author says that Chris was excited to be on his way north and was relieved to escape the threat of friendship. He also says that Chris successfully escaped the life with his family and he escaped all the people he met along the way without them getting enough information about him. (pg. 55)
37. The advice Chris gives to Franz is to change his lifestyle from a life based on security to a life full of adventures and different encounters each day. He tells him to start being nomadic and move around a little to see all the things God has given around him. He wants Franz to get out in the world immediately so he can start a new life and he will experience a whole lot more if he just can stop being stubborn and get out to see the world. Franz responds to the letter by buying a new truck for his adventure and he moved out of his apartment to go set up camp in the bajada where Chris’s old campsite was. (pgs. 56-58)
38. Ron Franz learns that Chris died because he picked up two hitchhikers in his truck and he started telling them about Alex and his adventure he was going to start in Alaska. The Native American hitchhiker was listening and told Ron that Chris died in the frozen tundra of Alaska. The death changed Franz’s life because Ron became an atheist since he could not believe God would let Chris die in such a terrible way and started to drink again until he began to get really sick. (pg. 60)
39. Wayne was annoyed at the beginning of the chapter because his combine machine had broken down and it was difficult for him to fix it. He cannot reach inside the combine and he was annoyed already because that was the third time the combine broke down in as many days. (pgs. 61-62)
40. The author’s analysis of Chris and his father’s relationship was that it was very rough and rocky through Chris’s early years. Chris had to follow his dad’s rules through high school and college, but he often got angry and mad at his dad. Chris was getting tired of his parents’ lifestyle and their strict rules and he eventually rebelled and left them for good after college. Chris is very close to his sister Carine because he felt Carine was the only person he could go
to for help since his relationship with his parentswas not going very well. (pg. 64)
Chapters Eight and Nine: “Alaska” and “Davis Gulch”
41. The purpose of including the story of Gene Rossellini was to recognize him as a similarity to the life of Chris McCandless through his actions and his lifestyle. Gene was an intelligent and an athletic young man just like Chris and did well through college. But then Rossellini departed Seattle and decided to head to Alaska like Chris did after college. He could not survive and eventually died in the wilderness like Chris so his story shows how many people have gone to Alaska but could not survive there on their own. (pgs. 73-75)
42. Krakauer was motivated to include the story of John Waterman from wanting to recognize someone who was similar to Chris McCandless but did not attract as much attention as Gene Rossellini. (pg. 75)
43. The purpose of including the story of Chris McCunn was to compare his life to that of Chris McCandless. Krakauer wanted to compare and contrast the qualities of McCandless and McCunn and he saw that both of them shared a lack of common sense in the wild. He also saw that McCandless did not expect anyone to rescue him unlike McCunn who already expected it. (pgs. 84-85)
44. Everett Ruess was born in Oakland, California, in 1914. He moved a lot as a child around the United States but finally settled in southern California when he was fourteen years old. When he was sixteen, he began his first solo trip hiking through Yosemite and met a man named Edward Weston. He stayed there awhile until he returned home to receive his high school diploma. He was on the road again traveling throughout the Southwest and he would begin a new life always moving from place to place and living with his backpack. He loved to wander and he did not care about his personal safety. He adopted many names before his journey and carved the name Nemo into the sandstone at Davis Gulch. He traveled through the Mormon settlement of Escalante and after that, no one ever saw him again. There are many theories to Everett’s death, including him falling to his death and even getting murdered. Everett was fascinated by the character Captain Nemo in the book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and that is probably why he carved the name Nemo. Ken Sleight believes he drowned while trying to cross a river. Everett’s life was very strange and even though he was different, he loved the beauty of the American West. (pgs. 89-96)
45. Ken Sleight’s conclusion is that both of them did not like to be around people for a long time and they both just wanted to get out. “But him and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do” (pg. 96). He says that many people could not survive the things McCandless and Ruess did, and many people would not even try, so that is what makes them remarkable. (pg. 96)
