Into the Wild Dialectical Journal

Not sure what to write for your commentary? Here are some tips:

Jenee Gossard of the UCLA Writing Project (1997) suggests the following sentence starters for students who
struggle with right-hand column responses:
I wonder I noticed
I began to think of I was surprised
I like the idea If I had been
I know the feeling I was reminded of

Common reader responses include:

Feelings (boring, sad, exciting, confusing, strange)
Questions (I wonder why the author wrote these boring parts?)
Images (pictures in the mind, with full sensory response)
Favorite (or detested) words and phrases
Echoes (of other books, movies, television shows, headlines, songs, or poems)
Reaction to characters or events (That Raskolnikov is so self-absorbed!)
Memories (people, events, places youve known)
Connections (to other ideas, people, feelings, books)

Chapter Page # Quotation Commentary

4 28 ...Henry David Thoreau thus Chris is more concerned with following his
considered it his moral responsibility to own moral beliefs that the state laws.
flout the laws of the state

4 29 ...He saw the flash flood as an Chris outlook turns problems into
opportunity to shed unnecessary opportunities and good situations for himself
baggage

4 29 One hundred twenty-three dollars in This was very odd to hear. Why would
legal tender was promptly reduced to anyone do this? At least donate the money if
ash and smoke you dont need it.

4 34 Alex is dumbfounded...They stare at Alex is referring to himself in the third

Alex and think him crazy person because he has been in isolation for
so long. He has developed a duality to his
personality.

5 41 One morning I was shaving in a Alex did not refer to himself in the third
restroom when an old man came person. He is taking a step towards
becoming more of a regular person, or just
less insane.

5 41 McCandless tried to disguise the fact Alex is maybe smarter than he seems and is
that he was a drifter living out of a not a fool after all.
backpack: He told his fellow employees
that he lived across the river in
Laughlin
 Into the Wild Dialectical Journal
5 45 Despite prodding from Burres, He has still revealed very little about his
however, McCandless revealed virtually family. Does it have an impact on why he left
nothing about his family to live in the wild?

6 51 ... Somebody needed to convince him Franz believes that Alex is wasting his time
to get an education and make in the woods and putting himself in the
something of his life wrong crowd.

The joy of life comes from our Chris embodies his own opinions about life
encounters with new experiences and and his own ideas. His unique ideas show
hence there is no greater joy than to that he is an outcast from society
have an endlessly changing horizon, for
each day to have a new and different
sun.

7 [Chris] was hungry to learn about Chris is determined and set on his ideas.
Despite his different lifestyle from society he
things. Unlike most of us, he was the
lived what he preached.
sort of person who insisted on living out
his beliefs.

7 62 ...McCandless worked hard, doing Chris worked menial jobs and did not care
dirty, tedious jobs, that nobody else what anyone thought of him
wanted to tackle

9 97 Reading of these monks, one cant Chris is categorized with monks who are
help thinking of Everett Ruess and definitely apart from the rest of society.
Chris McCandless Shows Chris individualism.

9 93 And Like McCandless, upon Chris habit of developing alternate names

embarking on his terminal odyssey, for himself is not normal and unlike to only a
Ruess adopted a new name or, rather, small group of people
a series of new names

8 85 McCandless was something else- McCandless personality is very unique and

although precisely what is hard to say. hard to label.
A pilgrim, perhaps.

10 100 ... stories about the dead hiker, McCandless unorthodox lifestyle has drawn
including excerpts from his diary, had attention from all across the country.
been given prominent play in
newspapers across the country

11 107 ...he was very to himself he always IN this quote from Carine talking about Chris,
had friends...He could be alone without We hear that chris is completely socially and
being lonely mentally capable to function in society but he
prefers to be alone and doesnt need society.

12 118 Chris had gotten lost in the Mojave Chris overconfidence and unpreparedness
Desert and had nearly succumbed to came back to negatively affect him and
dehydration. almost take his life
 Into the Wild Dialectical Journal
13 129 ...she calls their relationship extremely Chris had a strong and loving relationship
good with his sister who is nothing like him. He
must not be a crazy fool to be close to
people so different that him.

14 140 ... I grew increasingly anxious. I had no Chris shows weakness and fear while out
radio nor any means of communicating alone in the wild
with the outside world

15 155 ... I possessed neither his intellect nor Shows how others respect McCandless
his lofty ideals

16 163 No longer to be poisoned by civilization McCandless is an independent and free

he flees, and walks alone upon the land spirit. He appreciates and cherishes the
to become lost in the wild realness of nature.

17 184 Its not clear that much of value is Maybe we are looking to deep into
learned by reducing Chris McCandless McCandless and his life and morals.
strange spiritual quest to a list of pat
psychological disorders.

18 199 He is smiling in the picture, and there Chris McCandless was no fool, but just a
is no mistaking the look in his eyes: man who was content with what he had and
Chris McCandless was at peace, believed strongly in himself
serene as a monk gone to God