Flashcards for Into the Wild

Billie McCandless

Billie McCandless is Chris's mother and one of the book's most emotionally impactful figures, whose grief grounds the narrative's human cost.

character

Bob (Jan's Partner)

Bob is a minor yet endearing character in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, appearing as the traveling companion of Jan Burres, a couple living a rubber-tramp lifestyle who meet Chris McCandless on the road.

character

Carine McCandless

Carine McCandless is the younger sister of Chris McCandless and his closest confidant.

character

Chris McCandless (Alexander Supertramp)

Chris McCandless, who renames himself "Alexander Supertramp," is the main character in Jon Krakauer's nonfiction narrative.

character

Everett Ruess

Everett Ruess is a historical figure that Jon Krakauer highlights as a significant precursor to Chris McCandless's tragic journey into the wilderness.

character

Gaylord Stuckey

Gaylord Stuckey is a minor yet symbolically significant character in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild—the last person known to have interacted with Chris McCandless before he vanished into the Alaskan wilderness.

character

Gene Rosellini

Gene Rosellini is a minor yet thematically significant figure in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, serving as a cautionary parallel to Chris McCandless.

character

Gordon Samel

Gordon Samel is a minor yet key figure in Into the Wild.

character

Jan Burres

Jan Burres is a rubber-tramp nomad and one of the most emotionally significant figures in Chris McCandless's wandering life.

character

Jim Gallien

Jim Gallien is an Alaskan tradesman and union electrician who happens to be the last person to have a meaningful conversation with Chris McCandless before he vanishes into the Alaskan wilderness.

character

Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer is both the narrator and a deeply engaged presence in Into the Wild.

character

Ken Thompson

Ken Thompson is a minor yet memorable character in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, appearing in the somber final chapters as one of the hunters from Healy, Alaska, who finds Chris McCandless's decomposed body inside the abandoned Fairbanks City Transit bus in September 1992.

character

Ronald Franz

Ronald Franz is an 80-year-old retired Army veteran and leather craftsman who meets Chris McCandless in Salton City, California, during the winter of 1992.

character

Walt McCandless

Walt McCandless is Chris's father and plays a crucial role in understanding the psychological forces that pushed his son into the wilderness.

character

Wayne Westerberg

Wayne Westerberg is a grain-elevator operator from Carthage, South Dakota, who becomes one of Chris McCandless's most reliable connections during Chris's years of wandering.

character

“Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt.”

This quote comes from Christopher McCandless, who is also known as "Alexander Supertramp."

Christopher McCandless (Alexander Supertramp) · Chapter 6 (later chapters)

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”

This line isn’t originally from Chris McCandless; it’s a quote from Henry David Thoreau's Walden that McCandless copied into his journal and that Jon Krakauer includes in Into the Wild.

Henry David Thoreau (quoted by Chris McCandless) · Epigraph / McCandless's journal

“The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.”

This line is spoken by Christopher McCandless (also known as "Alexander Supertramp"), the main character of the book, in a letter to Ron Franz, an elderly man he met during his travels.

Christopher McCandless (Alexander Supertramp) · Chapter 6

“Happiness is only real when shared.”

This line is found near the end of Jon Krakauer's non-fiction book Into the Wild (1996).

Christopher McCandless · Epilogue / Chapter 18

“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love.”

This epigraph from Leo Tolstoy's Family Happiness opens Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild (1996) and serves as one of several epigraphs that frame Chris McCandless's tragic journey into the Alaskan wilderness.

Leo Tolstoy (narrator of Family Happiness), used as epigraph by Jon Krakauer

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism.”

This line is from Jon Krakauer's 1996 non-fiction narrative Into the Wild, taken from a letter Chris McCandless wrote to his friend and mentor Ron Franz shortly before starting his final journey in Alaska.

Chris McCandless · Chapter 6

“The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure.”

This line comes from Christopher McCandless — the young idealist at the center of Jon Krakauer's 1996 nonfiction narrative Into the Wild — in a letter to his friend and mentor Ron Franz.

Christopher McCandless

“I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!”

These are some of the last words written by Christopher McCandless, the young idealist at the center of Jon Krakauer's 1996 non-fiction narrative Into the Wild.

Christopher McCandless

“I now walk into the wild.”

This straightforward sentence is part of the farewell note written by Christopher McCandless, the real-life young man whose adventures are detailed in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild (1996).

Christopher McCandless

Books and Literature

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer recounts Chris McCandless's tragic journey into the Alaskan wilderness, where books and literature act as both a compass and a mirror for Chris's restless idealism.

Food and Starvation

In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, food and starvation serve as two sides of the same coin, representing both freedom and dangerous idealism.

The Alaskan Wilderness

In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, the Alaskan wilderness symbolizes both ultimate freedom and harsh indifference.

The Magic Bus (Bus 142)

In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, Bus 142—a rundown Fairbanks City Transit bus left to rust in the Alaskan wilderness—captures the alluring yet ultimately deadly illusion of self-sufficient freedom.

The Name 'Alexander Supertramp'

In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, the name "Alexander Supertramp" represents Chris McCandless's bold transformation and rejection of his past.

Irony

In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, irony serves as the book's emotional core, amplifying the tragedy of Chris McCandless at nearly every turn.

Tone

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer strikes a careful balance between admiration and mourning.

Allusion

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer incorporates literary and philosophical references to transform Chris McCandless's journey from a reckless road trip into a quest with profound cultural significance.

Flashback

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer uses flashback as the main structural device, opting not to follow a straightforward timeline leading to Chris McCandless's death.

Imagery

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer uses vivid sensory imagery to portray the Alaskan wilderness as both stunning and brutal, drawing readers into Chris McCandless's deadly fascination with the landscape.

Frame Narrative

Jon Krakauer shapes Into the Wild as a frame narrative, starting not with Chris McCandless's background but with the discovery of his decomposed body in an abandoned Fairbanks bus in September 1992.

Foreshadowing

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer uses foreshadowing both structurally and in individual sentences to create a sense of dread as readers accompany Chris McCandless on his thrilling journey to Alaska.

Symbolism

In Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, the Alaskan wilderness, the abandoned bus, and Chris McCandless's acts of shedding possessions all serve as powerful symbols that a simple biographical account would fail to capture.

Juxtaposition

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer uses juxtaposition as a key structural and thematic element, consistently contrasting Chris McCandless's romantic idealism with the harsh indifference of the Alaskan wilderness.

Epigraph

In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer begins each chapter with epigraphs that do much more than simply adorn the page — they create a shadow biography of Chris McCandless, revealing the intellectual and spiritual world he brought with him into Alaska.

pilgrimage

A journey made to a place of special personal significance, undertaken with a sense of deep purpose or devotion, not necessarily religious.

noun · Chapter 1

forage

To search widely for food in the wild, gathering whatever edible plants, berries, or animals can be found in the surrounding environment.

verb · Chapter 1

subsistence

A way of living in which a person produces or gathers only enough food and resources to survive, with nothing left over to sell or store.

noun · Chapter 1

wallow

To roll about or lie in mud or water; here used to describe large animals such as moose moving through boggy terrain.

verb · Chapter 2

stampede

In this context, a historic rush of people into a remote region in search of gold or other resources, lending its name to the trail McCandless followed.

noun · Chapter 2

prodigious

Remarkably large or impressive in extent or degree; used to describe quantities or feats that go far beyond what is ordinary or expected.

adjective · Chapter 3

itinerant

Traveling from place to place without a fixed home or permanent job, moving on whenever the mood or necessity demands.

adjective · Chapter 3

detritus

Loose fragments of rock, gravel, and debris worn away by erosion and deposited by water or wind; also used broadly for any accumulated waste or rubble.

noun · Chapter 4

granary

A storehouse built to hold grain; in this text refers to ancient stone structures built by indigenous peoples to store food in canyon walls.

noun · Chapter 9

rappel

To descend a steep rock face or cliff by sliding down a rope that is anchored above, controlling the speed with friction devices or the body.

verb · Chapter 9

crevasse

A deep, open crack or fissure in a glacier or ice sheet, often hidden by a thin snow bridge and extremely dangerous to anyone crossing on foot.

noun · Chapter 10

couloir

A steep, narrow gully or channel on a mountain face, often filled with snow or ice and used as a climbing route.

noun · Chapter 10

belay

To secure a climbing rope around a fixed point or through a device so that a falling climber is caught and held safely.

verb · Chapter 10

hubris

Excessive pride or self-confidence that leads a person to underestimate danger or ignore wise counsel, often resulting in disaster.

noun · Chapter 11

ascetic

Choosing to live without comfort, pleasure, or possessions as a matter of principle, embracing hardship as a path to purity or self-knowledge.

adjective · Chapter 11

penitent

Feeling or showing deep regret and a desire to make amends for past wrongdoing; here describing a mood of self-punishment and atonement.

adjective · Chapter 11

wan

Pale, weak, and sickly in appearance, suggesting illness, exhaustion, or severe malnourishment.

adjective · Chapter 1

alkaloid

A naturally occurring chemical compound found in certain plants that has a powerful effect on the human body, sometimes toxic, sometimes medicinal.

noun · Chapter 16

torpor

A state of extreme physical and mental sluggishness or inactivity, as if the body has nearly shut down due to starvation, cold, or illness.

noun · Chapter 16

provender

Food or provisions, especially dry stored food; used in the text to refer to the meager supplies McCandless had to sustain himself.

noun · Chapter 16

ennui

A deep feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from boredom or lack of purpose; a restlessness that ordinary life cannot satisfy.

noun · Chapter 12

peripatetic

Constantly traveling or moving from place to place rather than settling in one location; used to describe McCandless's roaming lifestyle.

adjective · Chapter 3

cache

A hidden or stored supply of food, equipment, or other goods set aside for later use, especially in a remote wilderness location.

noun · Chapter 14

moraine

A mass of rocks, gravel, and debris that has been carried and deposited by a glacier, often forming ridges at its edges or front.

noun · Chapter 10

edification

The process of improving oneself morally, intellectually, or spiritually through study, experience, or reflection.

noun · Chapter 8