Into the Wild Chapters 1-10 Responses to Questions

Chapter 1:
1. Chris McCandless was born into a well-off family on the east coast of the United States.  He grew up in a wealthy Washington, D.C. suburb.  In school, he performed exceptionally in both academics and athletics.  In the summer of 1990, McCandless graduated from Emory University with honors.  Following his graduation, he changed his name, gave the money in his savings account to charity, burned the cash in his wallet, and disappeared (First page of “Author’s Note”).
2. The themes that are introduced in the “Author’s Note” are that McCandless’s attitude and ideals caused him to disappear, and the book wide theme of adventure and the unknown.  This prepares the reader for what is to come in the rest of the book (All of “Author’s Note”).
3. The purpose of this quoted material is to give the reader a firsthand experience of one of McCandless’s conversations with someone through mail while he was still adventuring.  It, like the “Author’s Note” contributes to the recurring themes of the novel (3).
4. Alex is the alias that Chris McCandless chose for himself.  It is said that before Chris disappeared, he changed his name along with getting rid of his personal possession (“Author’s Note,” 4).
5. Jim Gallien was a man that was driving out of Fairbanks, Alaska when he saw McCandless hitchhiking on the side of the road.  He was a union electrician who was on his way to Anchorage, which was about 240 miles beyond Denali.  Gallien sees that McCandless possesses a gun in his bag, but thinks he looks nice enough, so he gives him a ride (3, 4).
6. Again, Gallien saw the gun that McCandless had, but did not see it as dangerous.  McCandless looked friendly enough for him, so he gave him a ride.  Also, Gallien thought that he looked about eighteen or nineteen years old.  When “Alex” tells Gallien his name, Gallien is looking for a last name as well.  McCandless did not give him one; Gallien probably thought that this was a little odd (3, 4).
7. Gallien have McCandless not only advice, but also some material things to help him along his way.  He gives McCandless a pair of decent boots that, when worn with a couple pairs of socks, would keep his feet somewhat warm and dry.  Gallien also gives McCandless a piece of paper with his phone number on it.  He gives to McCandless to return the boots to him if he makes it out alive.  McCandless also took some of the food that Gallien offered him from his lunch.  Persuasion was needed for McCandless to take these items, as he was excited to get started and wanted to do things on his own (7).
8. Gallien gave McCandless his boots.  He said that when worn with a couple pairs of sock, his feet would remain somewhat warm and dry.  Along with this, Gallien gave McCandless a piece of paper with his phone number.  If he got out alive, which we know he did not, he was to use this number to contact Gallien to eventually return the boots (7).
9. Gallien decided against doing this because he assumed McCandless would be fine.  He thought that if he got hungry, which he predicted would be very soon; he would just walk out to the highway and take care of himself like “any normal person would do” (7).
10. This statement is ironic because clearly, McCandless was not your typical “normal person.”  Also, it would be fitting of McCandless’s attitude towards life and specifically to this adventure.  He was a very adventurous and extremely independent individual, and he would not just walk up to the highway to feed himself.  He was beyond this, in a sense.  This demonstrates irony of situation because we know that this did not happen.  He kept going on his adventure and ultimately perished on his adventure.  Gallien was wrong.  The reader knows it, but the characters of the novel do not.  This is irony of situation (7).


Chapter 2:
11. Krakauer does this to set the mood for the chapter.  Also, it describes the wilderness as a being that mocks and laughs at whoever enters it.  In this particular chapter, Chris’s death is described, which connects the quote to the content of the chapter itself.  The wilderness finally got the better of Chris and was there to mock and laugh at him (9).
12. The purpose of these descriptions is to further set the mood of the wilderness and of the unknown for the remainder of the story.  These references are also made to help the reader understand what Chris was going through at the time.  For example, he traveled the Stampede Trail, and it is important to know what it was like for him (9, 10).
13. The cause of McCandless’s death is considered to be starvation.  It is said that McCandless consumed a poisonous part of a plant that caused his body to starve itself (14).


Chapter 3:
14. Wayne Westerberg is a man that Chris meets while he is in Carthage, South Dakota.  He does many jobs and is described as a “Renaissance man.”  He gives a job to Chris, and is surprised by how much of a hard worker Chris actually is – unlike the many other hitchhikers that Westerberg has hired in the past.  Chris and Wayne got along well and had a friendly attitude toward each other (17-19).
15. These terms describe a culture of very loose nomadism.  Some of these people wander around constantly.  Additionally, many of them are probably poor and cannot afford to purchase forms of transportation.  A “rubber tramp” is someone who owns a vehicle, but wanders around a lot, while a “leather tramp” is someone who does not own a vehicle, and must walk or hitchhike to get around (17).
16. The author says this because Chris lived in the same house with these people.  Jon Krakauer says, “The four or five inhabitants took turns cooking for one another, went drinking together,, and chased women together, without success” (18).
17. McCandless left Carthage because Westerberg was arrested for illegal satellite TV practices.  McCandless was no longer employed at the grain elevator, so there was no reason for him to stay in Carthage (19).
18. The reader knows this because he gave it to Wayne Westerberg.  It is said that War and Peace was a treasured belonging of Chris.  He felt a strong attachment to Westerberg and gave the book to him (19).
19. It is said that based on the way he acted toward Westerberg, McCandless had some family problems; however, he was very close with his sister.  His parents were very well off, as McCandless grew up in an affluent Washington, D.C. neighborhood.  McCandless attended Emory University, which was and still is a very hard school to be accepted into.  He was an extremely accomplished student, with excellent grades in all of his classes (21-22).
20.McCandless gave several clues that he was out of step with commercialism.  He did not want his parents to give him another car, as he was greatly content with his current car.  Most people his age would gladly take a new car if their parents offered – I know I would.  Also, he gave his belongings up when he decided to go on this adventure in the wilderness.  He did not want his parents to “buy” his respect with material things, as he was set on a life of high moral and self-standards (“Author’s Note, 21, 22).
21. A major change that McCandless makes is that he says he will no longer answer to “Chris McCandless,” but to “Alexander Supertramp.”  This strengthens the already existent sense of independence and adventure that Chris has.  He really is set on creating a new, simpler life for himself (23).


Chapter 4: 
22. This statement applies to Chris because he left on this adventure to find who he really was.  He believed that he could not find himself with all of the distractions of mainstream America.  He wanted to go back to basics.  Also, Chris did not travel into the desert to escape from it, but to find who he really was (25).
23. Jan Burres was a woman that was traveling with her boyfriend, and saw Chris on the side of the road near Orick – sixty miles south of the Oregon line.  She was a rubber tramp, “traveling around the West selling knick-knacks at flea markets . . .” (30).  She fed him and stayed in touch with him for the next 2 years, as Chris sent her postcards every one or two months for this time (30).
24. After purchasing the metal canoe in Topock, Chris traveled down the Colorado River to the California Gulf, eventually crossing the Mexican border.  He then canoed down Lake Havasu.  He made a short trip up the Bill Williams River, a tributary of the Colorado River.  He continued downstream though the Colorado River Indian Reservation, eventually making his way to Yuma Proving Ground – a proving ground of the United States army (32, 33).