Into the Wild Group

Question:

joecrede2005
joecrede2005
Student
High School - 9th Grade

How does the Doctor Zhivago quote that opens the chapter foreshadow McCandless' actions and writings later in the chapter? Use two quotes from reading

Use two quotes from passage, from chapter 18 and Epilogue

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Posted by joecrede2005 on Monday March 9, 2009 at 8:11 PM and tagged with chapter 18, doctor zhivago, epilogue, into the wild, mccandless, quotes.

Answers:

  1. jengerlach
    jengerlach Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    McCandless went into the wild having forsaken human relationships.  We are lead to believe that he hasn't been intimate with a woman; he severs ties with his parents, and he encourages Ron Franz to find fulfillment in nature, rather than seeking it in the people around him.  Therefore, when we read in the Doctor Zhivago quotation that the "basic elements of ...[spiritual] equipment are in the Gospels...to begin with, love of one's neighbor..." we are prompted to look for a change in McCandless' attitude toward relationships.  On page 189 he notes, "HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED."  Krakauer reads into this notation that McCandless is ready to abandon the life of a "solitary vagabond" and "shed a little of the armor he wore around his heart" (189).  Sadly, he never gets the opportunity to reconnect with his family, except perhaps in spirit.  We do find in the epilogue that his parents find some solace in returning to the bus where Chris expired.  Walt is described as being "less baffled" by Chris, indicating that after visiting the site of his son's death he was better able to know Chris (203).

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/into-wild-qn/intothewild
    http://www.enotes.com/into-wild-qn/themes-characters

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    Posted by jengerlach on Wednesday March 11, 2009 at 5:53 AM