Chapter 1
Group Members: Sammy, Abby, Brian
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“The more they talked, the less Alex struck Gallien as a nutcase.” Pg.5
“Alex insisted on giving Gallien his watch, his comb, and what he said was all his money:
eighty-five cents in loose change.” Pg. 7
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“Gallien asked whether he had a hunting license. ‘Hell, no,” Alex scoffed. “How I feed
myself is none of the government’s buisness. F*** their stupid rules.’” Pg. 6
“‘I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own.’” Pg. 6
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
“Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice. His gear
seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April still lay
burried under the winter snowpack.” Pg. 5
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
**Choose either the epigram
by Tolstoy or Stegner
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)
“Greetings from Fairbanks!
This is the last you shall hear
from me Wayne.”
Alex notifies Wayne that he
doesn’t want his mail being
sent to his home anymore
because he is leaving for an
adventure.
Alex explains that he will be
leaving on an adventure
and the chapter shows the
ending of his adventure.
Chapter 2
Group Members: Georgina, Will, Bailey
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“S.O.S. I NEED YOUR HELP. I AM INJURED, NEAR DEATH, AND TOO WEAK TO HIKE OUT
OF HERE. I AM ALL ALONE, THIS IS NO JOKE. IN THE NAME OF GOD, PLEASE REMAIN TO
SAVE ME. I AM OUT COLLECTING BERRIES CLOSE BY AND SHALL RETURN THIS
EVENING. THANK YOU, CHRIS MCCANDLES. AUGUST?” pg 12
“In the very rear of the vehicle, on a jerry-built bunk, was a blue sleeping bag that
appeared to have something or someone inside it.” pg 12
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“But because he had been carrying no identification, the authorities didn’t know who he
was, where he was from, or why he was there.” pg 14
“Virtually no subcutaneous fat remained in the body, and the muscles had withered
significantly in the days or weeks prior to death. At the time of the autopsy. McCandless’s
remains weighed sixty seven pounds.” pg 14
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
**Use Jack London
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)
Dark spruce forest frowned
on either side the frozen
waterway. The trees had
The winter kills everything
and the wild laughs at
mortality
The wild got the best of
Chris.
been stripped by a recent
wind of their white covering
of frost, and they seemed to
lean toward each other,
black and ominous, in the
fading light.
Chapter 3
Group Members: Kaelee, Alex, Adrian, Taylor
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“It was a different story with Alex. He was the hardest worker i had ever seen. Didn’t
matter what it was, he’d do it...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. He was what you’d call
extremely ethical. He set pretty high standards for himself.” Pg. 18
“In May 1990, Chris graduated from Emory University in Atlanta...and has distinguished
himself as a history and anthropology major with a 3.72 grade-point average. He was
offered membership in Phi Beta Kappa but declined, insisting that titles and honors are
irrelevant.” Pg. 20
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“By the beginning of August 1990, Chris’s parents had heard nothing from their son since
they’d received his grades in the mail, so they decided to drive down to Atlanta for a visit.
When they arrived at his apartment, it was empty and a FOR RENT sign was taped to the
window.The manager said that Chris had moved out in the middle of June. Walt and Billie
returned home to find all the letters they’d sent their son that summer had been returned
in a bundle. “Chris had instructed the post office to hold them until August 1, apparently so
we wouldn’t know anything was up.” Pg. 22
“It was the first present she had received from her son [Chris] in more than 2 years, since
he had announced to his parents that, on principle, he would no longer give or accept
gifts.” Pg. 20
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
“Driving west out of Atlanta, 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 be
answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own
destiny.” Pg. 22-23
This quote embodies why he wanted to leave his old life in Atlanta, and what he wanted
to accomplish by starting this new life out west.
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
**Use Tolstoy or Stegner
(your choice)
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)
“I wanted movement and
not a calm course of
existence. I wanted
excitement and danger and
the chance to sacrifice
myself for my love.
Chris wanted excitement
that is current life didn’t
provide for him. He wanted
the chance to experience the
world in a new way and he
was going to anything to
achieve it.
Chapter 3 describes the
events leading up to him
leaving, so the epigram
describes why he wanted to
leave and what he wanted
to accomplish.
Chapter 4
Group Members: Jake, Aaron, Zach, Antonio
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“ For the next two years Alex sent us a postcard every month or two.”pg.31
“Alexander is jubilant.” pg.34
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“McCandless tried to start the car soon thereafter, the engine wouldn’t catch, and in his
impatience he drained the battery.”
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)
“The desert is the
environment of revelation,
genetically and
physiologically alien,
sensorily austere,
esthetically abstract,
historically inimical…. Its
forms are bold and
suggested. The mind is
beset by light and space, the
kinesthetic novelty of
aridity, high temperature,
and wind.”
Chapter 5
Group Members: Laura Beth, Kelly, Chelsea
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“He was a nice kid and a good worker: Real dependable.” (page 40)
“He was reliable, though, a body that showed up everyday, so they didn’t dare fire him.”
(page 40)
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“It was like he was off in his own universe.” (page 40)
“When he first started working, he was homeless, and he’d show up for work smelling
bad.” (page 41)
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
“He’d get moody, wouldn’t like to be bothered. Seemed like a kid who was looking for
something, looking for something, just didn’t know what it was.” (page 42) This shows
Chris’s transcendentalism tendencies and how he is starting to
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
**Use the Jack London
epigram
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)
Chapter 6
Group Members: Olivia, Mikaela, Andrew, Dillon
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“He was polite, friendly, well-groomed.” - 50
“Franz grew increasingly fond of McCandless. ‘God he was a smart kid. He directs his
gaze at a patch of sand between his feet as he makes this declaration; then he stops
talking. Bending stiffly from the waist, he wipes some imaginary dirt from his pant leg.
His innocent joints crack loudly in the awkward silence.” -52
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“Look, Mr. Franz,” He declared, “you don’t need to worry about me. I have a college
education. Im not destitue. Im living like this by choice.” -51
“McCandless’s face would darken with anger and hed fulminate about his parents or
politicians or the endemic idiocy of mainstream American life.” -52
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)
No man ever followed his
genius till misled him.
Through the result were
bodily weakness, yet
perhaps no one can say that
the consequences were to
be regretted, for these were
a life in conformity to higher
principles
Chapter 7
Group Members: Mallory, Chandler, Sterling, Caleb
Task/Question
1)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent positive personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“ Alex always kept things real neat and orderly”
“ Chris’s extravagantly independent nature”
2)Put two quotes from your chapter, and the page # from which you found them, that
represent negative personality traits of Christopher McCandless/Alex.
“Not speaking to your family for all that time, treating them like dirt”
“Im going to divorce them as my parents once and for all and never speak to either of
those idiots again as long as I live.”
3)Write a quote and its page number that demonstrates Christopher’s/Alex’s adoption of
transcendentalist views, as well as a sentence explaining your rationale for selecting the
quote.
4)Complete the chart below for your chapter’s epigram and complete each task.
Epigram (if it is longer than
two sentences, just copy the
first two sentences)
**Write on the Anthony
Storr epigram
“It is true that many creative
people fail………”
Paraphrase the quote (state
the epigram in your own
words with a maximum of
two sentences)
How is the epigram
connected to the events
and/or theme of the
chapter? (answer with a
maximum of two sentences)