Here we go a-blogging...
A blog is literally a "web log" or a journal online. As AP English 11 students, you will be asked to respond to different writing in an intellectual way. This blog is a forum for "fleshing out" those ideas. It is a place where you can brainstorm with your peers from your class as well as from the other AP 11 class. Please be respectful of one another and be tolerant of opinions that are contradictory to your own. You do not have to agree, but you also don't have to be rude about it. Other than that, very little is off limits. However, keep it school appropriate... :)
First installment:
Let's talk about Into the Wild...
Chapter 2 of Into the Wild focuses on facts about Chris's end, and chapter 3 focuses on the beginning of Chris's "oddyssey"... Why does Krakauer tell the reader the end before the beginning? What effect does knowing the end have on the reader? In your opinion, is it effective?
Explain what you think the purpose of the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter are all about...
What is your opinion of why Chris changed his name to Alexander Supertramp? What is the significance of the name and the name change?
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Maria Spataro:
ReplyDeleteI think that Krakauer was looking for a different way to lure in the readers. Cutting straight into that scene will make people wonder what exactly happened to Chris prior to his death. I also find the story to be much more readable since it did not start of like most books.
Again, maybe the reason for the excerpts was to add a different, yet interesting way to attract the reader. I mean, they do give evidence about the life of Chris McCandless. Also, to actually go and use real letters may intrigue readers since the book was based on a real person.
As for the name change, I believe that he did that to be free from his “old” self. He did throw away anything and everything that had to do with "Chris McCandless". I think this was a way for him to start over. So that he could begin a new life in the wild where all of his old memories would vanish.
Sal M.
ReplyDeleteSecond time typing this because it got lost when i had to log in.
I think he was trying to get the reader excited by having a good ending and drawing the reader in to want to know what happened on his journey to the end, i usually want to read a book for the ending and when an ending is good i usually want to actually read the book, which is why i think he did that, so yes it was pretty effective for me.
To me the excerpts make the book a little bit more interesting and kept me going when i was reading, and since they're real they might take the reader by surprise like when horror movies say based on a true story that makes you want to go see what actually happened to someone.
I think the name change was to get away from the whole story and that time in his life which was hard for him, so he probably just wanted to forget about it and move on like after watching a terrible movie.
Kraukaher tells the end of the story first to reel the reader in. It makes you wonder exactly how his death happened and all the little facts that led up to it. It was effective, at least for me, in that it made me want to finish the book.
ReplyDeleteDennis
I think Krakauer tells the end of the story because he knows that the reader will have that little question in their mind, "How did he die?". So that makes the reader read the rest of the book and find out the answer along with the answers to any other questions that come up along the way.
ReplyDeleteAgain the effect it has on the reader is making them wonder and when someone wonders it eats at them until they know the answer. It is effective because if it just started out like any other book I don't think I would've been drawn in and read the book.
The excerpts make the book that more interesting becuase you are reading something out of another piece of writting and learning more at the same time.
The purpose of changing his name was to make surer no one reported anything back to his family, more importantly his mother and father since he didn't get along with them. When i hear the name Alexander, I think of Alexander the Great and how he conquered places. The Supertramp is probably used to express that he walks everywhere and is living poorly.
I believe thats he tell us the end of his journey at the begining because he wants us to know what happened to him. if you find out a person die you tend to ask the question "well how did he die and why". he wants people to keep reading to find the out the whole story.
ReplyDeletethis , in my opioin , has a great affect on the rest of the story. knowing how the story ends gives you a kind of insioght of how the rest of the story plays out. you will notice things that relate in the end and how they will come together like peices of a puzzle.
He started his life over. this is why i think he changed his name. it signafigte because it represents a rebirth of his self identity. there is also that fact that noone could find him including authorities and family
I think that Krakauer just wanted to give the reader a introduction to the story because we wouldnt know about McCandless if Krakauer didn't at first give us a background of the character. I think knowing the end of Chris's life was effective because it lets Krakuer explain why Chris did what he did, into the story. From the reader's perpective it is a tragedy, yet it is a intro to Chris's life starting from the end. It was effective to me because I wanted to know why anyone would do this so it drew me in.
ReplyDeleteI thought the excerpts were factual, so it put more "real" into the story. It let me see how Chris's state of mind was at the time. It did actually draw me in because it gave background into the chapter.
I think Chris changed his name to mark the begining of his journey. It reminded me of how Siddhartha changed his name to Buddha when he became in enlightened about life. Also it was like he was casting away his old life. Im not really sure why Chris chose Alex Supertramp as his name and what significance it brought.
~Xavier S.~
I think Krakauer tells the reader about McCandless's death in order to remind us how each event that takes place in the story has its own value and affects the outcome of the story and how Chris died. If we weren’t aware of the end, we would most likely overlook some very important details, like Chris's overconfidence and unrealistic idealist views about nature. Removing just one little event could tremendously change the outcome for the better or the worse. I thought it was effective because as I read the book I paid very close attention to detail and tried to imagine how it relates to his death.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpts at the beginning of each chapter were to let us know how Chris was feeling and what was going on in his head. The excerpts were either written by Chris himself, or his favorite authors, who happen to have large amounts of influence on him. All those writers, like Chris, were idealistic and had a romanticized appreciaton for nature.
Chris most likely changed his name to Alexander Supertramp in order to prevent his parents, the government, and anyone else searching for him from finding him. In ecology, a supertramp is any species of animal that migrates to many different habitats that it isn't specialized for. Chris could be considered a supertramp with his nomadic lifestyle and tendency to travel to places he is not prepared for. The name change signifies Chris's reborn and "enlightened" life and an escape from what he considered an empty and flawed society.
Like Sal, this is my second time typing this also.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with Xavier 200%, I feel like he just took the words right out of my head!
Knowing the ending of the book made me want to read the book more. Because it raised a bunch of questions in my head, I wanted to know why this character would put himself in that perdicament. I wanted to know all the details to his journey, and what it was like. It made me have to read the book, because that was the only way I could get my questions answered.
I think the excerpts were just another insight before you got into the details within the actual chapters.
I agree with everybody else about Chris changing his name. It is a representation, kind of a symbolism. Because everything in his life is about to change with his new journey, so he changed his name to go along with the change going on in his life.
- Amera' Olds
I think the purpose of telling the story with the ending in the beginning was to draw in the person's attention and make you want to read the rest of the book. In my opinion, it was effective. It drew me into the book from the beginning and I was hooked. I can honestly say that this was the first book required for the English curriculum that I actually enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the quotes at the beginning of each chapter and the quotes from his personal journal was just to make it more interesting and they also gave his side for why he did the things he did and what he encountered along the way.
I think him changing his name was a way for him to fully embrace his new life and the adventure ahead of him. It was a way for him to start all over again thus adding more significance to his story.
Well, I think he began with the end because it makes the reader curious about how the end came about. What caused it and why?
ReplyDeleteThe excerpts were to add more insight on Chris himself.
Also, the reason Chris changed his name was because he didn't want to be a part of the society he'd known and grown up with so he wanted to rid himself of everything belonging to that society. One of those things was the name he was given. It represented who he had been while living in said society. He felt he had to shed that last skin of his old self in order to begin a new and, in his opinion, better life.
-Heaven Blanco
Krakauer wanted you to have the emotion of "aww, he died" throughout the book, so that you want to keep reading. Also, he wanted to convey that message so that throughout the entire book, you know how far away he is from death, and how far he is coming from his original place, where he started, in upstate Virginia.
ReplyDelete-Phylyp
Also, I liked Ron, the old guy. He was a good character. Just thought I should stop by and add my two cents, lol.
Good read and a better movie!
Krakauer idea of bringing the beginning to the end gave readers a brain warp. We all know that the majority will cheat and turn to the last page of the book to see the conclusion before starting off on the begginning, its human nature to be curious. But since he treated us before the trick, we get more curious and want to know why he did this and what this novel has to offer.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpts were a way to relate to the audience. Someone could of picked this book up, not knowing what it was all about, but continue to read and find a familiar passage. They wouldn't feel lost anymore, they would be able to realate the quote to the chapter and find what the chapter was really about. The quote would be somewhat of a symbol to Krakauer's chapter.
Notice how the caterpillar changes to a butterfly? It becomes something completely different from what it orginally was. Chris changed his name to complete his metamorphasis. He didn't want to remember his past, and he didn't want anyone to remember him.
Tangie G Bodden
AHHHH ! Third time writing this, stupid computer! :'(
ReplyDeleteLet's hope third time's a charm, LOL. ;]
Okay, so, i think Krakauer ordered his novel the way he did, starting off with the ending and ending with the events leading to it, to build a different suspence! Personally, when i read or even watch something that begins with the ending, and makes the whole plot about the events leading to it, it's intriques me a lot more. I would love to get right to the conclusion of every story, it's only human nature. By giving us the end result, we become twice as more interested in how it got to that point, or at least i did!
- As far as him changing his name, i could not word my explaination any better than Tangie did herself, nice job girl. ;] But i will try:
I think he changed his name as a reinforcement, to reinforce that he has changed, that the change is permanent, and that he the old him is not of exsistance, nor has it ever been! It seems to me like that was his final move, confirming his transformation into a new him.
Cassandra Maresca ;)
I think Krakauer was trying to make the story a little bit exciting when he talked about the ending first so it would give the readers some ideas about the story and make you want to read the rest of the book. It is effective because when I first heard the summary of the story, I was actually wondering why he would run away from home and live on his own when he already have pretty much everything.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the reason why Chris McCandless wanted to change his name is because he wanted to start over and make things better by doing everything on his own without any help from others. I am not sure why he chose to change it to Alexander Supertramp, though.
I think Krakauer tells the reader the end before the beginning because it's an effective way to draw the reader into the story. It's also a unique way to catch the readers attention.
ReplyDeleteAshley C.
I believe Krakauer's intention, by revealing the end before the rest of the story, was solely to confuse AP English 11 students. What other motivation could he possibly have? I know his devious scheme was especially effecive by first-hand experiences. The excerpts at the beginning of each chapter clearly emphasize the level of confusion Krakauer is trying to create. And lastly, the name change from Chris McCandless to Alexander Supertramp is blatantly obvious if you have read anything I previously stated. All out of Krakauer's hatred for AP 11 students.
ReplyDelete- Jonathan Smith
I still have a "0" for this in my student portal :[ my dad got mad lol.
ReplyDeleteI think Krakauer gave the end before giving the beginning because like in the movies they give the end before giving the beginning to add suspense to the story when the end comes around again and it is more intense. Also, like Mrs.Desarro said when she watched the sixth sense, she wanted to watch again after seeing the end to look for clues that gave away the ending, so giving the end first prevents you from doing that.
ReplyDeleteI think the excerpts gave a foreshadowing to something similar that may happen in the chapter.
Chris McCandless changed his name to what he wanted to become Alexander Supertramp.... he became a super tramp. Before he met his final destination in the cold, harsh wilderness of Alaska, he tramped around traveling as a vagabond.
~Sharee S. Davis
I believe Krakauer told the reader of Chris' end to intrigue them. I think it was pretty effective because I was exceedingly interested in knowing what exactly happened to him.
ReplyDeleteI think the excerpts add something to each chapter. It makes the story seem a bit more interesting.
I think the name change was to get away from the everyday normal. Alexander Supertramp is such a strange name and it is not something you would hear every day. I think he wanted to be remembered, but not by having a connection with his old life before he left on his "odyssey".
I agree with both Amera and Xavier.
ReplyDeleteWhen i found out the ending of the book it made me want to read it. I wanted to figure out how it all happened and what caused it to end that way. I felt like if i didnt finish the book i would have all these questions that would go unanswered.
I belive the excerpts gave you a little background before you got in to the chapter.
I think Chris changed his name because he wanted to have a name that symbolized him. I think he felt like he needed a new identity because he was becoming a new person.
I think Krakauer told the end of the book first because he wanted to draw his readers in. When I was reading the book, it made me interested and I wanted to find out how a ending like that came to be. I also think he did that because he wanted to have his own unique style of writing.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Tangie and Ashley. Krakauer tells the end of the book at the beggining to hook the readers. It is like a math teacher saying well here is the answer, but a part of us wants to know how he came up with it. I believe thats why Krakauer tells the end to make the readers curious on to why that happened. Could ha have lived is one of the questions I had at the beggining and therefore I especially wanted to read it to find out.
ReplyDelete-Deryk J.