Into The Wild

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Discussion Questions


•Do you agree with Krakauer's view of Chris McCandless?
•Why do you think McCandless chose to discard his identity and past life without a backward look?
•Do you think Krakauer's decision to insert himself into the narrative added to our detracted from Chris's story? Did it help you to understand how Krakauer came to interpret Chris's motives?
•The author claims that Into the Wild is very much a story about a son's relationship with his father. What conclusions did you make regarding McCandless's response to his family?
•What do you make of Westerberg's assessment of Chris from this quote: "'You could tell right away that Alex was intelligent,' Westerberg reflects draining his third drink. 'He read a lot, used a lot of big words. I think maybe what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of a word, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often'"?
•Do you think McCandless was mentally ill?
•Ron Franz put everything is storage, bought a GMC Duravan and set up camp on Bajada after he received McCandless's letter. Why do you think McCandless has such an impact on Franz?
•Do you believe McCandless's decision to leave his family without a word was justified? Why or why not?
•What significance did you attach to Chris's last entry into his journal quoting Dr. Zhivago? "Happiness is only real when shared"?
•McCandless had a habit of going on trips along with little or no contact with his family. Why do you think that McCandless had a tendency to push himself to the edge, which eventually would lead him to his death?
•How do you think Chris McCandless would feel about his story being published? About the movie version of his life?