Chapter 2 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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22 comments:
The placement of the end and beginning is most effective this way because now the reader knows where McCandless ends, and can be filled in on the journey up to that point. The author can also reveal things that he might not have been able to reveal if he did not tell the ending. Plus, it is a true story, so it is difficult to side step the true end.
The excerpts before each chapter were written by a couple of authors whom McCandless admired. Most of his desire to live as a tramp was credited to these writers.
Alexander Supertramp is an interesting name. Whenever I hear the name Alexander, I always think of a restless guy who desires nothing more than to explore. It sounds like a very outdoors-y name to me. The name "Supertramp" is kind of obvious once you've read several chapters. I got a feel for what a tramp is, mainly from the classic Disney movie Lady and the Tramp (: Love that movie! Anyway, as long as you've actually read the book, a tramp is basically a person who--either by foot or by vehicle--travels around the land while being homeless (typically). The "super" in front of "tramp" is interesting because I think he thought of himself to be the ultimate tramp. Before chapter five, there is an excerpt from Jack London:
"The dominant primordial beast beast was strong in Buck, and under the fierce conditionsof trail life it grew and grew. Yet it was a secret growth. His newborn cunning gave him poise and control."
When McCandless lived inside the abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail, he wrote on the inside:
"All Hail the Dominant Primoridal Beast!"
I have a feeling that he thought of himself to be that beast.
Telling the end just gives the reader a heads up of what's going to happen. It lets the reader fill in the gaps as they read along in the story. I think it is very effective to know the end of the story.
I think it gives the reader more of what's going to happen in the chapter. The one for the third chapter mentions freedom and that it what Chris had.
I think he did that to change his identity because of the illegal thing he did do. Also I think it also started a new life for him in a way. The name is original and many people have that name.
Danielle S.
I think that Krakauer tells about Chris's "oddyssey" before the ending so that you have more of an understanding where he is coming from. The effect I know it'll have on me is that I'll become more attached to Chris since I know more about him and where he is coming from. I think that this could be eddective either way since he hasn't given you all of Chris's background, just that little bit. And either way if you want this to be more of a mystery it still is because Krakauer never said why he left, or why he wasn't so close with his parents. Theres still a lot more to find out.
I think that the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter are to put you more into Chris's mind set. These are obviously words from people that meant something to him or he wouldn't have kept them with him.
I'm honestly not sure why Chris changed his name. I think its like a name of two people that have done a lot in their lives that he really admires. I know that if I were to change my name in his situation it'd be from something like that.
I wrote this really long post and my computer messed up.. So to make a long story short..
McCandless is stupid. Krakauer is stupid. The book is a lie. And I honestly dont like it. It could have been written so much better than it was. Krakauers opinions and thoughts are all up in the book. Where did he come up with the fact that Chris didnt like school and he was only waiting to graduate to please his parents and then he planned to leave. Maybe he just got pissed and left. We dont know. Plus he adds so many details that are not needed. He's just wasting space. I think he's trying to make this great big story out of Chris's journey and his life, when in all acutallity, he just wasnt that important or fasinating. And in my opinion McCandless is nothing but a rich white boy that got this fantasy that he could make it in the wild. And he was wrong. End of story. What more is there to read?
My idea on why the story of Alex's end appears before the beginning is because as people we have sympathy and when we here that somebody died, it catches our attention. Thats why we tend to use the phrase "before they died, they..." because it catches out attention and we want to know more. Alex changed his name because he was leaving his home and living life anew in nature and changed his name to mark that he was a new person, he wasnt a rich kid anymore but a free person. The excerpt in chapter 2's purpose is the coldness of death had taken him but he was laughing inside because he was happy atlast. Chapter 3 talks about history and the west which was dangerous and bew and the excepts explain that he was going on a dangerous journey but he woud find freedom on the way.
-Ashton H.
To start off by telling us the end the author is keeping us intrigued and interested in the story because while reading, the reader will automatically want to know why he died and how he went about getting to the point that he is in now. Its kind of like solving a mystery to me, you have a crime now all you need to find out is how it happend.
I agree with Kathi that the exerpts were included to kind of give the reader an insight on what Chris was thinking.
Now about the name change the only thing that I could think of why he did it was to avoid his parents from finding out where he was but why he chose the name is still puzzling to me. I know he got his last name from what people back then considered homeless people who traveled across the map either on foot or in a car. He just thought that he was the ultimate, super tramp. The only thing that I could say about his first name is that maybe he was inspired by Alexander the Great and how he was such a brave and courageous person. Really I don't know and that is really an ugly name to want to go by.
-LeQuita
I think it's weird to change your name to of all things, Alexander Supertramp. Supertramp? Maybe it has something to do with the rubber tramps and leather tramps that keep popping up everywhere.
In my opinion, Krakauer tells the end before the beginning because the end isn't what he wants us to focus on. It's not really that great either: he dies. Ok. but the real story is the journey he goes on, the people he meets, the journal entries he wrote, etc.
The excerpts are what Chris found interesting, and he uses those to 'base' his 'journey' on. To me, they seem like some sort of manual that he follows. 'Thoreau did this, so maybe I should too.' If you really think about it, it's kind of ridiculous...Well, maybe not. It's just the extreme that he took it to. If he applied it to something else like, just living a simple life with few aquaintances (sp?) no electronics, then it would be really cool, but not something to write a book about. I guess what makes it fascinating is that he took it to that extreme with no doubts at all.
It's starting to feel like I'm rambling, ha, so I'm done for now.
I feel that him telling the end first is important because it lets us know what we are about to read. It also makes me want to read the book even more to figure out what happened that led to his death.
I think that the excerpts before each chapter is to give you a better grip on what your about to read. Also I feel that it is to show you where his inspriation actually comes from.
I think the change of the name Chris McCandless to Alex Supertramp is very predictable. If I were to travel into a new place I would change my name to.This reminds me of also in the Bean Trees when she changes her name when she comes to new surrounding. The name Supertramp is to me a kind of like a foreshadowing that he is going to try to be the best tramp there is.
I believe that Krakauer tells the end before the beginning to get the reader interested. After you've figured out the ending to something you always want to know what happened to cause that ending & what the exact details were.
I think that the excerpts before each chapter are to tell a little about what is about to happen in the chapter.
I think he Chris probably liked the name Alexander more than his own so he chose that. Everyone always has a couple names they wish would have been theirs. As for the last name, Supertramp, I completely agree with Kali.
The excerpts in the beginning of the chapters are passages that inspired Chris to partake in his 'adventure'.
Krakauer telling the readers the ending before the beginning, I think, is quite clever. To me, I like trying to piece together how something happened...so to me this has a hint of mystery, and maybe a little Sherlock Holmes-y. But that's just me. I think it makes it much more interesting to find out, because part of you (the reader) wonders if during the telling of the cause to the effect (Chris's death), you'll maybe find out his motives for trekking into the wild. I think it's very effective because of this.
I think he changed his name primarily so that he wouldn't be found. Obviously he was trying to sever his ties to the materialistic world by destroying/donating all that he owned. Yet, I think he was trying to take on another persona possibly. Because, maybe this wasn't something that Chris would do...but something Alexander Supertramp would. Maybe I'm reaching too far out.. But I think it mainly has to do with being found.
I think the author reveals the ending to catch peoples interest.I am a plot reader, not a descriptive one. The first two chapters were really boring to me because there was no plot, it just described the scenary mainly.But becasue i was so interested in finding out what happened up to the ending i kept reading. And luckily, the book started to become interesting. I think Krakuer inserted the experts before each chapter because quotes like those were probabaly what motivated Chris to leave into the wild.
Chris changed his name becasue it signified the "death" of him. He was no longer a rich, unfree, trapped in confinement person. He just wanted a whole new beginning so thats why he changed his name to Alex Supertramp.
- Scarlet W
I think the placement of the end at the beginning is very significant to the story. As you read, you don't believe he is dead, it's a disappointing factor. We don't believe it at the end, even though we know the story. It doesn't keep those who didn't know Chris's story guessing. It made a lot of sense to me to put the end in the beginning. Chris changed his name to Alex because he started a new life, and wanted a fresh start.
The significanct points of the story lead the reader to understand the novel more as a whole.
I have no questions, at the moment!
-Kelsey Heath
I personally feel that the reason he explained the end is because the end was already known. If you were to ask a random person on the street that had heard about the story they would probably say
"uhh...sum kid who died up in alaska somewhere...i think"
I feel that Krakauer thought it would be effective if he told the details of the end to make people want to know the beginning, and that was extremely effective.
The excerpts in the beginning of each chapter are from the authors in which McCandless got his idealistic views from. I think they not only give us an insight into what McCandless may be thinking,but it gives us insight on what that leg of his "odyssey" was like.
as far as the name change, i kind of thought of Alexander the Great also. Not only because he was alexander THE GREAT
{i mean who wouldnt want that name...TY THE GREAT THAT LIKES TO EAT CAKE. ! has a nice ring don't you think. ? lol}
Anywho...if you look at what the man had accomplished...he took over: his community, his country, SHOOT he took over other freaking countries, but the main thing he took over and controlled was himself and his own destiny. They are alike in a number of ways if you were to do research. and idk, maybe has was just a tramp and he liked super heroes. There you go...
IS IT A BIRD...
A PLANE...
NO,IT'S...
dun dudu duhhh...
SUPERTRAMP. !!
The way Krakauer explains the ending before the beginning makes the flow of the rest of the book much smoother. To understand some of the things Krakauer writes you need to know that McCandless died in Alaska. It also serves as a way for clueless people (like myself) not to get their hopes up and expect him to be alive.
The excerpts are my favorite part. They all seem to go along with what i think McCandless followed, worshipped even. They help the reader to understand what he was thinking, why he would want to become a "supertramp".
I am positive that Chris changed his name because he was reinventing himself. In a way he was no longer Chris McCandless. He was nothing like the guy he left on the East Coast. That much change needs a new name and Alexander is a good choice. It seems like the type of name a wanderer would have. As for Supertramp, its self-explanatory. McCandless saw himself as THE Super Tramp. As we all should know by now, a tramp is someone who has no real home and wanders around from place to place looking for a new adventure. He thought he could do anything and come out on top.
I think that Krakauer putting the end in the beginning of the book is a good idea because it catches a lot of peoples attention. I also think he did it because he knew the book was going to get boring before it got exciting. knowing the end of the book makes me want to know how Chris died. I want to keep reading to find out what happened to make things so bad that he went to Alaska. I think Chris thinks he will become some great person so he changes his name. I personally don't think he is a great person at all because he did something stupid. He wanted to prove something but he ended up not really proving it because he died. i think what he did was pointless and not worht dying at all.
Reading the ending first is deffinatley new to me but in a way I enjoyed Knowing how it was going to end in more detail since I already new he had died. I think it is effective because it isn't a mystery or a horror book but a true biography that has facts. So either way the whole story will come out in one part or another.
I believe the excerpts at the beginning of the chapters are quotes from authors he admired and followed. He followed their sayings to keep him going and they were like his bible.
In my opinion if someone changes their name they are trying to start over and forget the past. I read what Kali had said and she has a lot of good points. Maybe he admired Alex the Great but other than what she said I don't really know why he would use the name Alex. It is understandable that he used Supertramp as his last name even though it is VERY unusual and unique. He probably feels invincible and we all know why he used tramp.
If you think about it, in a way Chris must have been really excitecd to start over and begin new starting with his name where I think he got carried away and it still shows he was young coming up with the name Supertramp.
I suppose I kind of with the statement 'letting the reader know the end of story before the book even starts gets them interested'.
I think that it's more of the fact that the readers find out that he died and want to know more about how.
Chris chose the name 'Alexander Supertramp' probably 1. he likes the name Alex and 2. tramps are people who are homeless, wanderers, etc.
I really agree with Kali on how telling the end can reveal things to us that we wouldn't notice by staring from the beginning. It is different yet effective in its own way at that.
I've noticed all the excerpts before each chapter come from the books, of the authors, that Cris loved. These writers influenced Chris to go on this journey.
FOr one he wanted a new identity to go along with his new lifestyle. The name Supertramp is a very ironic name to choose because of the definition of tramp (a lon journey on foot) and the distances that he traveled which is possibly why he chose "super". Again Kali makes an excellent point in saying he seemed more like an ultimate tramp.
Sheesh. Makayla, Tyrisa and Connie all said a majority of what I wanted to say.
He tells the ending first so you don't focus on it, and you don't have those hopeful day dreams of Chris surviving the harsh conditions some how. We tend to view stories as always having a happy ending in some form. It also guarantees that something is going to happen eventually. If I had just read the beginning of the journey, I would have set the book down and probably consider eating it for it's nutritional value before ever reading it again. It's too descriptive and just sounds like it's about to go tell the story of how a well-off college graduate went to explore the country. YAWN!
When you're reading you have those moments when you're all, "Cool! That's good for him, I hope things stay like tha- Wait, he's dead... How did that change?" It makes you question what could have happened. The excerpts are tools to help decipher what was in Chris' mind, I believe. Like many of the others.
Alexander, Like Ty pointed out, The Great. He explored, he conquered, he gathered a mass collection of knowledge and stored it in the Library of Alexandria. That's what Chris wants. Gather all the knowledge of the lands he explores and 'conquers'(Conquer in the sense that he was able to endure) I believe Tramp is just as everyone else said, a tramp. Traveler. Super, because it doesn't sound as strange as just Alexander Tramp.
I feel Krakauer told Chris's end at the beginning, not only because it is a true story, but also because now the reader wants to know why he died and what he accomplished before he came to his final days. Just as LeQuita said, it keeps the reader intriged and keeps the pages turning. Personally, it isn't that effective because once I know the ending of a book I don't have a lot of motivation to keep reading. However, it is a goood tectic considering that this book is a piece of non-fiction. (I also agree with Destini about the stupidity...but yea)
Kali, Ty, and Keenan ...hmm... do i admit that i agree with them or not....i like the points they all make about his name change. Alex im no so sure why he chose but Ty brought out a good point...Alexander the GREAT...of course!!! (yes Ty, it does have a ring to it lol)
Also, the tramp thing; since a tramp was a wanderer, homless person, Chris "Alex" was definetly a tramp, and he was an unltimate tramp and Supertramp also just flows lol...
The signifigance to me is that when he really started his adventure, Chris McCandless died in a sense and thus Alex was born a new man, just as his life on the leather belt he made. The new beginning started with Alex, not Chris. the end...
I think the writer starts off revieling the ending because it allows suspense for the reader to build up so the reader would like to know how Chris got to the point where he is now; I think this is effective because, it makes the reader want to find answers to what happens at the end.
I think the exerpts add questions to the reader or it just shows how life was while he was into the wild, it also adds into showing how Chris is as a person.
I think he changed his name to show that he's a new person starting a new chapter in his life, it leaves all traces of his past behind. -Chris L.
By Krakauer informing us on the conclusion of the events that have happened draws the reader in, with craving of wanting to know how that happened in the first place and why. Many questions are thought of, but no answer unless your read. It was very effective to me. I felt like wouldn't of been able to capture a good understanding of the book.
The excerpts shows many of the things that Chris has read which inspired him in many ways, and engraved such an idealistic way of thinking in his head.
I look more at his last name, Supertramp. With tramp meaning a person who travels, living off of occasional jobs, etc describes what Chris actually does during his odyssey. The super in from of Supertramp tells you that he believe he will be one of the best, or one that exceeds the status of just a tramp.
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