For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago and beyond, all the way to the beginning over a decade and a half ago. It will take a while. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions on a weekly basis. Here are the questions from a 2009 title, Into the Wild. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
Summary:
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.
Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.
Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life. Admitting an interest that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the dries and desires that propelled McCandless. Digging deeply, he takes an inherently compelling mystery and unravels the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons.
When McCandless's innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naivete, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandless's uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity , and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding—and not an ounce of sentimentality. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking, Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.
--Publisher's Description
Discussion Questions
Many readers find it hard to have sympathy for young McCandless: his stubborn idealism and lack of preparedness, as someone has pointed out, amount to arrogance. Yet to a one, critics point to Krakauer's power as a writer to evoke sympathy for the young man. Where do you stand?
To what extent does Krakauer's own history as a young rebellious risk-taker color his judgment of McCandless? Or does Krakauer's own experience serve to enlighten his—and your— understanding of Chris?
Krakauer said that when he was young, “personal mortality – the idea of (his) own death – was still largely outside of (his) conceptual grasp” (151 & 155). What does this mean? Do you think it was outside of Chris’s grasp?
In a letter to Ronald Franz, McCandless wrote, “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” (56). What did he mean? Was Chris right? Why or why not?
What kind of “kid, with so much compassion, could cause his parents so much pain” (104)? Why are relationships between parents and children so rocky at times? Did Chris treat his family worse than other teenagers treat their parents?
“God it is great to be alive. Thank you. Thank you,” said Chris about his life on the road (37). Have you ever experienced such joy in life? Was Chris’ journey a spiritual one?
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” (117). Chris highlighted this passage and wrote “truth” above it. What do you think Thoreau meant by “truth”? Why do you think McCandless identified with this quote?
What are your impressions of Chris? Was he noble? Reckless? Selfish? Courageous? A pilgrim (85)?
What stylistic choices are made by Jon Krakauer to bring together different genres in this work?
What are the differing opinions that readers hold about Chris McCandless as a person after reading this novel?
What is the relationship between Chris/Alex and the strangers he meets during his journey?
What are the ways in which Krakauer resonates with Chris and how does that affect the work?
What is the importance of maps in Into the Wild?
What do you think was meant by Chris stating "It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found."?
On balance, do you believe McCandless was a reckless greenhorn or a well-prepared wilderness adventurer? Why?
Do you believe McCandless's decision to leave his family without a word was justified? Why or why not?
Author Krakauer describes the "pornographic" fascination which the photograph of a mountain held for him in his youth. What did he mean by this?
Questions by MiniBookBytes.blogspot.com
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