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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What food was Chris extremely fond of?

2. Why did the employees at McDonald's object to Chris?

3. How did Chris introduce himself to Gallien?

4. How does Chapter 1 begin?

5. Who did Chris meet on a trip into Salton City to get some supplies?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Krakauer rebut the idea that Chris was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist?

2. What is Krakauer's summary of Chris's actions during the time he was looking for work to save up for Alaska?

3. When hunters discovered Chris's body in September of 1992, what did they decide to do?

4. Tell something about Chris's connection to Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob.

5. How are letters written by Ruess and Chris another point of similarity in their stories?

6. Discuss the difference between Chris's treatment of his parents and the way he treated strangers.

7. Why does Krakauer include the story of Everett Ruess in Chapter 9?

8. What happened to Chris's plan to paddle a canoe from Arizona to the Gulf of California?

9. Describe the evidence at the opening of Chapter 1 that indicates Chris might have had a premonition about his death.

10. Discuss the inconsistency of Chris and his ideas about money.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay expressing your opinion of Chris McCandless. Answer whether he was mentally stable, how he did or did not use people, whether he might have survived except for some bad luck, and how well he was prepared to survive alone.

Essay Topic 2

Given the amount of information Krakauer includes about Chris's abilities, write and OP-ED piece about another successful course Chris might have taken to realize his ideals. You might want to have him go into the Peace Corps or get involved in something like Habitat for Humanity.

Essay Topic 3

Write about respect for authority. Using the example of Chris failing one course, physics, because he refused to turn in his assignments according to the way the professor wanted them. Then broaden the point of view. You may want to write about taggers (delinquents who paint graffiti on public buildings). Conclude with your idea about what society would be like if everyone simply did whatever he or she pleased without regard to others or the law.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 816 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample