Into the Wild

15. Krakauer provides a lot of quotations from McCandless’s journal in these chapters. What is McCandless talking about? Why did Krakauer include these selections?

Reading Chapters 16–18: Into the Alaskan Wild

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Chris is discovering just how hard it is to live in the Alaskan wilderness. Any romantic precepts of living in a cozy cabin like Thoreau are quickly dispelled. Chris knows he is either going to survive or die. His thoughts become a precious glimpse into Chris headspace as his world becomes less about ideology and more about survival. Chris also discovers what most readers knew from the beginning: Chris needs the company of other people. He begins to see the folly of rejecting his family, especially his sister Carine. Chris becomes a dynamic character a little too late. Krakauer included these sections to get us closer to Chris than we had ever been before. Much of the book is seen through Krakauer's lens of Chris. In these chapters we get a glimpse into Chris from his own words.