Into the Wild Group

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slencer
slencer
Student
High School - 11th Grade

What are four environmental ideas in Into the Wild?

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Posted by slencer on Tuesday October 27, 2009 at 2:01 PM and tagged with environmental, ideas, into the wild.

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  1. mstultz72 Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Krakauer, through Christopher McCandless' story, promotes environmental (1) conservation, (2) protection, (3) health and safety, and (4) pollution control.

    McCandless tries to live his life according to the same principles as Henry David Thoreau espouses in his first chapter in Walden: "Economy."  He vows to focus on only the necessities of life: food, clothing, shelter, and fuel.  He gives up his car to become a leather tramp.  He donates his life's savings to charity.  This is the motto of conservation and anti-materialism.

    Krakauer seems most concerned with how to live such a life safely.  He accurately portrays McCandless as a megalomaniac and a Romantic who was ill-prepared to live in the Alaskan wilderness.  His first chapter, filtered through an experienced woodsman Jim Gallien's point of view, is critical of McCandless' lack of preparation, taking only a .22 caliber rifle and a bag of rice for the winter.  In the end, after McCandless died of starvation, Krakauer stresses not only preparation but education (McCandless poisoned himself by misidentifying seed pods).

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    Posted by mstultz72 on Tuesday October 27, 2009 at 3:07 PM