Into the Wild: People and Places
What name does Chris McCandless give himself after leaving his old life behind?
Alexander Supertramp
What does Chris donate before beginning his travels?
His remaining savings/about 24k to OXFAM
Complete Emerson's famous command: "Trust __________."
thyself
According to Emerson, who naturally demonstrates noncomformity: children or adults?
Children
In "the virtue in most request is conformity," what does conformity mean?
Following accepted beliefs, customs, or behavior rather than thinking independently
What abandoned object becomes Chris's home in Alaska?
The abandoned bus/Bus 142
What major possession does Chris abandon after it is damaged by a flash flood?
Hid Datsun
According to Emerson, what two things are "ignorance" and "suicide?"
Envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide
Emerson says society is a "joint-stick company." What does he suggest people trade away in exchange for security?
Liberty/individual freedom and self-culture
In the phrase "latent conviction," what does latent mean?
Hidden; present but not yet expressed
Who gives Chris work in Carthage, South Dakota, and becomes one of his closest friends?
Wayne Westerberg
What strained family relationship does Krakauer gradually reveal as important to Chris's decision to leave?
His relationship with his father, Walt, and his anger over his father's secrecy/hypocrisy
What does Emerson call the "hobgoblin of little minds?"
A foolish consistency
Emerson compares the voyage of a ship to what kind of line, suggesting an inconsistent life can still have an overall direction?
A zigzag line/series of tacks
Emerson describes conventional people as "timorous." What does timorous mean?
Fearful; timid
Who is the elderly man Chris befriends in California and encourages to change his life?
Ron Franz
Chris McCandless relies repeatedly on other people for work, transportation, food, and companionship. What tension in his character does this reveal?
He wants radical independence, but still depends on human relationships and community. His actions reveal a contradiction between his ideal of self-sufficiency and his actual dependence on others.
Emerson says, "Whoso would be a man must be a ________."
Nonconformist
Why does Emerson admire the rose?
It exists completely in the present and does not compare itself with the past or future.
In "our reading is mendicant and sycophantic," what does sycophantic mean?
Excessively flattering, deferential
What dangerous obstacle prevents Chris from simply walking back out of the Alaskan wilderness when he attempts to leave?
The Teklanika River, swollen by summer runoff
Give one important way Krakauer complicates the idea that Chris was simply an arrogant or foolish young man.
Krakauer compares Chris to himself and other adventurers, shows his intelligence and preparation as well as his mistakes; emphasizes idealism rather than a simple death wish
Explain Emerson's claim: "To be great is to be misunderstood."
Great people must trust their present convictions even when others reject or misunderstand them
Chris McCandless could almost be used as a test case for Emerson's philosophy. Identify one Emersonian ideal Chris follows and one way his story might challenge Emerson's argument.
Chris embodies nonconformity, self-trust, independence, rejection of materialism, and living according to private conviction, but his death raises questions about the limits of radical self-reliance and rejecting others' knowledge/help
Emerson writes that "every thing" besides the individual is "titular and ephemeral." What do both words mean in this context?
Titular = existing mainly in name/title or possessing only nominal authority; ephemeral = temporary, short-lived