Into the Wild
By jon krakauer, into the wild essay questions.
Is it possible for a biography to be truly impartial? Is Into the Wild ?
Biography can never be truly impartial, as, even if the author could include every moment of the subject’s life, rather than choosing which are most important, his method of presentation and his diction, inherently affect how the reader will feel about the subject. There is still a scale of more or less impartial, however, and Into the Wild falls on the less-impartial side, as Krakauer himself admits. For example, because he sees a lot of similarities between Chris and himself, he makes certain assumptions about Chris’s motivations and desires that he might not otherwise make. Yet because Krakauer makes this explicit, and doesn’t try to fool the reader, the reader still has the freedom to make their own interpretation.
Is McCandless truly compassionate, as he is often described?
McCandless’s compassion is the most enigmatic part of his story. It is clearly central to his personality for his whole life—he spends weekend nights in high school bringing burgers to homeless people—and yet he shows almost no compassion in dealing with his parents once he is in college. He willingly and intentionally leaves them in a state of utter unhappiness while he travels, and his disregard for his own safety threatens and ultimately destroys their wellbeing. This does not mean that he is not truly compassionate, but this compassion does have bounds.
In Krakauer’s depiction of McCandless, is he a flat or round character? Static or dynamic?
In Krakauer’s depiction, McCandless is certainly a round character. Although he is largely presented as good, his flaws are illuminated, and even his best qualities sometimes fail him. Krakauer also makes him a dynamic character, although the basis for this is largely conjecture. Krakauer believes that McCandless changed during his Alaska trip, that he may have mellowed and become ready to rejoin society and maybe even his family, although all of this is based on a few small lines Chris wrote, and passages he underlined in his reading.
Explain how McCandless’s quest for “ultimate freedom” is inherently selfish.
McCandless’s quest for ultimate freedom is not rooted in selfishness; it, in fact, comes out of largely noble desires. It is still inherently selfish, however, because it means acting for the individual over society, which is designed to protect everybody. Ultimate freedom means being accountable to no one but oneself, and thus, even if McCandless usually intended to act for the greater good, he has only his own limited perspective on what will truly lead to the greater good.
How does Krakauer’s authorial presence affect McCandless’s story?
Krakauer’s own upbringing and experiences as a young man come up throughout Into the Wild . Because there are such strong similarities to McCandless, the biggest difference being that Krakauer survived his odysseys, and so can tell his tale, Krakauer uses his own past to provide insights into McCandless’s actions and motivations. This also probably leads Krakauer to present McCandless in the most forgiving light that he can.
What does Into the Wild posit as the core of the problems between McCandless and his father?
Both Chris and Walt McCandless are strong-willed and independent, and Chris’s resistance to all authority means that he resents the authority his father has over him, even as he tries to please him. Chris specifically detests arbitrary authority, and so once he has proof that his father isn’t perfect, he then considers Walt’s authority over him to be completely arbitrary, and he resists it absolutely. Because of Chris’s intensity and tendency towards extremes, this becomes much more than just a typical adolescent rebellion.
What specific appeal does the wilderness have for all the adventure seekers described in Into the wild ?
The adventure seekers in Into the Wild all seem to be searching for a life with a kind of brute simplicity, which they believe they can find in the wilderness. High-risk living leaves little time for the complicated problems of modern society, and this seems to be much of the appeal for these men. They also seem to believe that there is some core of truth hidden beneath all the layers of modern life, and this can only be found in the wild. Finally, surviving the challenges posed by this way of life provide a feeling of deep accomplishment for these often ambitious or competitive men.
How is McCandless’s difficulty forgiving a driving force in his journeys?
McCandless, though largely driven by his principals and morals to live a rootless, anti-materialist existence, also seems at least partially driven forward by a desire to punish his parents. He resents their pressure for him to go to law school, their materialism, and what he sees as their attempts to control him, so he tells Carine that he is going to cut them out of his life completely because he cannot forgive them. In not contacting them at all while he is on the road, he turns his odyssey into a tool for punishment, at least on some level.
How can McCandless’s Datsun symbolize his interpersonal relationships?
McCandless is completely committed to his Datsun from the time he buys it until he graduates from college, when he is deeply offended by his parents’ offer to buy him a new car. He tells Carine that he would never trade in his Datsun, which he thinks is perfect. Once he has trouble with the car, though, he deserts it immediately and angrily. Chris loves the Datsun despite its surface flaws, just like he is able to love most of his friends regardless of their looks, money, or way of life, but when he perceives a deeper flaw, he is unforgiving, and cuts it out of his life completely, as he does with his parents.
McCandless’s story, despite its tragic end, has inspired many copycats since the original publication in Into the Wild . Why might this be?
Krakauer presents McCandless’s tale in a forgiving way, yet it is still a cautionary tale—although he believes Chris could have survived, and only died because of a small mistake, he shows just how devastating such behavior can be to McCandless, and to those who loved him. Yet McCandless’s passion for living by his principals, for simplicity and purity, is attractive and to Krakauer, admirable, and the book does show that it may indeed be the wilderness that is the best place to find this. Thus, those who feel unsatisfied by modern life and society may see McCandless’s flight from it as worthy of emulation.
Into the Wild Questions and Answers
The Question and Answer section for Into the Wild is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
Remembering that the Latin prefix ir- means "not," use the context clues in the first paragraph of the passage to define the word irrelevant.
I do not know what specific passage you are referring to.
This chapter begins with a quote from Jack London. Who is he and what has he written?
Jack London is a famous author. He wrote The Call of the Wild, White Fang, To Build a Fire , and a variety of other books.
The purpose of ch 4 in into the wild
The purpose of chapter 4 is to show Chris's wish to shed his worldly possessions, even his identity, and make his way unencumbered by societal possessions. In October 1990, McCandless’s Datsun is found abandoned in the Mojave Desert by Bud Walsh,...
Study Guide for Into the Wild
Into the Wild study guide contains a biography of author Jon Krakauer, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
- About Into the Wild
- Into the Wild Summary
- Into the Wild Video
- Character List
Essays for Into the Wild
Into the Wild literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.
- Jim Casy and Chris McCandless: Transcendentalism Gone Wrong
- The Many Mistakes of Chris McCandless
- Fatherly Influence in Into the Wild
- Feeding by Starvation
- An Unconventional Genre: Evaluating John Krakauer as a Biographer
Lesson Plan for Into the Wild
- About the Author
- Study Objectives
- Common Core Standards
- Introduction to Into the Wild
- Relationship to Other Books
- Bringing in Technology
- Notes to the Teacher
- Related Links
- Into the Wild Bibliography
Wikipedia Entries for Into the Wild
- Introduction
Into The Wild
75 pages • 2 hours read
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Author’s Note-Chapter 3
Chapters 4-6
Chapters 7-9
Chapters 10-12
Chapters 13-15
Chapter 16-Epilogue
Key Figures
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Discussion Questions
Many Alaskans feel that McCandless brought death upon himself due to his own ignorance. After reading Into the Wild , do you agree with them?
McCandless refused gifts of food and advice throughout his travels. Why do you think he did this?
After graduating college, McCandless cut off all contact with his parents. Do you think he was justified in doing so? Or was this unnecessary for his freedom?
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- Into the Wild
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Because author Jon Krakauer presents the events of Into the Wild out of chronological order, establishing what happened when can challenge the reader. For the sake of clarity, this timeline rearranges the book's episodes in the order in which they occurred, rather than the order in which they appear in Into the Wild .
May 12, 1990: Christopher Johnson McCandless graduates from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He tells his parents that he is going to spend the summer traveling in his car, a used yellow Datsun.
June 1990: Mails his final college transcript and a brief note to his parents' home in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. McCandless's family will never hear from him again.
July 6, 1990: Arrives at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada.
July 10, 1990: Abandons his car after it is damaged by a flash flood. Loads his belongings into his backpack and sets out on foot.
July–August 1990: Hitchhikes to California's Lake Tahoe, then hikes into the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Travels to the Cascade mountains, across the lava beds of the Columbia River basin, and across the Idaho panhandle. Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob discover McCandless by the side of the road and befriend him. In Cut Bank, Montana, meets Wayne Westerberg.
August 1990: McCandless's parents drive to Atlanta looking for their son and discover that his apartment was vacated five weeks earlier.
August 10, 1990: Receives a ticket for hitchhiking in Willow Creek, California.
October 1990: McCandless's Datsun is discovered by a park ranger.
October 28, 1990: In Needles, California, reaches the Colorado River. Walks south through the desert, arriving in Topock, Arizona, where he buys a second-hand canoe.
October–November 1990: Canoes on the Colorado River, apparently traveling through Lake Havasu, the Bill Williams River, the Colorado River Indian Reservation, the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground. Sends a postcard to Wayne Westerberg at the Sioux Falls work-release facility where his friend has been incarcerated.
December 1990: The private investigator employed by McCandless's parents discovers that their son donated $24,000 to OXFAM.
December 2, 1990: Reaches the Morelos Dam and the Mexican border.
December 6, 1990: Encounters hazardous waterfalls along the Colorado River.
December 12, 1990: Realizes that he will not reach the Gulf of California traveling this route. Meets duck hunters who drive him there.
December 14–24, 1990: Pulls his canoe out of the water and sets up camp on the edge of a desolate plateau.
December 25, 1990: Seeking refuge from high winds, discovers a cave on the face of a bluff, where he stays for 10 days.
January 11, 1991: Back in his canoe, encounters a violent storm that almost drowns him.
January 16, 1991: Leaving his canoe at El Golfo de Santa Clara, starts wandering northward.
January 18, 1991: Caught by U.S. Immigration officials when he tries to slip back into the country from Mexico. Spends one night in jail.
January–February 1991: Travels to Houston and then to the Pacific coast.
February 3, 1991: Applies for an ID and a job in Los Angeles, then changes his mind and returns to the road.
February 9, 1991: Camps at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with a young German couple. Notes in his journal that he has lost over 25 pounds.
February 24, 1991: Unearths the few belongings that he buried in the sand when he abandoned his Datsun.
February 27, 1991: Buries his backpack and hitchhikes into Las Vegas.
May 10, 1991: Leaves Las Vegas.
July–August, 1991: Possibly living in coastal Oregon, sends a postcard to Jan Burres complaining about the interminable fog and rain.
October 1991: Arrives in Bullhead City, Arizona, where he works for two months at McDonald's and lives in an empty RV overseen by an old man named Charlie.
December 9, 1991: Sends a postcard to Jan Burres in Niland, California, including a map so she and boyfriend Bob can visit him in Bullhead City.
December 13, 1991: Unexpectedly appears at Burres's campsite at The Slabs campground in Niland.
January 1992: Meets Ronald Franz while hitchhiking near California's Salton Sea.
February 1992: Dropped by Franz at the San Diego waterfront. Mails Jan Burres a postcard telling her that he has been living on the streets in San Diego for a week.
March 5, 1992: Sends postcards to Burres and Franz from Seattle.
March 12, 1992: Calls Franz from Coachella, California, in the desert not far from the Salton Sea and asks Franz to pick him up.
March 13, 1992: Spends one night at Franz's house.
March 14, 1992: Driven by Franz to Grand Junction, Colorado.
March 14 (approximate) to March 28, 1992: Works at Wayne Westerberg's grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota.
March 1992: Leaves Carthage, bound for Alaska.
April 13–15, 1992: Stops at Liard Hot Springs in British Columbia, Canada, where he is stuck for two days before hitching a ride with Gaylord Stuckey in the cab of his sunflower-seed-hauling truck.
April 18, 1992: Hitchhikes north. Takes a photo of the sign that marks the official start of the Alaska Highway.
April 18–21, 1992: Reads up on edible plants at the University of Alaska's Fairbanks campus. Buys a used gun and sends postcards. Leaving the campus, hikes west.
April 22, 1992 (approximate): Pitches his tent on frozen ground not far from the Stampede Trail.
April 28, 1992: Waking down the highway, is picked up by Jim Gallien, a truck-driving electrician on his way to Anchorage. A three-hour drive brings McCandless to the Stampede Trail.
April 30, 1992: Sees Mt. McKinley.
May 1, 1992: Finds an old bus beside the Sushana River and writes "Magic Bus Day" in his journal. Decides to stay for a while, taking advantage of the bus's ". . . crude comforts."
May 5, 1992: Kills and eats a spruce grouse.
May 9, 1992: Shoots a small squirrel and writes "4th day famine" in his journal.
Mid-May, 1992: With only four hours of darkness each night, can forage for edible plants. Feasts on lingonberries and rose hips.
May 22, 1992: A crown falls off one of McCandless's molars.
May–June 1992: Regularly eats squirrel, spruce grouse, duck, goose, and porcupine.
June 9, 1992: Kills a moose and takes a photo of himself with the carcass.
June 10, 1992: Amid hordes of flies and mosquitoes, butchers the moose carcass and tries to preserve the meat.
June 14, 1992: Discovering maggots on the carcass, abandons it to the local wolves.
July 3, 1992: Prepares his backpack and sets out on the 20-mile hike back to the road.
July 5, 1992: What had been a series of frozen beaver ponds in April has become a lake. What once was an easily fordable river is now a raging torrent that McCandless cannot cross. Heads back to the bus.
July 8, 1992: Arrives back at the bus.
July 30, 1992: Writes in his journal, "EXTREMELY WEAK, FAULT OF POT. SEED. MUCH TROUBLE JUST TO STAND UP. STARVING. GREAT JEOPARDY."
August 5, 1992: Writes "DAY 100! MADE IT!" and "BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT."
August 9, 1992: Sees a bear but doesn't shoot it, kills five squirrels.
August 11, 1992: Kills and eats a ptarmigan.
August 12, 1992: Posting an S.O.S. note on the bus door, forages nearby for berries. Writes his final journal entry: "Beautiful blueberries."
August 18 or 19, 1992: Dies, apparently of starvation, in his sleeping bag in the bus along the Sushana River in Alaska.
September 1992: Hikers and hunters discover McCandless's S.O.S. note, then his body in the bus.
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Into the Wild
Jon krakauer.
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Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer , published in 1996, is a nonfiction book that tells the captivating and tragic story of Christopher McCandless . The narrative traces McCandless’s journey from his comfortable middle-class life to his ultimate adventure in the stark Alaskan wilderness. Inspired by a desire for a life of simplicity and a rejection of societal norms, McCandless, who adopts the alias Alexander Supertramp, leaves behind his possessions and sets out on a cross-country journey that ultimately ends in tragedy.
The book explores McCandless’s motivations, encounters with various people along the way, and the harsh realities he faces in the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer weaves McCandless’s story with reflections on his own experiences as a young man drawn to the challenges of nature. The narrative raises questions about the pursuit of personal freedom, the consequences of idealism, and the complexities of human nature.
Set against the backdrop of the American West and the rugged landscapes of Alaska, Into the Wild delves into themes of adventure, self-discovery, and the impossibility of true self-reliance. The book has sparked discussions about the allure of the wilderness, the search for meaning in life, and the fine line between recklessness and bravery. Into the Wild was adapted into a film in 2007, directed by Sean Penn, which further brought McCandless’s story to a wider audience.
Explore a character analysis of Christopher McCandless, the full book summary , and explanations of important quotes from Into the Wild .
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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Books / Into The Wild
Into the Wild Essay Examples
Theme of into the wild.
Into the wild is a book that centers around the story of Chris McCandless otherwise known as Alexander Supertramp, who leaves home for his dream adventure of going to Alaska and living on his own. A theme in the book is the theme of self-independence....
Into the Wild': Chris Mccandless’s Journey
Jon Krakauer’s novel, ‘Into The Wild’, depicts the story of Chris McCandless’s journey across the nation which ultimately led to his death. There are many motifs that are present in this book however. In ‘Into the Wild’ essay these hidden motifs are described. Man vs....
A Selfish Hero in into the Wild by John Krakuear
“Into the Wild” by John Krakuear is about a young man named Chris McCandless who finished high school in Virginia with outstanding grades, later Chris attend Emory University for about 4 years. In Chris’s senior year, he moved into a small apartment accumulated basic necessities...
Foolish Choices of Chris Mccandless in into the Wild by Jon Krakeur
“A fool thinks himself to be wise,but a wise man knows himself to be a fool” (william shakespeare). Into the Wild is a nonfiction book by Jon Krakeur on the life events of Chris Mccandless from when he was growing up and when he adopted...
The Character of Christopher Mccandless in John Krakauer’s into the Wild
Venturing off into nature can help find a sense of true meaning of who someone is and belonging in life. However, it is the environment nature that unfortunately takes his life. Towards the end of his life, McCandless Discovers what he never realized before. He...
A Rhetorical Analysis of into the Wild
The story of Chris McCandless has captivated the American audience for years. Though it is unknown what exactly occurred during his trip to Alaska, there is much speculation. In the search for evidence to determine the events that occurred during his journey, Jon Krakauer developed...
Into the Wild: Mccandless' Inspiring Journey
Imagine waking up one morning and wanting to throw away everything,wanting to get away from the world to actually see the world. Imagine actually living your life instead of just existing. That’s exactly what Chris McCandless— also known as Alexander Supertramp— did. Chris McCandless was...
The Central Idea of into the Wild
Throughout time, many people all over the world develop different principles and ideologies that bring joy and happiness through their lives. These principles can come from a variety of subjects and are unique to the individual. Specifically, in the book Into The Wild by Jon...
The Different Views of Christopher Mccandless's Journey
Into the Wild is a novel based on the true tales of Christopher McCandless, a wealthy young man and his journey from the east coast to the Alaskan wilderness. Many ideas have been thrown around about Chris and what made him leave everything behind. Whether...
The Similarities Between Chris Mccandndless’ and Ralph Waldo Emmerson’s Philosophies
Chris McCandndles/Alex and the Emmerson’s Self-Reliance are similar because one they both see life almost the same. Alex followed a transcendentalist philosophy. Alex got rid of his money, his social obligation, even his identity and took it among himself to remodel his life “Into the...
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About Into the Wild
January 13, 1996
Jon Krakauer
Sublime nature, music and musical instruments, ascetics, artists, and holy figures
The American Wilderness, Risk and Self-Reinvention, Arrogance, Innocence, and Ignorance, Luck, Chance, and Circumstance, Materialism and Idealism, Isolation. The question to be accepted into society and how finding oneself sometimes conflicts with being an active member of society.
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