Into the Wild Dialectical Journal

Not sure what to write for your commentary? Here are some tips:

Jenee Gossard of the UCLA Writing Project (1997) suggests the following sentence starters for students who
struggle with right-hand column responses:
I wonder I noticed
I began to think of I was surprised
I like the idea If I had been
I know the feeling I was reminded of

Common reader responses include:

Feelings (boring, sad, exciting, confusing, strange)
Questions (I wonder why the author wrote these boring parts?)
Images (pictures in the mind, with full sensory response)
Favorite (or detested) words and phrases
Echoes (of other books, movies, television shows, headlines, songs, or poems)
Reaction to characters or events (That Raskolnikov is so self-absorbed!)
Memories (people, events, places youve known)
Connections (to other ideas, people, feelings, books)

Chapter Page # Quotation Commentary

1 4 Hey, Im goin to get up on there, live off He wants to climb to the mountain to
the land, go claim me a piece of the experience life.
good life.

1 6 How I feed myself is none of the The government does invade our privacy a
government's business. Fuck their lot I believe.
stupid rules.

2 13 It wasnt until I walked around to the Chris McCandless had died of starvation out
other side and saw a head sticking out in the wild which is really sad.
that I knew for certain what it was.

4 26 This piece of shit has been abandoned. One mans trash is another man's treasure.
Whoever can get it out of here can have
it.

4 27 Were still getting a lot of mileage out of Sometimes when u least expect something
that old car even now. that looks like a piece could totally be
reliable.

4 27 Put a few bucks of gas in the thing, and Datsuns are very cool cars and I almost
it will go all day. Real reliable. Kind of bought a datsun 210 when I was looking at
wondered why nobody ever showed up cars.
to reclaim it.

4 32 Chris was very much of the school that You should always be prepared to be able
you should own nothing except what you to keep what you own with you at all times
can carry on your back at a dead run. for an emergency.

5 40 But he was a nice kid and a good When I am at work i try my hardest and
worker. Real dependable. work to my full potential.

5 40 I don't think he ever hung out with any Chris was very passionate about nature and
 Into the Wild Dialectical Journal
of the employees after work or anything. he loved talking about it.
When he talked, he was always going
on about trees and nature and weird
stuff like that. We all thought he was
missing a few screws.

5 45 Id go out back to hang clothes on the Chris used to always be flirty and tease
line behind the trailer, and hed attach Burres.
clothespins all over me.

6 49 Ive lived in these parts six years now, Chris found a spot that not a lot of people
and Ive never heard of any place goes are actually aware of which is pretty cool.
by that name. Show me how to get
there.

6 51 I thought he was too nice of a kid to be Chris is a good man and doesnt do any
living by that hot springs with those drugs or bad activity.
nudists and drunks and dope smokers.

6 51 You dont need to worry about me. I He is living off the land by choice because
have a college education. Im not he wants to not because he has to.
destitute. Im living like this by choice.

6 54 We went to Sizzler, where I filled him up Franz is a good guy and really helped out
with steak and lobster, and then we Chris with food and a place to stay.
drove back to Salton City.

7 62 And it was pretty comical to watch him I remember when i first learned how to drive
to try and get the hang of the clutch and manual and now its super easy to me and a
all those levers. He definitely wasnt good experience.
what youd call mechanically minded.

7 63 Serious stuff, like he was baring his I have friends that open up to me and tell
soul , kind of. He said he could tell me me pretty personal things for me to keep a
things that he couldnt tell others. secret and talk about.

7 64 I think he must have just got stuck on

something that happened between

8 71 Entering the wilderness purposefully ill- Chris has a lot of mental strength to go out
prepared, and surviving a near-death and do this by his self which he had a real
experience does not make you a better experience
human, it makes you damn lucky.

9 92 Ive decided that Im going to live this Chris is very grateful of his life and wants to
life for some time to come. The freedom enjoy every moment of it.
and simple beauty of it is just too good
to pass up.

10 100 The cops told me theyd had more than When a person who you know goes missing
one hundred and fifty calls from folks you may become desperate to find a loved
who thought Alex was their kid, their one too.
friend, their brother.

10 101 Oh my god, what a terrible tragedy. I Its pretty ironic how he's saying that he feels
really feel sorry for the family of this guy, sorry for his family when it actually is his
whoever they are. What a sad story. family.
 Into the Wild Dialectical Journal
11 107 They ran a real good business together Chris parents were always gone which can
and eventually started making bunches cause him to be more individual.
of money, but they worked all the time.

11 108 Later we bought an airstream trailer Chris has always had a passion for outdoors
and traveled with that. Chris loved those and loved to go camping.
trips, the longer the better,

12 118 Chris said how much he respected Dad It takes a certain man to work hard and get
for starting from nothing, working his an education to support your family.
way through college, busting his ass to
support 8 kids.

12 120 I think when everyone started going Chris is not the partying type but actually
greek , he kinda pulled back from his old cares more deeply about himself.
friends and got more heavily into
himself.

13 129 I was always getting on mom and dads When the parents arent around their kids
case because they worked all the time start to think too far into things and dont get
and were never around. enough guidance.

13 129 For some reason the worst is when i'm Him and his sister were very close and she
in the car by myself. Not once have i can do nothing but mourn for him.
been able to make the twenty minute
drive from home to the shop without
thinking about Chris and breaking
down.

14 133 If this adventure proves fatal and you Chris McCandless left a great legacy behind
dont ever hear from me again I want him and left a deep sad note for his family.
you to know that youre a great man. I
now walk into the wild.

16 158 The company i work for has a strict rule He wanted to help Chris but did not want to
against picking up hitchhikers. I could risk his job.
get canned.

16 164 I'm just going to take off and keep he has no plan he's just gonna go out in the
walking west. wild and send it.

17 176 Hey, bear! Just passing through! No I would never try and talk to a bear lol.
reason to get riled!

17 178 It smells like dead birds in here. dead birds smell bad.