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13/11/2025 9:16 pm
I believe Krakauer is trying to make the readers believe that Chris was chasing after freedom and trying to get away from social expectations/reality throughout the book. Krakauer explains Chris as a guy trying to find real meaning instead of following social norms. He talks about how Chris seeks for the authentic life in nature, while also showing the consequences and dangers of being out. It seems like Krakauer was trying to make Chris's story seem inspiring while also very tragic and sad. When Chris went to Alaska, Krakauer portrays him as being very determined and brave. But Chris didnt seem to fully understand how harsh the wilderness could be over there. He had a lot of limited supppliesm and didn't know how to live in these extreme conditions. For example when he tried the plants and didn't realize4 how dangerous they could be for him.
Krakauer succeeds in making the reader understand what he is attempting to do. Krakauer talks about flashbacks in the book, other peoples stories, and Krakauers opinion. A flashback that I'm sure helped a lot fo readers understand Chris's motivations to leave a lot more. Krakauer has explained that, "He called on a number of old family friends who still lived there, and from their answers to his queries, Chris pieced together the facts of his fathers previous marriage and subsequent divorce-facts to which he hadn't been privy." (Krakauer Pg.121). This quote helps to support how Chris's relation from his father was impactful towards him and was kind of a motive for him leaving. I feel this helps the readers understand some of his problems that might've influenced Chris's desire to leaving.
Krakauer helps the reader understand Chris on another level by making his story more emotional. Krakauer presenst Chris's emotions and motivations with more depth. He helps the readers draw more into Chris's experience. In chapter 15 Krakauer explains a story similar to Chris's and helps the reader understand how he felt rather than making him sound insane for going into the wilderness. "He was Ambitious in the extreme, and like Walt McCandless, his aspirations extended to his pogency." (krakauer Pg.147). This quote shows that Chris was ambitious just like his dad, he had a strong drive just like him.
16/11/2025 12:25 pm
I like how you discuss the flashbacks that Krauker used because I haven't seen a lot of people write about that. It really provides insight on McCandless's motive and the connection between the two of them. By including specific flashbacks like this, it helps readers understand more than if you were to talk about it like a story. I think more author's should use time shifts like Krauker does, because it really helps people to see all aspects of the person. McCandless right after his college graduation and McCandless right after meeting Wayne Westerberg were two very different people. By showing all of these different interactions and experiences in present time lets the reader visualize the story much better. I wonder how different this book would be if he didn't interview people like Westerburg to get the full story and instead just used clues he saw from inside the bus. How this would impact his credibility and if those people were to reach out and say that's not how their interaction happened.
17/11/2025 12:05 am
I loved how you discussed your view on what Krakauer was trying to do. It gave me a new view on Krakauer's writing because I never really considered that trying to showcase McCandless trying to escape social norms and trying to chase the freedom he desired. You described very well why you believe that this is true. Your evidence and thoughts on the prompt were well executed and well-written. I like how you also discussed how even though McCandless seemed brave, the wild was dangerous, especially with his lack of supplies. This really showed depth and shed light on what we might not have guessed.
I agree with you on how Krakauer helps the reader connect and understand Chris with the lack of boundaries and adds his emotions into the novel. Throughout the novel, we can sense that Krakauer is slowly putting himself into the story. Towards the end, he actually talks about his journeys and goes to see where McCandless was found. If the author wasn't that involved in the story, we wouldn't have been able to see McCandless the way that Krakauer does. We wouldn't be able to connect with him on that emotional level.
Throughout the whole novel, we see Krakauer start growing fond of McCandless, and an emotional connection is made, not just between Krakauer and McCandless, but also with the readers. We see this through the way that he talks about the similarities between the two of them and how he sees himself in Chris. Krakauer was obviously connected to McCandless through the way he was writing, but to put this in a broader context, maybe this emotional connection wasn't the only one that Krakauer had with McCandless.
You discussed how Krakauer accomplished his goal of getting his message across. He utilized flashbacks throughout the novel based on interviews and discussions that Krakauer had with people who were connected to McCandless. Were there any other ways that he could've gotten his message across? Were there times when flashbacks weren't helpful to the story?
