The Authors of Into the Wild

Authors in Into the Wild

1. Jack London
2. Henry David Thoreau
3. Leo Tolstoy

JACK LONDON

Famous Books-The Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Sea-Wolf, The Iron Heel, and Martin Eden

Quotes in "Into the Wild"- "Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had 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. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness—a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild."

Page 9, Chapter 2

Significance of Quote- This quote connects to McCandless and his Alaskan adventure. More specfically, this quote was ingrained into wood at the site of McCandless's death site. The quote parallels the experience that Chris had in Alaska. Alone, cold and in the vast emptiness of the wilderness

Personal Favorite Jack London quote- "Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well" This quote connects to me and my drive to do well even in tough situations. Finding the inspiration to push through the bad times is important to me in any situation. 

I think Chris would give me credibility for selecting this quote, but he wouldn't completely confer with me. He would understand why a person would choose his quote but he himself wouldn't "get it"

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Famous books- Walden, Civil Disobedience, The Maine Woods

Favorite Thoreau quote from Into the Wild- "No man ever followed his genius till it mislead him."

Significance of Quote- This quote connects to McCandless and his idea of being free in the wild. Some would say that Chris's choice of going to Alaska was crazy or that he was stupid. His confidence in his own ability to survive mislead him into thinking he could survive in the Alaskan wilderness. His own genius inclined himself to believe in himself more than he should have

Personal favorite Thoreau quote- "All good things are wild and free". This quote connects to my drive to be different than my peers and the enthusiasm I contain for things I love. I think Chris would agree with the quote and my selection of it because of his own personal drive for freedom and being in the wild

LEO TOLSTOY

Famous books- War and Peace, Anna Karenina

Favorite Tolstoy quote from Into the Wild- "I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance of sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life" 

Significance of quote- This quote was highlighted in one of the books found with Chris McCandless' remains. This relates to Chris and his eagerness to get away and move from his family. It also connects to his irritability with the lifestyle he lead before he ran away. 

Personal favorite Tolstoy quote- "Everyone thinks of changing the World, but no one thinks of changing himself" I favor this quote because it speaks on the topic of thinking small and simple. I myself think in a simplistic way about life, and this quote relates to that philosophy.  It talks about thinking on a smaller level, a personal level, before you tackle the problems in the world. 

I think Chris would think that the quote is very legitimate. He would agree with my selection because of his ambitions to try and help everyone he meets to see the way he does.

Jack london

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London

Henry David Thoreau

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

Leo Tolstoy

http://www.biography.com/people/leo-tolstoy-9508518

A Place In The United States I Want To See

A Place In the United States I Want to See



A place in the US I would like to see is Bryce Canyon in Utah. Although it is not a canyon, despite it's name, the natural gathering of these geological structures called "hoodoos"

In order to get to Bryce Canyon National Park, in which Bryce Canyon is located, i would need to fly on a plane to Utah first. It is an extremely large distance to drive, so flying will be better time-wise.
Bryce Canyon is best known for it's "amphitheater" of hoodoos, stretching 12 miles long and 3 miles wide.
In the summer, the daily high of Bryce Canyon is around 71 degrees Fahrenheit, while the daily low is around 41 degrees. In the winter,  the daily high goes down to 42 degrees, with the daily low being 14 degrees. Precipitation is likely in Bryce Canyon, with chance of rain in the summer being an average of 51%. I would need to take water to keep hydrated, a backpack of food and sunscreen. A camera to capture my experience would also be amazing.
I would expect my experience at Bryce Canyon to be breathtaking, and definitely memorable. I would probably want to look at it for hours, looking at every part and angle of the natural beauty God provided for me.

Here are some more pictures of Bryce Canyon



Source for photos: Google Images
Source for information about Bryce Canyon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park
http://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm
https://weatherspark.com/averages/29719/Bryce-Canyon-Utah-United-States

Overview of Into the Wild & Author Biography

Summary of Into the Wild (as found on wikipedia)

A Picture of Christopher McCandless' journal

Into the Wild is about a man named Christopher McCandless, and his life shown through the research of author Jon Krakauer. Krakauer took interest in McCandless life before his death in Alaska in an abandoned bus. Krakauer writes in Into the Wild about McCandless life 2 years  prior before his death. The author discovered that McCandless took the name "Alexander Supertramp", discarding his legal name of Christopher McCandless in the early stages of his journey. Supertramp spent time employed by Wayne Westburg in a grain elevator. After his spell with employment, he hitchhiked to Alaska from Carthage, South Dakota, his former place of residence. Supertramp's personality, as described by Krakauer, can be described as ascetic. This could possibly be refrenced to author Henry David Thoreau and his writings. Krakauer compares Supertramp to himself, as well as Everett Reuss.



Author Biography
Jon Krakauer is the author of 5 books, all published in the 1990's and 2000's. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and raised in Corvails, Oregon, Krakauer was introduced to mountanieering by his father. Krakauer was young at the time, being only eight years of age. After his high school graduation, Krakauer studied at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. There, he earned a degree in Environmental Studies. John Krakauer was an avid mountaneer, spending three weeks alone in the Alaskan wilderness in 1977. There, he climbed Devils Thumb, one of the most difficult cimbs in the world. His most well known climb happened in 1996, known today as the 1996 Mount  Everest Disaster.
Krakauer gained popularity as a writer while being a journalist for Outside magazine. His writing career was continued with the publishing of, "Into the Wild". Into the Wild spent two weeks at the top of The New York Times Best Seller List before being dethroned.