January 19

Journal #1 - I started reading the book over the weekend.  I learned about how Chris was found dead, and about what people thought about him.  I think that how people perceive him would be an interesting topic to write about.  The author, Jon Krakauer, says in a little prologue that he received a lot of letters concerning what people thought of Chris.  Some said he was a reckless idiot who died out of stupidity, but others wrote that he was a hero, and a noble young man.  It would be interesting to write about because we could say what others think and throw in what we think.  We could make it be like our Beloved paper, but since we actually like the book, we would be more interested in writing it.  I think the book it pretty good so far, but right now I'm leaning towards Chris being an idiot. 

January 20

Journal #2 - I read further in the book now and it's starting to get interesting.  I think that Chris, or Alex, as he calls himself, is a really interesting person.  Basically, he hit the road with a car and no money to gain some kind of independence and experience.  He has trouble finding food and hitchhikes and meets people.  I think he's kind of an idiot for thinking he could survive with no money and no income, and really no identity to people.  But so far, he has proved me wrong.  In a way, I kind of envy Chris.  I can fault him for leaving with no absolute certainty of survival, but the man got to live out his dream.  I like the parts in the book that are actual journal entries he wrote or letters he wrote to people.  Those definitely interest me the most.  However, I think that the way he writes is really unnecessary.  He writes in third person, and often says things like "Alex is in trouble!" or "Alex is heading on this canal, hope he makes it!"  But at the same time, he narrates his own life.  With that being said, I think the author, Jon Krakauer, is doing a good job of telling his story so far.  He does as good of a job as he can about writing what he thinks is Chris' story is, and he does this by interviewing the people who met him along the way and by using his journal and letters.  I think Chris is a little pretentious but so far I am leaning more towards him being a hero, because he got to live out his dream before he died, something I wish I could do, and  I'm sure many other people envy him for.

January 21

Journal #3 - The book is definitely getting more interesting.  It seems like Chris is starting to get back "on the grid."  He still writes to people, which I find interesting since he has given up society, but he also is starting to interact more.  He seems to really like Jan Burres, a person that he writes to.  They go to a swap meet together after her and husband come to visit and she tells about how he playfully flirted with her and teased her.  Krakauer is doing a good job of telling his story so far, though. He did a good job of piecing together McCandless' journey, even though some of it is unknown.  So far, I think Chris' relationship with his parents is bizarre.  He doesn't want them to worry about him so he holds back mail to them that he sent or that they sent.  But they don't hear from him for a while and really start to worry.  They eventually hire a private investigator to look into where he went, and the investigator is able to put everything together and learn more about him.  I know he went off on his own to make himself happy and to live out his own dream, but the fact that he cuts his parents out of his life completely shows his selfishness.  Clearly, he doesn't really care if they're worried about him as long as he is happy.  He died without his parents really knowing much about him, and they probably have to read Krakauer's book to learn more about their son.  They shouldn't have to do that.

January 21

Journal #4 - I'm over half way down now and I think the book is a little hard to read at this point.  I find Chris to be a bit pretentious and an idiot.  I think the word I would use to describe him best came from the vocabulary list we found.  I would have to call him insolent.  It means showing an arrogant lack of respect, and I think that describes Chris perfectly.  He thinks he can do whatever he wants, and although I still think it's a viable choice to live off the land and try something new, I think you have to be better prepared and go all out.  Chris still meets people and talks to them and communicates them, and I think that somewhat defeats the purpose of what he was doing.  He wanted to be alone, but he still communicates with these people.  The book is making me think a lot about what type of person Chris was, which is the point of it, I suppose.  To me he seemed like he was going for something he could never reach.  He wanted to be separate from everyone but just couldn't do it.  He thought he was above a lot of people but still wanted to connect with them.  If the book has taught me anything so far, it's that we need other people, even if we don't depend on them.  The book proves, in a weird way, that humans weren't meant to be alone and that you shouldn't be afraid to ask for the help of others.  I know thats cheesy, but the book has made me realize that.  Chris wanted nothing more than to separate himself from civilization and make his own rules, but even while trying as hard as he could he couldn't do it.

January 24

Journal #5 - I finished reading the book this weekend.  After finishing it, I now realize why people like Chris and think of him as a hero.  He changes a lot in the second half of the book and really becomes someone to admire.  After he meets Ron, who I think is someone he sees as his father, he becomes a lot less selfish and a lot more concerned with helping others and seeing what everyone has to offer.  When Chris leaves Ron, he told him he would come back, something I really liked.  I also watched the movie this weekend.  It was really long, but I liked it more than the book because I felt it focused a lot more on Chris and what might have happened from his point of view.  The book pieces together information from what other people have to say, at no fault of the author, though.  The movie seems a lot more focused on Chris because it really only shows his life and values, and it keeps flashing back to his days alone in the Alaskan wilderness.  One part the movie doesn't take away from with the book is Chris' writing.  Some of it is included in the movie which I liked.  After finishing the book and the movie, I still say Chris was a little careless but his motivation to leave and what he accomplished were pretty incredible.  He got to live out his dream and didn't die in vain, although he did leave behind family and friends wondering what really happened to him and what he was thinking at the time.  He may have been selfish, but he was still a hero.

January 26

Journal #6 - I finished the paper and am officially done with the book now.  I think I learned a lot through this project, especially about other people.  Chris' adventure made me think a lot about what makes me different from him, because I wouldn't go on an adventure like he did.  Other people in my group said they might consider it, and I realize that that is main difference between me and other people.  I still admire Chris for doing what he did, especially when it was so dangerous, and also for following his dream.  That is the focus of our paper.  We talked about why people admire Chris and think of him as a hero, and why some people don't.  I think we had good contrasting view points and also told our opinion, that we believed he was someone to admire due to his ability to follow his dream and do what he wanted. I still think Chris is a little selfish, but I can't deny that what he did hasn't made a huge difference on the world today.