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Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer
an intro to Alaska
Mrs. Gregory
Spring 2008
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Where in the world is Alaska?
Alaska!!
We’re down heresomewhere
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Size of Alaska• Twice the size of Texas
• 29 volcanoes
• 55 miles east of Russia
• Over ½ of the world’sglaciers
• Record low temperature:-78 degrees F!
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Other Facts• Alaska officially became the 49th
state on January 3, 1959.
• Alaska's most important revenuesource is the oil and natural gasindustry.
• Alaska accounts for 25% of the oilproduced in the United States.
• The state of Rhode Island could fitinto Alaska 425 times.
• Juneau is the only capital city in theUnited States accessible only by boator plane.
• Mt. McKinley is highest point in North America
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Jon Krakauer
• Experienced mountain climber (May 1996 reached top of Mt. Everest)
• Writes for Outside magazine
• This novel was first an article in Outside magazine• One of 3 finalists in 1998 for the Pulitzer in General Non-
Fiction
• 1997: Into Thin Air (chronicles his Mt. Everest climb)• 2003: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent
Faith (examines a murder case that stemmed from
Mormon fundamentalism)
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Two Essential Questions
• What is “the wilderness”?• How do you define the “good life”?
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Define “wilderness” • “How would you explain to someone what a wilderness
is? It is a place where you can look in all directions andsee no roads or buildings, where only animals live. It iswhere there is enough room for a caribou herd to roam
freely and for wolves to hunt, without humaninterference” (National Park Service).
• “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man
and his own works dominate the landscape, is herebyrecognized as an area where the earth and itscommunity of life are untrammeled by man, where man
himself is a visitor who does not remain” (wildnerness.net).
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More Wilderness…• “An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area
of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character andinfluence, without permanent improvements or human habitation,which is protected and managed so as to preserve its naturalconditions and which
• (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces
of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable;• (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and
unconfined type of recreation;• (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as
to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpairedcondition; and
• (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” (wilderness.net).
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However…
• Consider this: wilderness is simplyanywhere you do not feel the effects of society
• Not everything in nature is “good”:consider earthquakes, hurricanes,
tsunamis, etc.
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In the Gale Contemporary Authors Online (2004),it says: In 1992, editors at Outside askedKrakauer to write about the life and death of Christopher McCandless, a twenty-four-year-old
honors graduate who, prompted by the writingsof Leo Tolstoy, decided to give away all hispossessions and go to the wilderness to
experience transcendence. McCandless renamedhimself Alex Supertramp and wandered throughthe American West, eventually reaching Alaska.Near Alaska's Denali National Park, he hiked into
the bush, planning to live off the land. Hecarried with him only a .22 shotgun, a bag of rice, and some books. Four months later, his
body was found: he had starved to death. Nearthe body was a desperate note in which hebegged to be saved.
Intro to the novel…
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What is the “good life”?
Chris McCandless saw the “good life” in simple black and whiteterms: wilderness versus society, purity versus corruption.
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Questions to ask yourself
• What is your reaction to ayoung man who gave up his
worldly possessions and hisfamily to go into the wild?
• Is it ever possible to
completely live outside of society?
• What are the dangers of
single-mindedly reveringnature?
• Why is Chris McCandless’s
goal a noble one even if youdon’t agree with him?
McCandless rightbefore he died
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Works Cited• “Alaska Facts and Trivia.” 50 States.com. 9 May 2008.
http://www.50states.com/facts/alaska.htm• “Definition of Wilderness.” Wildnerness Institute. 18 May 2008.
http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=legisAct#2
• “For Teachers.” National Park Service. 18 May 2008.http://www.nps.gov/dena/forteachers/upload/Ed%20Packet%20%28revised%202006%29.pdf .
