Chapter 17 Question 49

   I think that Chris could inspire anyone and everyone in at least one way. Maybe not every characteristic he has is beneficial, but there are a great span of traits he has that are inspiring. Chris is brave, he went out into the wild alone. A lot of people are afraid to do a lot of things alone. Going off to college, starting your life all by yourself, even things like walking to your car at night, or being home alone,  let alone being in the middle of nowhere with no one, but yourself to rely on.
   Chris went against society to be himself. A big trait that Chris carried was individualism. Chris was not afraid to be his own person. Chris would make statements like taking off his socks right after work, or not following the correct format on a paper because he thinks that it makes no sense, his biggest statement was going out into the wild not caring that people thought he was a wacko for doing so.
   Chris was smart. Period. Chris had the credentials to get into Harvard, of course, he didn't use them which is sometimes frowned upon, but that did not make him dumb. Chris had been able to bring home -A's so easily since grade school. People in the presence of Chris could tell that he was very intelligent just by the way he spoke.
   Chris was naive. He was smart, but that doesn't mean that he was not naive. Chris came unprepared. Maybe coming unprepared was like making a statement, but instead of not bringing the right things, he could have brought things he needed, but just not used them until he had a fallout.
   Chris was selfish. In not all ways, but Chris left his family and his sister. He left them without telling them where he was going. He did not contact his parents while he was away. He left them to worry about him and wonder until the day they received his death notice. If Chris was more unselfish he should have at least wrote them and let them know that he was okay every once and a while.

Chapter 17 Question 48

    On Jon Krakauer's journey, he uncovered a number of things. The things that he uncovered were the water looks lower than it does in the photo of Chris crossing the Teklanika River, maybe something Chris could have changed was crossing it when it was low tide, even knowing he still survived it when he crossed (page 173). Jon also discovers a gauge station that would have made crossing the river easier (page 173). Chris had not known about the basket that he would have helped him cross the river (page 174), maybe he should have brought a topographic map with him. Chris thought it was impossible to reach the eastern shore because he had no map that would have guided him a different way to get where he would have wanted to go, he then went back to the bus to starve and die. If Chris had, had a map he could've lived longer and kept going on his journey, but instead he died (page 174). Chris has been slandered so much for coming unprepared because he did not bring enough food or not as nearly enough gear to keep warm as he should, but the things that he needed the most that could have helped him find his way out or to a better source of food would be a large caliber rifle, a map, a compass, and an axe (page 180).

Similarities
1. Ran out of food
2. Both said to be naive

Differences
1. Franklin traveled with a group of men, rather than alone.
2. Franklin led an expedition into western canada.

Chapter 13 Question 47

    Chris and his sister Carine had many similarities, but they were more different than the same.

Differences
1. Carine made peace with her parents. Chris never did
2. Carine could never go out into the wild, whereas Chris did
3. Carine has no objections to wealth, where Chris thinks that you should work for all of your own things and not rely on others money.

Similarities
1. Chris and his sister shared the clash of adolescence against their parents
2. They share a sense of outrage over racial injustice
3. Both found comfort and acceptance in eachother.

Chapter 16 Question 46

    During the last days of Chris' preparation, he gathered the few things that he felt he needed. First, Stuckey had bought Chris a big bag of rice, Chris then went to a library and picked up a book called Tanaina Plantlore/Dena'ina K'et'una: An Ethnobotany of the Dena'ina Indians of Southcentral Alaska by Priscilla Russell Kari, and finally purchased a semiautomatic .22-caliber Remington with a 4-x-20 scope and a plastic stock (page 158-161).

    Some personal philosophies that Chris uncovered during his journey are 1. winter, not summer, is the preferred season for traveling overland through the bush. 2. learn to accept your errors no matter how great they may be. 3. circumstance has no value. it is how one relates to a situation that has value. 4. The Great Holiness of FOOD, the Vital Heat. 5. Positivism, the Insurpassable Joy of the Life Aesthetic. 6. Absolute Truth and Honesty. 7.Independence. 8. Finality-Stability-Consistancy. 9. The only way to be truly happy is to live for someone else, like a mate and children.

Chapter 16 Question 45

    I believe that even knowing it would have helped Chris' family with their worry, it was not Stuckey's place to call Chris' parents. Stuckey was just one of the few people that Chris met on his journey, maybe someone who had a little more relevance than others, but not family, not someone who had the authority to go against Chris' free choice to live out in the wild. Chris was an adult when he made the decision, Chris was an adult when he started his journey, Chris was old enough to decide whether or not he wanted to keep in contact with his family or not. Evening knowing one choice might be better than the other, it was Chris' choice, no ones else's and no one else knew Chris' relationship truly with his parents besides Chris. If Stuckey had called Chris' parents, I think it might have just been another obstacle in Chris' journey, it could have been just another reason for him to revolt against his parents. Obviously, if he left without contacting his parents, nothing could change his mind now, especially with them trying to force him to come home. I do not think that Chris would have came home. His parents could not force him because that would be kidnapping. Chris was old enough to decide where he was going to live and what he was going to do with his life, whether his parents liked it or not. I think what would have happened would be just a farther distance between Chris and his parents if that was possible.

Chapter 15 Question 44

   Chris McCandless and Jon Krakauer's journey's were different, but very much similar as well. First, they were different because Jon's journey focused on climbing on a mountain (page 133-144), while Chris's journey focused on surviving in the wild (woods). Jon came a lot more prepared for his journey than Chris, Jon had 4 weeks worth of food while Chris had 2 pounds of rice for 2 years, Jon had heavy winter camping gear, while Chris had the clothes on his back, and Jon had 6 cartons of supplies dropped from a plane when he had been dropped off (page 140). Another difference is Jon had made sure that someone knew where he was and that they would make sure he was okay, he had told a pilot where he would be and to fly over to check on him in three days after he had landed to see that he was fine (page 140).
   Things that were the same, were both Chris and Jon sought out adventure and challenge. Jon had wanted to climb the mountain, of which had never been climbed (page134). Chris had gone into the wild without much preparation, I think to prove a point that he could survive off of strictly nature. Both Chris and Jon stayed in some sort of shelter for a matter of days, Chris stayed in an abandoned bus, Jon stayed in a tent (page 146). Both Chris and Jon were inspired by their fathers some what to journey, they both climbed mountains with their fathers while they were younger (page 147).

Chapter 14 Question 43

Chris McCandless & Jon Krakauer
Similarities
1. Both disappointed their fathers pg.134
2. Both loved to climb/hike pg. 134
3. Both were in their early 20's when they entered Alaska pg. 135
4. Both quit their jobs without notice pg.136
5. Both felt eased about leaving the life they lived behind pg. 136
Differences
1. Jon willingly abandoned his car without a struggle while Chris abandoned his car because the engine was flooded. pg.136
2. Jon almost needed someone, Chris could live in chastity. pg. 137
3. Jon had came on his trip prepared pg 140
4. Jon had warned people where he would be pg. 140
5. Jon had survived, while Chris died. pg. 144