ANSWER KEY

1.) B

2.) A

3.) C

4.) A

5.) A

6.) C

7.) B

8.) B

9.) B

10.) C

11.) A

12.) B

13.) A

14.) C

15.) B

ESSAY QUESTIONS - BOOK REPORT TOPICS

TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION / IN-CLASS WRITING

Chapters 1-3

1. How would you describe Krakauer’s tone in this first chapter? Does he seem sympathetic toward Chris McCandless?
2. Why do you think Chris would have lied about his name and age to Jim Gallien?
3. Why would someone who was raised in a privileged manner want to hitchhike and live in the wilderness out West?

Chapters 4-7

1. How would you describe Chris McCandless after reading this section?
2. For someone who claimed to be a loner, why did Chris befriend so many people?
3. Do you believe the stories the people in this chapter tell Krakauer are true?

Chapters 8-9

1. How effective is Krakauer’s exploration of these other adventurers? Do you think Chris shared similarities with them?
2. Krakauer is not a psychologist; do you think he is overstating the effects of a strained father-son relationship on the actions of these men? Is it possible that many men have strained relations with their fathers during their early adulthoods as they attempt to establish their own manhood and Krakauer plays on this commonality to make Chris McCandless seem tied to these other men?
3. Do you think these men are foolish or brave, or can they be both?

Chapters 10-13

1. How does the McCandless family’s description of Chris differ from the others we have heard?
2. Do you think Chris’s anger towards his father was deserved? Do you think Chris’s relationship with his father mirrors the relationships the men in the last section had with their fathers?
3. Having learned that Chris was an entrepreneur and considered law school, do you think he was going through a phase when he died? If he survived do you think he would have made peace with his family and pursued a career?

Chapters 14-15

1. Why do you think Krakauer waits until the end of the book to insert his own experiences?
2. Do you think Krakauer emphasized certain aspects of the other men’s lives (such as their recklessness and difficult relationships with their fathers) because that is what he thought was most significant in his own experiences?
3. Why do you think Jon Krakauer is still alive today, while all these other men have died?

Chapters 16-Epilogue

1. After concluding the book, what is your impression of Chris McCandless?
2. Do you think Krakauer is too easy on McCandless?
3. How do you think McCandless died?

SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR TAKE-HOME ESSAYS

Chapters 1-3

Krakauer will construct this story from some of McCandless’s effects--journal entries, photographs, postcards, markings in the margins of books he read--as well as through interviews and research on men whose fates were similar to McCandless’s. Do you think these are reliable sources? Why might some sources be more given to interpretation than others? Could Krakauer have used any other sources?

Chapters 4-7

Chris told Wayne Westerberg that he wanted to sit down one day and write a book about his adventures. Pick an event from this section--such as when Chris loses his car in the flood, or is thrown into jail for not having identification-- and retell it the way you think Chris might have written it. How would Chris’s version differ from Krakauer’s version?

Chapters-8-9

Think of a person, fictional or real, who could have been included in this section. Tell a story about the person and explain what characteristics he or she shares with these men and what this person’s story might suggest about Chris McCandless’s motives.

Chapters 10-13

This section, derived from interviews with family members, presents a much different picture of Chris McCandless than we have seen so far. Make up a story about Chris and tell it from the perspective of one of “the rich kids” at Emory University who would have known Chris when he was a student there.

Chapter 14-15

Do you think an author should insert his own experience into his writing? What are some of the advantages of having someone like Jon Krakauer tell this story? What might some disadvantages be?

Chapters 16-Epilogue

Find newspaper articles, magazine articles, or television news clips that cover Chris McCandless’s story. How do they differ from Krakauer’s book? How are they similar?

Copyright ©2006 TheBestNotes.com.
TheBestNotes.com. All Rights Reserved.
Distribution without the written consent of TheBestNotes.com is strictly prohibited.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Free BookNotes Summary

Visit our partner PinkMonkey.com for more online Study Guides
Privacy Policy
All Content Copyright©TheBestNotes. All Rights Reserved.
No further distribution without written consent.
80 Users Online | This page has been viewed 1083 times
This page was last updated on 5/13/2008 2:28:55 PM