Answer either question A or B.
Question B:
Krakauer opens each chapter with an excerpt from another book--Alexander/Chris' journal, Tolstoy, London. Why does he quote from these books? What role do these excerpts play in the story Krakauer is telling? How do the excerpts set the scene/mood/tone of the chapter they introduce?
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The way Krakauer opens each chapter with an excerpt from another book, whether it be Alex/Chris' journal, Tolstoy or London, allows the reader to remember that we are not just reading a book but an actual person's story. These excerpts help Krakauer "set up" for what will be discussed in the chapter and help him set the mood and tone. The opening of chapter three (page 15), Krakauer quotes Wallace Stegner from his novel 'The American West as Living Space:' "It should not be denied...that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west." This passage is perfect for this chapter because it is a chapter where Alex/Chris decides he will change his name, as Stegner states and Krauker implies, it will help him escape from history, oppression and irksome responsibilities that he once had. I love the way each chapter starts off this way; the excerpts give the reader a type of connection into the story and an outlook and what the chapter is going to bring.
In the book, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakuer, Krakuer uses quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Each quote's purpose is that it helps the reader get in the mind set of what the chapter is going to be about. In the quote it says "I now walk into the wild"(Krakuer 3).This quote connects to the chapter and starts off the book because Alex travels to his destination and then says farewell, and basically erases himself from the life he was living. At the end of the chapter Alex leaves Gallian to walk into the wild to begin his adventure even though there are many things in the wild that are going against him. I really like the quotes at the beginning because it is interesting to connect the quote to the main character throughout the book. Also that the quotes are from a diary and are personal to whoever wrote the quote. The quotes connect their own experience with Alex in the book.
Each chapter starts with an excerpt from either Alex/Chris' journal, Tolstoy or London. These passages in a sense foreshadow what may happen in the chapter, that there is a deeper meaning to it. In chapter two there is a piece from Jack London's White Fang, in which he writes, "It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life." This quote is foreshadowing Alex/Chris' death, and the entirety of the passage is setting a gloomy mood, nothing to be happy or excited about. This piece from London suggests that nature is almighty, strong, and out of human control. No matter how hard Alex/Chris tried to survive the land was going to take him away. Krakauer (p.10) talks about the bus and how seven months may go by without any visitors, just like London mentions the lifeless, desolate land. In the note taped to the door Alex/Chris writes, "I am all alone, this is no joke," implying that many people do not visit this land, especially alone. This piece from London hints that the land is not able to or is unwilling to support life, sadly The Stampede Trail was unable to support Alex/Chris' life. Krakuer has a reason and a meaning to each carefully chosen passages that he begins each chapter with, and if read closely one will be able to find a deeper meaning and understanding in what is being read.
In Jon Kraauer's Into The Wild, every chapter is opened with a brief exert, from famous "adventure authors", I think that this is put in to show where "Alex's" inspiration to go out on his own and live on his own came from. I think that it also helps to set the stage for the rest of the novel. We first get a letter sent by Alex, in which explains that he has finally made it to Fairbanks and that he "now will walk into the wild". From this exert we know that this person has come a long way (somewhere in the south) to get where he is, he also mentions that this might be a fatal adventure, which seems to kind of be foreshadowing. In Jack London's exert we learn about the the unforgiving land of the Alaskan Wilderness, still more foreshadowing, we begin to get a sense of danger, just from reading these exerts. London also sets the scene for where most of this story is to take place, London tells us that the wild is unforgiving, unlike us it has no soul, "it laughs at us". In Stegner's exert we get a clear setting of Carthage, South Dakota, where Alex's letter is sent to. This exert seems to offer more inspiration behind Alex's actions. "It has not been denied....that being footloose has always exhilarated us." I think that Alex relates to these authors, he feels that he is trapped, by going into the wild he can "escape from history, oppression, law, and irksome obligations." Also in Leo Tolstoy's exert the same feelings are similar in that he wants to experience life for himself "I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love." All of these authors are talking about getting away from the common, boring life of society, this is exactly what Alex is influenced by, he feels the same way as all of these great minds.
The excerpts from postcards, Alex/Chris' journal, other literary works quoted at the beginning of each chapter give insight into the events to be discussed in that section. The excerpts are foreshadowing in this way. Sometimes the excerpts are quite literal, but many show either the tone of the events of the chapter or the setting of Alex/Chris' current location. For example, the beginning of chapter two has quite a sad tone as well as describes the setting of the place where Alex/Chris died. Krakauer quotes Jack London who talks about the desolation of the wilderness, similar to where Alex/Chris was found "It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild" (9). Krakauer chooses this quote for the chapter which discusses when Alex/Chris' body is found Ken Thompson and Gordon Samel while making their dangerous journey fording the river and finding the bus on their ATVs. London's quote seems to work well with the desperate note Alex/Chris left on the door to his bus discussing how he is all alone and he is not joking about his current condition (Krakauer 12). The quote at the beginning of chapter four similarly foreshadows the events of the chapter. Krakauer quotes Paul Shepard who discusses the desert "Here the leaders of great religions have sought the therapeutic and spiritual values of retreat, not to escape but to find reality" (26). This foreshadows when Alex/Chris decides to leave his car behind and burn his remaining money. Although Alex/Chris has already decided to start this new journey and way of life, when he decides to leave these things behind after the flash flood he has made a commitment to a life with only the bare essentials, truly living off the land. The use of these quotes before each chapter put the events to come into the perspective as well as explain the surroundings in a different way of writing than Krakauer employs.
Alexander/Chris journal, Tolstoy, and London are all quoted in the beginning chapters of Into The Wild by John Krakauer. These exerts serve multiple purposes that influence the tone, mood, and scene. These quotes are also from adventure books so they mesh into the chapter nicely. They also foreshadow what the next chapter might entail. This technique of quoting written by Krakauer is very cleaver because it gives you a small appetiser that flirts with your taste-buds, and makes you want to keep reading to indulge into the main course. For example, a mood of danger and the possibility of unfortunate events has whispered in the beginning chapters. "Laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life," in chapter two from Jack London's White Fang entices the reader with an essence of struggle. The novel creatively plays off these initial quotes that are defined through Krakauer's own interpretation.
I think that Krakauer opens each chapter with an excerpt from another book according to how important that text was to Chris and its relativeness to the contents of the chapter. He makes sure that the reader knows how important the chosen works were to Chris, and explains how these different views helped develop Chris' perception and theory of life. He chooses the certain passages because they had been isolated or highlighted by Chris himself in his bus or in his journal. Obviously, by Chris choosing these certain passages, they meant something important to him and helped construct his theory of life and they way it should be lived.
Each excerpt gives a different mindset to what will happen in each chapter, whether it is happy or sad or pensive. It shapes the readers mind to give them the correct mindset going into reading the chapter. It also separates the different sections in Chris' life according to which author and passage he related to most and which concept he most closely related to.
All of the authors are very influential writers with very opinionated views on life and its journey. Chris takes a compilation of these excerpts and lets them shape his mindset and the way in which he lives his life.
“Into the Wild” is the story of one Chris McCandless attempted odyssey into nature, as an attempt for a better life and a better understanding of what “The Wild” meant to us humans. Before the story even begins the author of the book, John Krakauer, had a few things to say about McCandless. Two of his remarks about the young man were “he was an extremely intense young man and possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence” talking about McCandless overall personality and his attitude, at the beginning, of the journey he was about to take; “when the boy headed off into the Alaska bush, he entertained no illusions that he was trekking into a land of milk and honey; peril, adversity, and Tolstoyan renunciation were precisely what he was seeking.”( Author’s note.) Those two quotes work side-by-side to the first two chapters of the book where Krakauer tells of the beginning, and end, of Chris’ journey; “Alexander/Chris' entrance into the Stampede Trail followed by a chapter on finding Alexander/Chris' body”, they work as contrast to each other showing the two sides, and views, of nature that McCandless came to know. At the same time, the two scenes parallel McCandless attitudes towards nature at the beginning and the end. At the beginning we are presented with a Chris McCandless who is idealistic, a bit naïve, “excited” about his journey. He is described as having minimal gear, little food, an inefficient gun and little equipment. But he is confident of his success in the wild. The impression we get of Chris McCandless is that he is confident in his knowledge or ability to survive in the wild, his capacity to “adapt” to the Wild. However, in the second chapter Krakauer shows the hard truth- Chris didn’t make it. In this chapter we learn that an SoS note written by Chris asking for urgent help and his “decomposed” and “unrecognizable” corpse is found on the inside of an abandon and broken bus, and the autopsy points to a death by “starvation”(pg.14.) Krakauer probably put that incident as the second chapter to show that, despite Chris’ confidence The Wild was harsh and cruel world for those not prepared enough to live in it. the two chapters/ and two expositions of Chris McCandless work to show a cycle- the two sides of nature- Life and Energy, Death and Decay.
This excerpts from famous authors honor nature, and reveal the complexity and possibilities that can be explored in a natural enviornment. They were also the books that the protagonist, Chris McCandless read vigorously, inspiring him to set off into a rambling life of true survival. They also set a tone for the chapter as they provide incite on observations and events that take place within the preceedin chapter
Starting each new chapter with a quote is a good way to re-focus the reader's attention as a new part of the story begins. I know for me, if there is a quote at the start of a new chapter, it keeps me more interested in what i am reading.
The quote also sets the tone for the reader telling them what angle to view the chapter from. The quote plants a seed in the reader's mind as they begin the chapter rather than letting the reader's mind free float from one chapter to the next.
Many of the quotes Krakauker uses is a deep reflection of the type of person McCandless was. We learn at the beginning of the story that he was a man seeking to break ties from modern society and was searching for solitude in the vastness of the wilderness. When the author uses a quote from 'Solitude: A Return To The Self', it shows the parralels between the quote and the personality of the subject; McCandless. Other quotes are from writers whose focus is the great outdoors; people like Mark Twain and Jack London. White Fang is a classic (I remember reading a modified children's version of it when i was a child)reference to nature. 'Wilderness and the American Mind' and 'Dead Father'- without reading beyond our assigned chapters we can understand who McCandless is by simply reading where the chosen quotes are from. Krakauer's intentional use of the quotes gives the reader a clear focus and angle in which to read the chapter through. The quotes also serve as an outside reference to the inner story of the subject that the author is conveying. Threading the story with (often) outside references gives us supplemental viewpoints in which to understand Chris McCandless and his life and eventual demise.
Sorry this blog is late...
Answering question B, Why Krakauer opens each chapter with an excerpt from another book:Alexander/chris' journal, Tolstoy, and London. These excerpts I believe are a means by which the author, Krakauer, tries to communicate to us that he is telling a story about someones life, and the chosen excerpts definately directly relate to the life of the main character and help tell his story in few words. These quotes definately set up each chapter and prepare us, or lead us into the thoughts and actions made by the main character. The excerpts i feel are profound and can possibly be almost a short summary that describe what is happening from an entirely different prospective and help us look at the story of the boys life in an entirely different way. The excerpts set the mood, scene, and tone of each chapter and almost fortell the upcoming actions of the boys life. they are helpful to get into the mindset of whomever wrote the quotes and more importantly how they relate their experience to the boys life. each quote i feel has a deeper meaning that we should find from each chapter and helps us better understand the adventure that is taking place. the author can also relay his own thoughts and beliefs through these quotes and therefore we are able to see how he relates to this boys journey.
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