Introduction
Into the Wild is an exciting nonfiction account of the life and times of Christopher McCandless, written by journalist Jon Krakauer. This Webquest should serve as an adventure of your own, as you and a partner will search the internet high and low for information regarding the novel. Each of you must explore and complete each assignment in order to gain a better understanding of concepts we will discuss while reading. Ultimately, this will help you to not only better understand the book, but to relate to it in a new and profound way. Most importantly, have fun! (This can be completed alone if you do not wish to work with a partner.)
Task
Complete the following tasks in order to explore and gain a deeper understanding of Into the Wild. As you go through each task, either type or handwrite your responses to each.
Process
Step 1: Author Background
Read the following article about the author of Into the Wild
1. Name three interesting things you learned about Jon Krakauer.
2. How do you feel Krakauer's life impacted his view of McCandless's story?
3. Considering your answer for number 2, do you feel that Krakauer is doing his duty as a journalist and telling this story in a "clean" and unbiased manner? Elaborate.
Step 2: Background into the McCandless Family
Read the following article and write a short report on Christopher McCandless's family.
1. Examine the sister, mother, and father and explain how each person impacted Chris's life.
2. How does learning more about his family history help you to better understand Chris's decisions to leave behind his life?
Step 3: Influences
Chris McCandless listed Henry David Thoreau, Jack London, John Muir, and Leo Tolstoy as his main influences. Do a brief search into the lives and literature of two of these authors and discover what some of the main themes of their works are. In a brief paragraph for each man, explain the influence they may have had on McCandless.
Step 4: What Can You Live Without?
Follow this link to the NY Times article.
Read through the article. Then answer the following questions:
1. How do you feel about what this family did?
2. Would you ever consider doing something like this? Why? Why not?
3. What could/should you live without?
4. What do you think your family could/should live without?
Step 5: Musical Connections
Listen to the following song written by Eddie Vedder for the film version of Into the Wild and analyze the lyrics.
1. What message do you think the author is trying to portray with these lyrics?
2. What does this tell you about the novel?
3. What do these lyrics mean to you personally?
4. How do the themes of materialism, rebellion, and isolationism apply to your own life?
Step 6: Packing the Essentials
Review the following list of essential hiking supplies.
Select five items you would bring with you on a backpacking adventure and describe why.
Step 7: Photo Memories
Watch this video tribute to Chris McCandless
1. Do you feel Chris had a happy life despite his family's turmoil?
2. What do you feel defines true happiness?
3. How does seeing the images of Chris throughout his life impact your reading of the novel?
Step 8: Edible vs. Deadly Plants
In order to save yourself from starvation, you need to:
Identify the three berry plants here to find out which one is edible using the dichotomous key.
1. Identify each plant's scientific name.
2. Identify how a plant gets its scientific name.
3. Identify which berries are poisonous, and their affects if eaten.
Step 9: The Magic Bus
Read this article about the removal of the "Magic Bus" where Chris's body was found.
1. Do you feel like the state officials made the right choice in removing the bus? Explain.
2. Why do you think "Bus 142" had such an allure?
3. Analyze this quote from Chris's sister, Carine. "As for those that followed in his footsteps to where [the bus] rested, at the end of the day, their journey wasn’t about a bus.”
Step 10: The Journey
Review the interactive map that documents each major location of Chris's journey.
1. How does seeing this trip in a more linear fashion change your perspective of Chris's travels?
2. Reflect on the amount of ground McCandless covered from the time he graduated until his death. Do you feel he satisfied his desire to seek more out of life? Even though he died at only 24, do you feel that Chris lived a full life or do you feel his life foolishly came to a tragic end too soon?
Evaluation
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Task | Responds thoroughly to each part of the task, using research to provide insightful details. | Responds to each part of the task, provided details from research. | Somewhat responds to each part of the task, using research that is sometimes questionable. | Mostly misses the point of the task and research is mostly questionable. |
| Teamwork | Everyone participated equally on the project. | Mostly everyone participated equally on the project. | The work was unevenly divided in the group. | One person did the majority of the work. |
| Creativity & Effort | Students creatively responded to the task and went above and beyond the task. | Students creatively responded to the task and put forth a good effort. | Students used some creativity and detail to respond to the task but lacked some effort. | Students did not show much insight or creativity when responding to the task. Work seemed rushed or simple. |
Conclusion
You are at the end of the Into the Wild journey! Hopefully by the end of this project, you appreciate the philosophy and experiences of Christopher McCandless. Understand that life is more than what is prescribed to you and that happiness is ultimately about freedom of expression and action, as well as something that is shared with loved ones.