McCandless' Symbolic Belt

If I had to decorate an object that would describe me, I would pick a charm bracelet. As Chris had 8 symbols that described himself on his belt, I would have 8 charms attached to my bracelet. One charm that would be very important to me would be a double sided road. This charm would show the many twists and turns in my life but that there is a negative way to deal with a situation and positive way. I would have a book to represent my future of education and hopefully a successful business. Next, there would be a charm of two hands holding each other tightly to show the bond between my friends and family. This would also be an important charm to me because my friend's and family are my rock in life, so maybe I could even make the charm a rock or stone. I would definitely have a glamorous music note charm so everyone would take note of my love for music and dancing. The New York City skyline would be a cool charm to show that I want to move to a big city when I'm older so I have more chance of success. I love to travel and explore cities across the world so I would want to include a charm of a map or an airplane. Considering that it was fashion week in New York City this past week, I'd love to have a charm of a dress or a high heel to show my appreciation for high fashion. Lastly, I'd finish off my bracelet with a bird of some type to show my hope of freedom. I guess you could say my bracelet would be a bit more expensive than Chris' belt but I really think this charm idea would express my passions of the world in a pretty cool way.

Authors Quotes in Relation to Chris

Author	Book Title	Quotation	Relation to Chris
Jack London	White Fang	“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” (Page 9 lines 10-13)	This describes the merciless condition of the Alaskan wilderness that Chris was determined to hike through. It laughed at his attempt to survive and killed him with no guilt.
Leo Tolstoy	Family Happiness	“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life.” (Page 16 lines 1-4)	This applies to the love and thrill Chris has for his adventures. He isn’t satisfied with our simple life and wants to really live before dying.
Wallace Stegner	The American West As Living Space	“It should not be denied… that being footloose has always exhilarated us.”	This talks about how Chris doesn’t deny himself the pleasure of cutting himself off from society. Having no rules in the wilderness or just no rules at all makes us feel like nothing could stop us.

One of my favorite quotes is, "You can not control the bad things that happen in your life, but you can control your reaction". This relates to me because even though I might have some bad days, I know how to control myself so I don't make the situation any worse. The situation is only as bad as you think it could be and a positive attitude helps me through things more than just giving in and getting upset. I feel like like Chris would like my quote because he is a very determined person who does not get shaken very easily by a bad situation. 

Maui, Hawaii

If I could explore anywhere in the United States, I would want to travel the land of Maui, Hawaii. There’s no wonder people say this place has an endless summer because it’s beautifully sunny all year around with a few rain showers here and there. I would want to travel to Maui by plane considering it is in a group of islands and I’m not a very big fan of boats. Maui is known for their variety of landscape with the white sand beaches, mountains, and volcanoes. I think I’d want to pack a big suitcase to carry everything I need for my adventures in Maui. First, I’d focus on what I would need to bring as far as clothes. I would want to take a vast amount of beach apparel considering people rave about the amazing beach life. I would really want to go on a Four Winds boat sailing ride along the crystal clear waters of the coast so I would need some cute bathing suits. I would also want to visit the natural water pools created along the coastline to keep myself cool and comfortable under the hot sun. Athletic clothes and water bottles would be very helpful too in my hiking and rainforest adventures. There is at least 100 square miles of rain forest across Maui to roam through and explore the beauty. Hiking trails and zip lines are scattered all over the island in places where you can see the entire landscape. A camera would also be very important to bring when I watch the sunrise behind the volcano of Haleakala from my bungalow-style cottage. These cottages are quite exotic but still have all the means of plumbing and electricity, which is the perfect fit for me. I need to bring lots of money to shop along the many local shops and restaurants. One place that I would love to eat at would be Julia’s Best Banana Bread, which is a restaurant located in a real life tree house! How cool would it be to watch the sunset on the horizon from the tree house?  Exploring the land of this unique island would be the most intriguing vacation I’ve ever experienced. Here are some pictures of the Four Winds boat sailing and the natural pools along the coastline.

Author Biography

This is Jon Krakauer, the man that wrote the story called Into the Wild.
Jon was born in Brookline, Massachusetts and had loved the nature since he was a little boy. His dad started to take him mountaineering when he was only eight years old. He then grew up and went to the college of Hampshire College and received his degree in Environmental Studies. After graduating from his high school years, he spent a good three weeks by himself in the wilderness in Alaska just as Chris did but didn't survive. You could say that Jon really knew how to relate to Chris because he was actually just like him! No wonder Jon became a writer for the magazine Outsider, his work was brilliant due to his experiences with nature. He wrote stories of his adventures mountaineering with some partners and other thrilling experiences. Two books that Jon wrote that are very popular amongst high schools across the nation and they are Into the Wild and Into Thin Air. As explained in the first blog, Into the Wild is a true story about an adventurous man named Chris McCandless who sets off for a journey to live in the Alaskan wilderness. Into Thin Air is about a group of mountaineers hiking up mount Everest and having the whole plan go terribly wrong. Into Thin Air reached top spot on The New York Times non-fiction bestseller list. Jon wrote a couple other books but these two were his most famous accomplishments. Jon Krakauer is the perfect man to write a story about Chris McCandless because he has just about the same passion for nature as Chris did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Krakauer

Introduction to Into the Wild Literature Project

For the next month or so, my class will be discussing and reading into the book of Into the Wild by John Krakauer. It is based on a true story about a man named Christopher McCandles who was a very adventurous nature man. He loved to explore the wilderness and didn't like the idea of society. Chris decided that after college he would set off to live in the Alaskan wilderness. He made his trip across the country and finally made it to Alaska. Chris walked into that Alaskan forest and never came out. Chris' body was found inside an old bus in Alaska on September 6, 1992 Jon Krakauer started tracking Chris' steps a year after he died to try and figure out his route of travel. He examined Chris' journey from the time he got out of college to his disappearance in the forest. Chris changed his name to Alexander Supertramp and set off on his journey that would soon lead to his death. Jon mentions that Chris' personality was heavily influenced by his favorite writers in many ways. Jon connects the dots between Chris and his favorite authors' experiences and realized where he got his adventurous taste from. Jon also talks about in the book how devastated Chris' family was when they found out he was dead. I encourage other young teens like myself to join us in reading this excitingly true story of a man with a wild heart that would lead him to his own death. Was this man a fool or a hero? Read Into the Wild and decided for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild