“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.” - Jon Krakauer

I. Who was Chris McCandless?

A. Born February 12, 1968 B. At eight years old, his family moved to an affluent suburb of

Washington, D.C. (Annandale, Virginia) C. Father (Walt) worked for NASA and Mother (Billie) worked as a

secretary in the same office as Walt D. Chris has one full sister name Carine; Chris has other half-

siblings in California from Walt’s first marriage E. Walt had an affair during his first marriage with Billie; Chris and

Carine were actually born before Walt and Billie were married.

II. College Years A. Graduated from Emory University in Atlanta,

Georgia in 1990 B. He carried contempt for the empty materialism

of American society C. During his junior year of college, he denied

acceptance in an honors society because he believed honors and titles were irrelevant

D. Strongly influenced by Jack London, Leo Tolstoy, W.H. Davies, and Henry David Thoreau

E. Often proclaimed his desire to separate from society in order to live in a thoreauvian period of solitary contemplation

III. Traveling

A. Adopted the new name “Alexander Supertramp” (Notably, there is a connection of this nickname to W.H. Davies’ book The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp)

B. After leaving Emory in 1990, he successfully traveled for two years to Arizona, California, South Dakota, and he paddled a canoe down stretches of the Colorado River to the Gulf of California

C. During this part of his travels, he met various people that fed and aided him. He worked various jobs to earn money for survival.

IV. Alaska Odyseey

A. In April 1992, he hitchhiked to Fairbanks, Alaska

B. The last person to see him alive was Jim Gallien, who plays himself in the film version of Into the Wild.

C. Gallien has been documented various times by 20/20 and other news broadcasts. He repeatedly states he was concerned for “Alex” who obviously was not prepared to survive in the Alaska bush.

D. “Alex” dreamed of his “Alaskan Odyseey” where he would live off the land and keep a journal describing the physical and spiritual progress as he faced various conflicts in nature

V. Magic Bus

A. Discovered near the Stampede Trail B. Originally used as a hunting shelter near Denali

National Park C. “Alex” only brought with him a 10-pound bag of rice,

a book about plant life, various books for reading, a Remington semi-automatic rifle and some ammunition, and various pieces of camping equipment

D. He poached porcupines and birds; he killed a moose once (This is not documented accurately in the film.)

E. Lived on the bus until his death for 113 days; journal only captures his life for 112 days.

VI. Journal

A. Entries range from ecstatic to depressing to horrific

B. “Alex” attempted to leave one time, but found it impossible because the trail back was blocked by the Teklanika River, which was almost dried out when he had crossed it earlier in his journey.

C. “Alex” did not know it, but there was a hand-operated tram for hunters that crossed the river ¼ mile away from where he fell in – he was unaware of this because he didn’t bring any maps with him.

VII. Death

A. “Alex” was found dead in his sleeping bag inside the Magic Bus on September 6, 1992

B. He weighed an estimated 67 pounds

C. He had only been dead for about two weeks before hikers found him accidentally.

D. His official cause of death was starvation, although there is continued speculation that he died of eating poisonous berries.

VIII. Jon Krakauer

A. Author of Into the Wild B. The Magic Bus is now considered a tourist

destination C. Sean Penn directed the major motion picture in

2007 D. Krakauer has always defended McCandless as

being an explorer, whereas many other critics claim McCandless was arrogant.

E. Krakauer draws parallels between his own life and that of McCandless.

• Letter Chris left for hikers in the final days of his life

• Image courtesy of ABC 20/20

“Alex” and the Porcupine Image courtesy of ABC 20/20

Brink of Death

Image courtesy of ABC 20/20

Chapter One Vocabulary • asceticism – existence stripped bare of any

luxury or indulgence

• divergent – going in different directions

• enigma – a mystery; something that is difficult to understand or explain

• fulminated – ranted; criticized in an energetic way

• moral rigor – extreme attention to ethical questions and shadings

• muskeg – boggy areas, especially those where peat is formed

• renunciation – turning away from or against

• shards – broken pieces

• transcendent – beyond the bounds of normal experience

• unsullied – pure, clean

Chapter Two Vocabulary • amalgam – a mix

• anomaly – an exception to the standard or norm

• antimony – a metal found in ore that is used in metallic alloys and medici

• contumacious – stubborn, especially stubbornly disobedient

• cordillera – a string of parallel mountain ranges

• desolation – barrenness; the lack of growth or health

• escarpments – a series of long, high rocky ridges

• glacial till – mixed soils and rocks carried by a glacier’s movement

• ominous – warning of danger

• oxidized – combined chemically with oxygen

• ramparts – rocky supports (in this case, supporting ridges or foothills)

• subcutaneous – under the skin; internal