Chapters 6 and 7

1.  Ronald Franz and McCandless establish a father-son type of relationship.  Identify one benefit or drawback (using a quote)that each gets out of the relationship.

" He also turned the tables and started lecturing the grandfatherly figure abou the shortcomings of his sedentary existence, urging the old eighty-year-old to sell most of his belongings, move out of his apartment, and live on the road. Franz took thses harangues in stirde and in fact delighted in the boy's company."

2. Before McCandless leaves for Alaska, Wayne Westerberg offers to buy him a plane ticket.  McCandless refuses, however, claiming, "flying would be cheating.  It would wreck the whole trip" (67).  Find and explain two quotse from this chapter that demonstrate whether or not McCandless actually lives by his own words.

" Said he could live for a month on nothing but twenty-five pounds of rice"(63). This shows how all McCandless mostly ate rice, and that that was all he needed.

"Borah drove him to the Kmart in Mitchell to shopfor some last pieces of gear"(67). I know Alex needed gear to survive, but he went out and bought a bunch of stuff he probably could have gotten from his friends.

*ADDITIONAL TOPICS FOR WRITING: "So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.  The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure" (57).

This quote is saying how even when some people need to take risks, they are afraid to so they don't. They are afraid of leaving that sense of security and the possibility they may not get it back. It is also saying how important the passion for adventure is.

Chapters 4 and 5

1.  Chapter 4 ends with the following quote from McCandless' journal: "It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found" (37).  Identify an experience from this chapter and explain what "meaning" you think Alex has found.  Use a quote to support your explanation.

"McCandless was exhilarated:  He saw the flash flood as an opportunity to shed unnecessary baggage....He buried his Winchester deer-hunting rifle and a few other possesions that he might want to recover....he arranged all his paper currency in a pile on the sand- and put a match to it"(29).

Alex loved hitchhiking and living off of the land. He didn't need money or a car to survive. After burying his belongings and burning his money, he felt triumphant.

2.  What does "Plastic People" in chapter 5 mean?  What are two things McCandless considered plastic?  Do you agree with his assessment?  Support your answer with a quote.

By "plastic people", Alex means they spend every day getting up, going to work, and going home. No adventure. 2 things he considered plastic were punching a clock and doing whatever they were told to do. I do agree that some people are plastic. Do whatever is told of them and don't stand up for themselves."McCandless explained to Burres that he'd grown tired of Bullhead, tired of punching a clock, tired of the "plastic people" he worked with, and decided to get the hell out of town"(43).

*ADDITIONAL TOPICS FOR WRITING: McCandless' definition of living life to its fullest.

Living life to the fullest for McCandless was living off of the land. He spent as little money as possible and accepted few items offered to him by friends. He could go wherever he wanted to and as long as he wanted. He didn't have the weight of his parents consent on him. To McCandless, everyone who didn't do what he did wasn't living their lives to the fullest.

Chapters 1-3

1. After reading chapter 1, use two adjectives to describe your impressions of Chris McCandless (Alex).  Explain and support each adjective with a specific quote from the chapter.

a.Adventurous- Alex frequently shows how adventurous he is. " A little later Alex pulled out his crude map and pointed to a dashed red line that intersected the road near the coal-mining town of Healy. It represented a route called the Stampede Trail. Seldom traveled, it isn't even marked on most road maps of Alaska. (Krakauer 5)

b.Determined- Gallien tried to talk Alex out of going into the Alaska Bush, but he wouldn't change his mind. "He was determined. Rea gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn't wait to head out there and get started"(6).

2. After graduating college, McCandless begins, "an epic journey that would change everything" (22).  He saw his time in college as "an absurd and onerous duty" (22).  In heading west he felt freed "from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess" (22).  Using examples from the reading explain what he meant by this.  Do you agree with his motivation for leaving?

a. As soon as Alex graduates form college, he leaves. Now that he has finished all of his schooling and everything his parents expected of him, he can do what he wants. He was tired of being told what to do and how to do it his whole life. I kind of agree with him leaving. After college, I want to travel a little bit. I don't want to cut off communication with my parents though.

 *ADDITIONAL TOPICS FOR WRITING: McCanless' family relationships and upbringing

Chris was raised in Annandale, Virginia. His father, Walt, was an aerospace engineer who designed advanced radar systems for space shuttles for NASA. Chris was very close to his younger, Carine, and had 6 half-brothers and sisters. Chris loved his parents, but didn't like how they tried to buy his respect. He was very offended when his parents tried to but him a new car, when the one he had was fine. After that, he never accepted gifts from his parents again.