English 223

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Study Guide

Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences on a separate piece of paper. Be complete in your answers, including page numbers where you found the information.

Chapter 1

1.  What are your first impressions of Alex based on his postcard at the start of the chapter?

2.  What are Jim Gallien’s first impressions of Alex?

3.  What does Jim give Alex at the end of the ride? Why?

Chapter 2

  1. What features make the Stampede Trail difficult to navigate?
  2. What did Ken Thompson and his companions discover when they entered the Fairbanks 142 bus in September 1992?
  3. In what condition was McCandless’ body when it was found and subsequently autopsied?

Chapter 3

  1. What are Wayne Westerberg’s impressions of McCandless? How did McCandless affect Westerberg?
  2. How did McCandless make it clear that, after his college graduation, his goal was to head into the wild?
  3. How did McCandless feel about the world in which he grew up?

Chapter 4

  1. What do McCandless’ letter to Westerberg and journal entries reveal about his feelings and experiences in the southwestern part of the United States?

Chapter 5

  1. Why does it seem a contradiction that McCandless works at McDonald’s in Bullhead City?
  2. When McCandless stays at the Slabs, what kind of impression does he make on people like Jan Burres, Bob, and Tracy?

Chapter 6

  1. Explain McCandless’ relationship with Ronald Franz and the effect he had on Franz.
  2. What advice does McCandless give to Ronald Franz and how does Franz respond?

Chapter 7

  1. What kind of relationship did McCandless have with his father?
  2. Why wasn’t McCandless interested in dating?
  3. What can be learned about McCandless from his last letters to friends?

Chapters 8 and 9

  1. What is the prevailing opinion of Alaskans about McCandless’ journey into Alaska?
  2. Why did Krakauer include the stories of other adventurers (Gene Rosellini, John Waterman, Carl McCunn, Everett Ruess, etc.)?

Chapter 10

  1. What makes it difficult for Alaska State Troopers to identify McCandless’ body? How do they eventually find out it is him?

Chapter 11

  1. What interests did McCandless have in his youth that seem to foreshadow his eventual journey on the road? List at least three.

Chapter 12-13

  1. What did McCandless discover when he visited the El Segundo neighborhood where he grew up?
  2. How did McCandless’s life and attitudes change in the second half of his college career? Why?
  3. How did McCandless’s mother react to the changes in his behavior in his senior year and beyond? How did his sister react?

Chapter 14-15

25.  What comparisons does Krakauer make between his own life and McCandless’?

26.  By comparing their two stories, to what conclusion does Krakauer arrive about McCandless’ journey?

Chapter 16

  1. Once he arrived in Fairbanks, how did McCandless prepare for his “great Alaskan odyssey”? What supplies did he take?
  2. Identify a few successes and a few setbacks McCandless experienced through his early days in the wild.
  3. To what conclusion had McCandless come by July 2, 1992? What did he decide to do?

Chapter 17

  1. If McCandless had had a map, what would he have realized?
  2. What comparisons does Krakauer make between McCandless and other famous failed adventurers, Sir John Franklin and John Muir?

Chapter 18

  1. Explain the theories about how potato seeds may have caused McCandless’ demise.
  2. Which theory does Krakauer most believe? Why?

EPILOGUE

  1. How do McCandless’ parents react as they visit the bus? What emotions do they display?
  2. Why do you think Krakauer chose to end the book with this scene? What impression does the Epilogue leave of McCandless and his story?