A taste of Transcendetalism...

Read the two poems by  Emerson and Ol' Uncle Walt.

Group # 1: What images do you notice?
What themes, central ideas do they suggest were important to Emerson and Whitman, respectively? 
Do you see any overlap with Romantic ideals? 
Given what you know about Chris McCandless so far, do you see any overlap between Chris's ideas and those of Whitman and Emerson? 

Is solitude or commmunity more important for happiness?

Are they mutually exclusive? 

How does one find a balance between quiet and solitude and conversation and community? 

Do you feel you have a balance between the two in your life?

Group #2...Discuss your responses to the questions you worked on last night.

Looking forward to tomorrow's work (in-class reading and questions):

Into the Wild- Jon Krakauer

Assignment #2- Chapters 4-5 (25-46)

Vocabulary

On a separate sheet of paper, write down the word, part of speech, and definition.

oxymoronic (39)

denuded (41)

Discussion Questions

As you read, answer these questions on a separate sheet of paper. Be thoughtful and thorough in your answers.  You don’t need complete sentences, but complete answers.  Each response is worth 2 points.

1.      How is Krakauer able to corroborate (strengthen or support with other evidence) the events in the Detrital Wash?

2.      Refer back to the first map in the book for the events of the summer of 1990.  Then refer to the map on page 24.

a.      What happened in October 1990?

b.      November 1990?

c.      December 1990?

d.      What stymies McCandless’s passage to the Gulf of California and what “miracle” occurs on December 9, 1990?

e.      What happens on January 1, 1991?

3.      Who cares for McCandless in Slabs?  What are they like?  What sort of care do they offer Chris?  What is Slabs?

4.      Krakauer spins McCandless as being infatuated with Jack London.  Who is Jack London and what does Krakauer say about McCandless’s infatuation with him?