| We are continuing our discussion
of Into the Wild this week, particularly chapters 7-9. The
following discussion questions should help guide you regarding some key
ideas in these chapters.
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In
chapter 5 we read about McCandless’s stay in Bullhead City, Arizona,
a “haphazard sprawl of subdivisions and strip malls” (39). How do
you explain that apparent contradiction between his existence here
versus elsewhere? Are there other incidents described in the book
where McCandless acts in ways that seem to contradict his ideals?
Describe them.
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Throughout the first 7 chapters, Krakauer often makes reference to
the writers and thinkers McCandless admired—Henry David Thoreau, Leo
Tolstoy, Jack London. What do you think this tells us about
McCandless?
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On
pages 65-66, Krakauer notes McCandless’s apparent lack of sexual
activity as a teenager and as a young adult. Why do you think
Krakauer bothers to point this out to us?
What more does this tell us about who McCandless was?
-
Comment on the development of the themes we identified last week.
How are additional examples of those patterns or motifs developed in
Krakauer’s narrative?
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