Go back
through the reading and connect details in the text to essential questions
below. Write your comment below the question you are
choosing.
In your comment,
1) identify the textual detail -- either a quote or a paraphrase of an incident from the book.
2) explain how that detail connects to the question you are responding to -- what insight into the question does analysis of that piece of text provide.
DO ONE COMMENT FOR CHAP 1-3
DO TWO COMMENTS FOR CHAP 4-7
In your comment,
1) identify the textual detail -- either a quote or a paraphrase of an incident from the book.
2) explain how that detail connects to the question you are responding to -- what insight into the question does analysis of that piece of text provide.
DO ONE COMMENT FOR CHAP 1-3
DO TWO COMMENTS FOR CHAP 4-7
WHO IS CHRIS McCANDLESS?
ReplyDeleteWHAT DOES THE WRITER WANT US TO THINK ABOUT HIM AND HIS CHOICES? WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT HIM?
WHAT IS ACCOMPLISHED BY HIS JOURNEY?
WHAT MEANING CAN WE TAKE AWAY FROM HIS STORY?
On page 18, Wayne Westerberg describes how alex was such a hard worker. "Didn't matter what it was, he'd do it: hard physical labor... It was almost like a moral thing for him(18)" This describes what kind of a person Chris or Alex is. No matter what the task was he would do it. He took everything to heart and he never showed unwillingness. It takes strength to do what Chris did, especially with the attitude he had. He was very ignorant and did not want any help in the beginning of his trip. On page 7 it shows how the truck driver offered so many things to Chris and he denied it all. Chris is very strong-willed and focused.
DeleteRebecca Boodhoo
Deletewho is Chris McCandless?
Chris McCandelss is a very independent person. He wants to live his life how he thinks it should be not how anyone tells him to. He is aware of what it may be like to be alone in the wilderness but he wants to be one with nature. I think he is very courageous and brave. On pages 6 and 7 he is talking to Gallien and he makes it very clear that he is positive he can handle whatever happens on his own and that he is not afraid of \what may happen. He also makes it clear that he wants to completely indulge into the wilderness he doesnt want anything to hold him back and keep him in the civilized world.
Question: Who is Chris McCandless?
DeleteChris started off as a very hard working individual. He was very smart, and did excellent in school. His parents had great jobs and were very proud of their son. The main question is why didn't he want to continue with his majors in history and anthropology? His grade point average definatley refelected him in a postitve way. Chris is a confusing character because he wanted to drop everything and start fresh in the world. Not many people now a days drop everything they have learned and succeed into something completley different. No one really knows who he is. He wants to strive on his own and be responsible for himself. This made his family and friends very worried because he wasn't very descriptive at all. On page 21 he says,"I think I am going to disappear for awhile." He didn't want anyone to know where he was going or how to find him. This gave everyone a different perspective of him now.They thought he was going to use his smart intelligence in the world and go farther, but now everyone is puzzled by his actions. No one can really tell why or how he made this change, but I think he's trying to do it to get a new look on life and the postitives\negatives to being different.
Question : who is Chris McCanless -ayia abdelmagid
DeleteChris McCandless was a very intelligent person and also very intense.Chris had everything he ever wanted in his life, but walked out of it. Left his family, his school, his friends, gave all his money to charity. Chris left everything he had and just walked out, changed his name to Alex and abandoned his car. Chris didn't want to have anything to do with society. On page 6, a man named Gallien drove Chris up to the icy summits of the highest mountain range in North America, Chris didn't have any money so he insisted on giving Gallian his watch for driving him around. Gaillien wouldn't accept the watch, but Chris told him if he did not take the watch he would just throw it out, because he doesn't want to know what time it is, doesn't want to know what day it is or where he is. Chris McCandless was very stubborn, and also intense. On page 18, Westerberg, another guy that Chris met, said he was a very hard worker. If Chris started a job he had to finish it, it was like a moral thing for him.Chris McCandless was also a thinker, On page 18 it says " i think part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tired too hard to make sense of the world...." Chris was his own person, a very bright person.
Sahar Shakeel
DeleteDuring his journey, Chris was able to inspire and impress many different people about his ideas and beliefs. When he met Ronald Franz, Chris advised him to “...sell most of his belongings, move out of his apartment, and live on the road.” (Krakauer 51). So Franz followed Chris’ advice and camped outside where Chris used to camp. Franz looked at Chris as a son because he had no other family in his life, so when Chris came, he realized he was very lonely. He even wanted to adopt Chris as a grandson. Franz was very distraught when he heard about Chris’ death, as if he just lost his son for the second time. Chris McCandless was someone more to Franz, to him, he was a son. Chris was able to inspire others to live like he does and “...discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover.” (Krakauer 57). I think because of Chris’ choices, they make other people feel inspired to do what he does, to live the way they choose to.
Rachel Walsh
DeleteChris McCandless is an individual who does not follow what society wants him to do. He has his own guidelines for his life and no one can change that. When Chris worked at McDonald’s to gain money for his trip to Alaska, he was told that he had to wear socks and shoes to work. He needed the money, so he obeyed. However he hated socks and never wore them, society was forcing him to do so. As soon as the shift was over, “the first thing he would do is peel those socks off. I mean the very first thing. Kind of like a statement, to let us know we didn't own him”(40). This is exactly the kind of person he is. If Chris did not need the money so bad, he would have never complied and would have quit. He is the kind of person that follows his own rules and morals for life. He likes his lifestyle choices and does not want anybody to change them. When he took the socks off, it showed his freedom and the giving back of his morals and rules. I think he tells the reader a valuable lesson, stick to our own morals and rules and do not conform to what others what you to be; be yourself and express yourself. He is the kind of guy we should look up to and value. Unlike the rest of society, he does not change with the opinions and rules of others. He is a legacy and we should respect that.
Zeynep Balto
DeleteChris McCandless is a guy that knows what to do by himself, he has his own rules in his life he doesn't usually care the rules that against him. He was always so calm. "I'll be fine with what I've got" page 6. he doesn't need anything from other people he was happy with what he has got. Westerberg said "Alex was the hardest worker I've everseen rather than other hitchhikers. Don't matter what it was he would do it. he never quit in the middle of something. page 18. He was knew what he was doing. he was stubborn, adventures and intelligent.
Zeynep Balto
DeleteChris has also another characteristic ways; He was a big eater. Never left any food on his plate. He was a good cook. He didn't get along with his family, but he never said much about any of them. He struck as much older than his own age. Everything that people said to him, he'd demand to know more about what they meant, about why they thought that way. he was hungry to learn about things. "He was the sort of person who insisted on living out his beliefs". When he made up his mind about something, there was no changing it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteRachel Walsh
DeleteChris McCandless is a go getter and wants to live that best life he possibly can. He ran away from his parents and never talked to them again because, “his father’s moral shortcomings, the hypocrisy of his parents lifestyle, the tyranny of their conditional love...their behavior was so irrational, so oppressive, disrespectful and insulting”(64). He did not want to be held back from his potential that he saw in himself and his parents did not. He found the power and courage to break free from his parents and live a life on his own. Most kids come right back or do not have the guts to do it because they would not know how to survive. Chris was no scared, in fact he was happy. He sets an example for all of us to follow, follow your dreams and persevere. This is a big message he sends to the readers. If you follow your dreams, you can live a much better, more successful life. The writer obviously wanted us to think of Chris as a hard worker and courageous man that will do anything that he wants to do in life. If he was held down by his parents, he would have never lived a successful and happy life like he did. His choice of moving away from his parents was a great decision by Chris. It allowed him to reach his full potential and become more out outgoing.When Chris is not happy, he simply moves on to something else; that is his lifestyle and this quote definitely explains that.
Taylor Nielsen
DeleteChris McCandless is a unique man. He is independent and hardworking; he never gives up no matter what. Chris is working hard to make his way to Alaska. "He needed to buy a pile of new gear; he explained, because he was going to Alaska" (62). Chris picks up multiple jobs along his journey to make enough money to make it to Alaska. He needs to money for supplies to help him survive, and getting a job was his only option. He runs into problems along the way but that never stopped him. He keeps going and going and going. This shows that Chris McCandless is a determined man and will do anything he can to achieve happiness.
On page 31 James Joyce wrote about his first impressions of Chris's character. James wrote,"He was unheeding, happy- wild heart of life," He describes Chis as a bright person, a person who was full of life, as well as a hard worker.
DeleteAndrew Canavan
DeleteQuestion: Who is Chris McCandless?
I think Chris was a guy who made his own rules but didn't always make good decisions. An example of this is when he decided to take his canoe into mexico. He didn't think about the potential dangers of this and this left me wondering why he decided to do something so dangerous. Another example is that he only carried a small amount of food to alaska. He didn't think about his lack of experience in that environment or how hard it is to hunt and kill animals. This leads me to believe that he had good intentions of finding a better life but he took too many risks.
Angelo C.
DeleteChris McCandless is a person who was fed up with everyone living their lives the same way. His bad relationship with his parents push him over the edge and drives him to flee his home. The author portrays him as a catalyst who frees all of those he encounters from the stigmas and guilt that society puts on each other and themselves. I believe that we are split on our views of him. I think that some people think that he went way too far and was asking to get himself killed, and others think that he was living his dream in searching for a new way of life.
In Chapters 4-7, Chris Mcandless changed the way he thought of people, and how others felt towards him. He finally met a friend, Ron Franz. They both taught each other some life lessons and really connected to each other during their journey. When Ron found out that Chris had died, he was absolutely devastated and turned to bad things because of being in such a state of depression. Chris really made an impact on Ron, which he hadn't felt this close to someone since his son had passed. When Chris had left Ron to continue his journey, he wrote him a long and dedicated letter that really said a lot about how Chris really cares and wants the best for Franz. This type of relationship between the two of them is more than just a friendship, they are family because they don't have anyone they can really relate to any more besides each other. Chris changed his personality towards people since the beginning of the book because when he wrote the letter on page 56, he said, “Ron, I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times we spent together.” All the times that Chris had to hitchhike and gets rides, he never connected to anyone this much. He accepted Ron and learned from him. Chris is learning that he may need help once in awhile and sometimes it is okay to yes to things like this.
DeleteEvan Goodspeed
DeleteOn page 67 Mrs. Westerberg said that " Alex struck me as much older than twenty-four. Everything I said, he'd demand to know more about what I meant, about why I thought this way or that. He was hungry to learn about things. Unlike most of us, he was the sort of person who insisted on living out his beliefs." This tells us more about Chris McCandless, that he much seem much older than he really is. This quote also implies that he want to learn way people make the chooses that they make. It also tells us that he insisted on living out his beliefs and that could be one of the reasons why he went into the wild.
Carissa Jesmain
DeleteWho is Chris McCandless?
Chris McCandless is a young boy who doesn’t follow the rules of society and plans to live his life to the fullest. An example of this in the book is on page 37 when Chris writes a journal entry saying,
“It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive!” This quote shows me that Chris doesn’t care about the material things like a camera or even a car he just feels it’s great to be living the life he feels he was supposed to live.
Radine Anne Nieva
DeleteWho is Chris McCandless?
When Gallien meet Chris McCandless as Alex, he describe him as a hard worker person and a well educated man. As they talk to each other, Gallien recognize how determine Alex handle his journey on his own. That he is brave and satisfy on what he have. He is living as an individual away from the people who knows nothing but power. That he is not holding back to begin his journey and decided to live in the wild. Live in his own way that nobody can stop him from what he wanted to do. Leaving behind his friends and families thinking that his friends and families are worried about him that they doesn’t have any clue where he is. And leaving his real identity to a new identity.
Who is Chris McCandless?
DeleteChris McCandless is a man who doesn't do what other people do, he goes on long odysseys that most people would never think of doing, he gives all his money away and decides to live without it and go where he wants to. Many people wouldn’t even think about traveling by themselves around the country, even if they had money they still wouldn’t do it. Chris isn’t like other people though. He does things on impulses, He canoed all the way to Mexico just because he saw a canoe on the side of the road for sale and thought it would be fun to go on a trip.
Radine Anne Nieva
DeleteWho is Chris McCandless?
Chris McCandless is a person who wants to be free from material possession and a person who goes in and out to the people he met during his journey to Alaska. During his journey, he met a lot of people who treat him like their son. Chris never depend on others. He worked hard and never complained about his work. He also never accepted any money from the people he met. Ever since he is in his high school days he is very independent. He bought his car with his own money and deciding that he will also pay his tuition fee in college but his parents insisted to pay his tuition fee. Even though Chris McCandless never been a social person, he still communicate to Westerberg, Burres, and Franz by sending a postcard to them letting them know that he is on his journey to Alaska and his plans. He open up to this people his feelings about his hatred to his parents and telling stories about his sister. He might be the person who says goodbye to them but return to them and accept his with big arms. For me, even though he is a very independent person he still go back to the people he communicate with. Because Chris thinks that this people can understand him. No matter what is his situation they believe that one day Chris will go back to them and tell them more about his.
Whos is Chris?
DeleteI believe that Chris was someone who wanted to do only the things in life that makes him happy. He was not like everyone else in society. He was a nonconformist. Jon Krakauer wanted us to know that Chris was not someone who follows the rules. Jim Gallien was one of the few people who saw Chris for what he was. Gallien thought of Chris as an individual, he thought of him as someone who opposed the normal. He explained, “There was just no talking the guy out of it…he was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn’t wait to head out there and get started.” (pg 6).I agree with Gallien when he says Chris was excited. Gallien was very concerned for Chris because he saw and understood the potential dangers. Chris was very brave and independent when it came to doing what he wanted. There was no stopping him when he put his mind into what he wanted.
Who is Chris? Chap. 4-7
DeleteChris McCandless died on what he explained as his own oddessey. Burres explains, “I thought Alex had lost his mind when he told us about his ‘great Alaskan odyssey,’ as he called it. But he was really excited about it. Couldn’t stop talking about the trip (krakauer 45)”. Chris really looked forward to and was excited for his trip. He wanted this to be his last adventure before settling down, but that never happened. People who knew Chris said that he wouldn’t stop till he knew the answer to something. I think that persistence and curiosity is what drove him to go on his crazy and irrational journey to Alaska. Chris was always looking for something new and exhilirating.
WHAT MEANING DOES THE "WILD" HOLD FOR CHRIS? FOR KRAKAUER? FOR US? FOR AMERICA?
ReplyDeleteTaylor Nielsen
DeleteThe wild is where Chris wants to live his life. He wants to experience life on his own with no one’s help. Gallien said to Chris, "I said the hunting wasn't easy where he was going, that he could go days without killing any game...he had an answer for everything I threw at him" (page 6). The wild holds life for Chris. He is not worried about surviving right now. He doesn't know how he is going to hunt for food; all he cares about is living his life in the wild. He isn't concerned about how he will survive, he is careless. Chris' future is in the wild, with no one else but nature around him. For America the wild is mysterious. Who knows what is really out in the wild? You will never know unless you go out there and experience it yourself. There’s nothing out in the wild but animals and nature to survive off of, which Chris is confident in doing.
Evan Goodspeed
DeleteWhat is the wild for Chris? I think a good quote from the book that fits his is "It should not be denied...that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our mind with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west."[page 15]
The wild for is the ability to be free from every thing, to not have family problems and to not worry about the government. The wild is his way to escape every thing and live the life that he wants and if thats in the wild for Chris than the wild Chris will go. And thats what he did. He left behind every thing he every had be it money, a house, his car or even his own family. The wild for America is not much I think sence we explored a lot of the world already. The wild for America is so much small than it is for Chris. Chris is just one person while America is at lest a billion.
Sahar Shakeel
DeleteThe wild was a chance for Chris to completely change his life and be who he wishes to be. On page 23, it said “...he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he would be free to wallow in unfiltered experience. To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless, he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny.”(Krakauer 23). This tells us that Chris wanted to live differently from before to “master his own destiny”. Chris was very successful with great grades in school, and had money that his parents thought he would use for Chris’s education. But when Chris donated all that money to charity, they realized they had misread Chris. Chris was unhappy with his life before and with his parents, he felt different and that he did not quite belong. He did not wanted someone else to choose what his destiny should be and he just really wanted to choose it for his own. So he goes goes off into the wild, where Chris would make his own choices in life without having someone else choose it for him.
Sahar Shakeel
DeleteThe wild is a place where new discoveries are made every corner. On page 57, Chris wrote a letter asking Franz to live out in the wild and “...discover all the wondrous things that God has placed around us to discover.”. What Chris meant here was that he wishes to see more people to get out of their homes and to “discover” something new in the wild. Since he sees society as a routine, people doing the same thing day after day, he wishes to change that by showing people the wild. To Chris, it was a place where every Americans should go to look and discover something new because many people might die, not truly understanding that they could had done something more to their life.
Jacob Cornish
DeleteThe wild treats Chris as a place where he can live with peace and serenity. It makes him feel like he doesnt need anything else in the world to make him happy. He proves this on page 29 when "Chris burns all his money as a gesture that would make Thoreau and Tolstoy proud." Doing this really shows how Chris didnt need anything other the essentials of life and the the wild around him. He also not only ditches his money, but he shows even more courage as he buries his hunting rifle. The wild really serves as a symbol of freedom and also trancedentalism. Which is why the gesture of burning his money and walking into the wild would make Thereau and Tolstoy proud
In to the wild means being adventurous for Chris, its being able to explore whats out there and not be tied up in society. On page 57, Chris wrote a letter to Franz about living his life and not be tied down about what had happen to his wife and his only child. On page 57 Chris wrote, " Don't settle down and sit in once place. move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.... it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize you life and move into an entirely new realm of experience." what Chris is saying by this is that don't wait for the day to just end, do something with your life, go live wild and see what nature has in stored. what Chris also was saying to Ron is that he's still young he has the rest of his life ahead of him, why not explore the world. On the same page Chris mentions the great canyon and how every American should go see it.
DeleteAndrew Canavan
DeleteTo Chris, the wild means a place where he can live purely and simply. This is shown by his obsession with getting to Alaska. He thinks Alaska will solve all his problems because there are no people or distractions there. For Krakauer, the wild means a dangerous place where people go to prove themselves. For us, I think the wild can mean different things to different people. People who have never experienced it might find it terrifying while those who have experienced it might find it ordinary. For America the wild is precious. With so little wilderness left, the national parks are some of the only places where people can get a sense of what the wild is like.
Carissa Jesmain
DeleteFor Chris McCandless the wild is a symbol to live his life the way he wants without any expectations from anyone else. I believe this is why in the book when people would try to get close to Chris he would push them away. For example on page 55 it explained how Chris reacted when Franz asked him to become his grandson and how he avoided the question by running away before Franz could stop him. It also says on page 55, “He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. He’d successfully kept Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him.” This tells me that Chris left home and went into the wild because it meant that there would be no expectations of him by anyone but himself. What he didn’t expect was to meet people along the way who cared for him and thought he was great the way he was. This also tells me that he thinks that if he gets close to anyone they would try to change him like his father did.
Tucker Sheely
DeleteTo Chris, in the beginning the wild holds a place of comfort and as well as a place where he can get away from it all and be at peace with himself. He travels to Alaska thinking that he will be able to find himself and be free from all the psychological pains of the world. He discovers when he goes into the wild, that he actually will have to fight for his life, while dealing with hunger, the cold, and being alone for so long without human contact. Chris Is not prepared for what he faces in the wild and he suffers the ultimate consequence
Radine Anne Nieva
DeleteWhat meaning does the “wild” hold for Chris? For America?
The “wild” is where Chris McCandless believe that living into the wild will set him free. Gaining freedom and away from the people who is “plastic” as he viewed in chapter 5. He thinks that going to Alaska will set him free where he can do whatever he wants. That if he goes there, he can leave all his worries and his hatred to his parents. I think Chris understand the consequences if he go to the Alaska and live into the wild. That he is prepared to die without worries and hatred. Even though I don’t have any idea about what the Americans think of the “wild” or means to them but for me, I think that the “wild” for the Americans is the place where people can have their own freedom. To do whatever they want. And a place where they can enjoy their life with the people they want to be.
What does the wild mean to Chris
DeleteI believe that going into the wild for Chris is an escape from the real world and all of his real word obligations. It is repeated throughout the novel that Chris would often go off into his own world when doing certain things. I think that when he goes off into his own world, that it is, for him, going into the wild. For Chris the wild just means being away from society and finding himself. Chris does not want conform like his graduating peers so he finds his own way to escape. He imagines that he is living in the wild, which acts as a buffer from the real world. You don't need possesions, so when Chris is in the wild, he doesn't have to be what he hates, a conformists.
What does the wild mean to Chris chap. 4-7
DeleteI think the wild means everything to Chris McCandless. The Wild is everything he strives and lives for. Not only is it his home, it’s his freedom. McCandless belongs to no one, and only attaches himself to those he wishes. He doesn’t preach this idea to everyone, but the one person he does try to push “the wild” onto was Ron Franz. After Chris and Ron established a bond with one another, Chris leaves and promises to come back. He wrote back to Ron once, shown on pages 56-57, asking him to drop the life he had and pursue the outdoor life, to venture into “the wild”. The thought of Chris being committed to anything appals me, especially after seeing his behavior throughout the book so far, but for Chris, the wild is his life. It means so much to him and he loves it so much, that he tries to spread his ways to a close friend of his, even one as old as Ron. The passion Chris has for the wild shows how the wild is his life, and not the life he left behind, but the life that he created for himself in his own conviction.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE YOUR OWN PERSON, TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL?
ReplyDeleteWHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE MEANINGFULLY?
To be your own person is to not be influenced by things around you. It means to look at the world from a different perspective; to be completely unbiased. Being an individual person means not giving up your morals to fit in with the majority, but to keep your values and be in the minority. Chris left home so he could get away from the negative things that were trying to change him and make him conform. His parents were pushing him down a path that he didn't want to go down, but he felt obligated to because of his parents. So he decided to leave so he could do what he wanted to.
DeleteRachel Walsh
DeleteTo be an individual you must go against what society wants you to be and be the person you know you can be. You should not listen, nor follow people that go against you or try to change you. To be an individual you have your own beliefs and morals that no one can change. Chris McCandless is the definition of an individual. He goes against, “what any normal person would do,”(page 7)to be the individual he wants to be. Normal people go along with the crowd and shape to others ideas, however Chris does not do that. Chris does not walk out on the highway and go back to civilization like any normal person would do, when they become hungary. He does not want civilization to help him, he wants to help himself, if he dies while doing so, so be it. Gallien tries to offer him food and gear, such as waterproof boots, to help him survive however that would be civilization helping him. He only wants what he thinks he needs, he does not want others telling him otherwise. He feels that he will survive with what he has and if not oh well. He is happy with his decisions that he makes; he lives meaningfully. He wants just himself and nature with very few things to help him survive. That is what will make him happy. He is an individual for keeping his ideas and perceptions and not letting others change them. Chris does what he wants to pursue and in the end that is what will make him the feel successful.
I'd like to think being your own person or being an individual means to be yourself and to make your own mistakes. My favorite part of the book so far goes along with this question. It is when Westerberg is reflecting about Chris and says "I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often. A couple of times I tried to tell him it was a mistake to get too deep into that kind of stuff, but Alex got stuck on things. He always had to know the absolzute right answer before he could go on to the next thing." I loved this part because it showed that he was a real person. It helps the reader learn more about Chris, and really shows who he was. I liked when he said Chris always tried to make sense of the world and why people were bad to each other, there's an innocence in that that sticks out to me. And this entire text helps to show Chris's individuality. He was really his own person, and I want to say to live meaningfully means to live happily. Chris really did want to drop everything and go live in the wild, and it made him happy to do it. So I believe he did leave meaningfully. Though his death was tragic, I would like to think he died happily; carefree away from the world. It's apparent he wanted to live his life as his own, not how everyone else wanted him to live it. I think that mostly proves his individuality. Clearly him dropping everything and living in Alaska is not "going with the crowd". He did what he wanted to do. So I think him in doing so lived his life meaningfully.
DeleteTyler Gibson
DeleteTo be your own person means to do what you think is right and have no one hold you back. Chris' parents had put a lot of money to the side, intending for him to go to law school, but that's not what he wanted to do. He ended up donating all that money to charity. By doing that he adds some meaning to his life by this selfless act. To be your own person is to reveal the individuality inside of yourself. Chris could of gotten a brand new car but insisted that he kept his old one because of the bond he had with it. If you do what you think is right and your happy with life then its a meaningful one.
To be an individual means to do something not because someone else wants you to do it but because that's what you want for yourself. An example of this in the book is when Chris refuses money from his parents to go to law school. This is an example of being an individual because Chris isn't going to go to law school this just so he can please his parents because its not something he wants to do. This is also an example of how to live meaningfully. Chris is a good example of someone who lives meaningfully because he doesn't take advantage of what he has in his life. An example of this is on page 18 when Westerberg says, "And he never quit in the middle of something. If he started a job, he'd finish it. It was almost like a moral thing for him". This quote shows that Chris never wasted any of his time if he started something he probably figured he had gone that far why give up. He lived a meaningful life because he felt successful living it.
DeleteZeynep Balto
DeleteTo be your own person means that handling with your own problems, your own mistakes you have did. knowing that what is good for yourself or what is bad for yourself. Chris didn't like to be around too many people. He wasn't asking anyone for help or for something else. He always find a way to life to survive or to find a solutions. he usually figures out everything how to do. he knows what is he doing he is living his own life not other person's life. He knows what is he wants for life. he was his own person.
Andrew Canavan
DeleteChris is being his own person because he is not living to please anyone else and he is trying to find the meaning in his own life. An example of him controlling his own life is when he gives up all his money. He wanted to live without the restrictions that money puts on people. He find that money is not the key to happiness like many people believe. Another example of Chris controlling his own life is by only having enough food to keep himself alive. He realizes that living life without luxuries makes living a simpler life more meaningful.
Taylor Nielsen
DeleteTo be your own person you must to be able to survive on your own with no support from anyone. Also, it means that you can do whatever you what whenever you want because no one is there to stop you. Chris McCandless is an individual with a life of his own. Chris said, "I'm going to completely knock them out of my life. I'm going to divorce them as my parents once and for all" (64). Chris doesn't need his parents to survive on his own. This makes him an independent individual that can achieve a meaningful life on his own.
Chris is living the way he wants to live, and not living the way everyone is living, he is being his own person. He didn't like being around other people like charlie said on page 42, " liked to read a lot of book...never said much. He'd get moody, wouldn't liked to be bothered. seemed like a kid who was looking for something , looking for something just didn't know what it was." Chris is an independent person, he didn't need anything that society had to offer, he want to live differently than most Americans lived.Chris wants to explore nature, try the wilderness, try to survive... most Americans wouldn't do that. To be your own person is to be different than others.
DeleteAngelo C.
DeleteTo be your own person is to be able to find your own beliefs and values, to not let someone else live your life or lead you through it. you must be able to think for yourself and make decisions to be an individual. But most importantly you must stand by your opinions and do not let them change just because it would be easier. To live a meaningful life is to have made a difference in somebody elses life. The more people you impact the more meanngful it is.
Evan Goodspeed
DeleteWhat I think it means to be your own person is to do what you want with out really caring what other people think. Chris shows this when he ditch his life that he had and left all his friends and family behind. He went to the wild because he wanted to and he did. To be an individual is be different form the other people around you. To have your own quirk about yourself. Chris demonstrates this when he went to live in the wild. No normal person would leave there own life and go into the wild and live there. Chris also had a quirk about him self one was that he would never wear sock unless he really had to wear them like his job at McDonalds. What it means to live a meaningful life in my opinion is to live a life that you yourself is happy about, to achieve goals that you want. We some what learn that Chris lived a meaningful life because he wanted to go into the wild and did.
Being your own person means not caring what the world around is like. Chris is a very independent person and feels no shame in making this decision going into the wild. He has a goal and intends to get to it no matter what obstacles come in the way. He can achieve anything that he wants to because it is his life, and he can live it however he wants. Until he met Franz, he didn't really accept much help or advice from others because he was planning on living in that care free world. Chris convinced Franz to move on, and explore the world in front of them. He wanted to get Franz out of a sheltered world he lived in and out into nature's beauties. With the experiences Chris has had, he wanted to share it with Franz. Since he lost someone important in his life, Chris wanted Franz to have a new start into exploring what his true self is like. On page 57 he says, " Ron it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into an entirely new realm of experience." Chris wants the best for Franz and he also mentions that you don't need to rely on people for happiness. Being an individual and doing things to make yourself happy, is so much better than waiting for someone else. Franz is stuck and doesn't know how to be himself and Chris is trying to be convincing and teach him.
DeleteTo be your own person means you live by your own set of rules, your morals come before anything. Chris McCandless is an excellent example of someone who is their own person. In the letter he wrote about his parents on pg 64, he talks about completely shutting them out of his life, he did this because it is who Chris is. He needs to be his own free person and he cut his parents out because he thought they were holding him back.
DeleteBeing an individual is living life the way you want to and not have others impact the decisions that you make. Living your life meaningfully is living your life so that you are satisfied with what you have done. So no matter what anyone else thinks, if you are happy with the way your living, then you are living meaningfully. Chris is both his own individual and is living his life meaningfully because he is doing whatever he wants, straying from his parents and everyone else, but while being cheerful and spontaneous throughout his journey. "McCandless was stirred by the austerity this landscape, by its saline beauty." He was seeing things that he never would have seen if he stayed where he was and went to graduate school. Chris was making himself happy by seeing all of these wonderful things and enjoying the way he was living his life, even though he was detached from other people throughout most of his journey.
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ReplyDeletewhat is mean to be an individual is being completely comfortable with who you are and not being afraid to show your individuality, Chris lived a very structured life before going into the wild and spent a lot of his time studying his schol work. I think chris left society to not only find himself but express himself the way he wants to without materialistic objects. To be an individual you are unique and your not afraid to stand out by being who you are. in one of Chis's letters he stated "I am going to divorce myself from my parents." This shows that Chris doesnt want to live according to others and wants to be himself and live freely.
ReplyDelete4-7 Comment 1:
ReplyDeleteI think the author is making us struggle with how we see Chris. At the beginning, I was pro Chris for leaving his parents and the life he was living. Now I don't know how I feel. It seemed more one sided, we only got his side with his saying his parents only gave him conditional love, he felt as though they didn't care about him. But in the book it did say that his parents sent out for a private investigator to find him, so they must care. If I were to up and leave like that, I would give some sort of warning. I don't want to say it's selfish that he didn't tell his parents first, but I think dropping a hint or saying to them about his choice would have been better. He would have been old enough to have done what he wanted and not listene to his parents if they said no, but maybe he did it because he thought 100% they just didn't care at all. figured it was no big deal. Or maybe it was to make them care. Whatever the case, it's clearly apparent that Chris was having some home life issues the time up to his journey. And with these actions defining who he is, I'm not sure how I feel about him now.
Living a meaningful life means doing what will being you joy. Chris didn't do all of this as a cry towards suicide, he didn't go into this with the intent of dying as much as he did to be happy. He describes his life on page 59 with the tennis courts and the country clubs, he didn't want that life. Everyone should be able to live their life how they want to live it. And that's what Chris does. I don't see him as a puzzle as much as someone who wants to be happy.
ReplyDeleteJAcob Cornish
ReplyDeleteWhat does the author want us to think of chris and his choices?
John Krakauer wants us to realize that Chris possesses the ability to go outside his comfort zone. He is able to just drop everything and go off on his own without a care in the world. Krakauer also makes it very clear that when Chris has his mind set to do something he will do it. He also wont do anything that isnt right for him, he is very straight forward with what he does. Like on page 59, he know that the "preppy life" isnt for him. He also wont take anything that people give him. He thinks he can do everything by himself, like when Jan gave him supplies and he left everything behind. Krakauer really revealed all the traits Chris had in this section. He showed us how dynamic Chris is as a person, how many elements he has to his spectrum of traits.