Am I Somebody's Keeper Blog

I do not feel like anyone’s keeper this year, but I was definitely one last year. In middle school there were only 36 kids in the graduating class, but we still were broken up into our groups of friends. I had the largest group at thirteen kids in my “gang.” I was made leader of the group in 7^th grade and immediately changed the title to “Capitan” and made my oldest friend, Max, “Co. Capitan.” I was keeper for the whole “gang,” if anyone was giving them trouble I would hunt them down and show them what’s, what.  The kids would come to me with their problems and I would try my best to help them through it. Above all though, I was Max’s keeper. I met him in 4^th grade as a shy, to himself, kind of kid. By the end of 8^th grade he walked into school with me in complete suit, top hat, a cane formation. I protected him until 6^th grade where he returned the favor by fighting alongside me when I got in a little trouble helping another kid I knew, Matthew.  I took care of everyone in the grade not just my “gang,” I tried to solve any problem, I even had an office.

My Sisters Keeper blog

Jodi Picoult was born on long island but moved to New Hampshire when she was 13. She studied writing at Princeton, and graduated in 1987. The story she wrote "My Sister's Keeper" was about her childhood. Mainly, how she was only born to help her older sister who had cancer. She has a masters in education from Harvard. I expect this book to be different from the others we have read. Different in the way that it is going to be so boring that I might forget about it as I am reading it.

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

http://www.wix.com/natashaajnira/buttercupsunshine90

Editorial

Konnor Drewen

Mrs. Zurkowski

Greens

4/11/011

Christopher McCandless; an Under Prepared Fool

By: Konnor Drewen a.k.a. “The Doctor”

            Would you go into the Alaskan wilderness without a map? What about not having any true kind of food or sustenance? What about going into the wilderness without any means of contacting civilization?  I most defiantly would not and I do not think you would either, but that is precisely what Christopher McCandless did. He walked into the wild without a map, food, or any kind of communication device. For that I believe that Chris McCandless was an imbecile; not having any idea of what he was doing or good reasoning for being out there in the wilderness.

            The first of my reasoning is the fact that he did not want to bring any food. He did plan to live off the land, but look where that lead him. Chris McCandless ended up writing this in the bus, “I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here” (Krakauer 8). He also wrote, “I am collecting berries close by and will return this evening” (8). This proves the idiocy in his actions. Even if he wanted to live off the land he obviously had no true knowledge of what he was doing. Maybe if he had known what plants to eat or had a good plan in-case of running out of plants to eat or animals to hunt he could have survived. He had a book but, obviously he did not know how to use it.  Unfortunately, because of his pure stubbornness he was unprepared and died due to lack of his own intelligence of the Alaskan wilderness.

            The second point is the datum that he left without any way of contacting the outside world. If he had brought a phone, made a fire, even if he brought a flare gun to signal people he could have lived. I mean, there was a tower not too far from him that could have saved him if he had made a fire or fired a flare. Regrettably, he did not due to of his senselessness. One of the many people who met Chris even told Krakauer that, “Said he didn’t he did not want to see a single person” (138). He was so opposed to any kind of civilization that it was his ultimate downfall. He was an arrogant narcissist who did not think of anyone but himself. His demise was brought on by his own stupidity and was no one person’s fault but his own.

            The third point that I will mention is the detail that he did all he could to forget his family. The nerve of this child to leave his household full of people who loved him is just untainted recklessness. Many people over his time alone told him to call his parents but because of his intractability, he refused every suggestion. Whenever someone showed any affection for him he left them and pushed them back. He did not want to get close to people. Chris’ sister said that, “He was very to himself” (75). She also said that, “He wasn’t antisocial, but he could entertain himself for hours” (75). Be this as it may McCandless was not beyond ordinary people, and just like ordinary people he needed civilization around him to survive.

            Now some people have called Chris a “Hero” but that in just insane. Christopher McCandless was no hero; it is just insulting to all the true heroes in the world that he would even be considered to be one.  Ron France told Krakauer, “God, he was a smart kid” (30). Now I am not denying that, I am sure he was bright academically, but he was not smart when it came to wilderness.  He may have survived 100 days I understand that, but he still died, died from his own idiocy. The people in favor of Chris say that he “only made little mistakes,” but think about, he died; those “little” mistakes could not have been so little. Also if he had actually been anything near knowledgeable he would not have died. A true person who has the will to live would have lit a signal fire to let someone know that they were there, but maybe that was what Chris McCandless was; just a man, angry at the world and everyone in it, that had lost his will to live.

Chris McCandless, the man that gave up everything to end up walking into the Alaskan wilderness, was a true and undeniable fool. He left without food, which in the end caused his death. He left without a map which made impossible for him the escape. He left without a family; without anyone who cared about him. This is why Christopher McCandless should be nobody’s hero, because he was an imbecile, a fool, a reckless and senseless man, but above all he was an arrogant narcissist, and that is why you, the reader, should not idolize this man; more so then anything else you should pity him.    

Characterization Notes on Christopher McCandless

Characterization Notes on Christopher McCandless

(a.k.a. Alex Supertramp)

Assignment Directions:  As you read Into the Wild, take notes on direct and indirect characterization traits about Christopher McCandless.  For each chapter, pick out 2-3 descriptions about Chris that really stand out to you.  This could be direct descriptions about what Christopher looks like to indirect descriptions about how Chris acts, what he says, how others view him, how he treats others, and anything about Chris that helps you form an opinion about him by the end of the novel.  Keep in mind that by the end of the book, you will write an essay that gives your opinion on either side of the following argument presented in the “Author’s Note”:

            “Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity – and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received.”

Fill out the chart as you read and post on your blog when the chart is completed. Mrs. Z. will check your chart on your laptop periodically to see that you are adding notes and keeping up with the character chart as we read.

Direct and Indirect Characterization Notes on Christopher McCandless

(Alex Supertramp)

Chapter and page #	Description/quote from novel	What impression you get about Chris with this character trait or description?
Chapter 1, page 4	“Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build, he claimed to be 24 years old and said he was from South Dakota.  He explained that he wanted a ride as far as the edge of Denali National Park, where he intended to walk deep into the bush and ‘live off the land for a few month.’”	Chris is not physically fit for walking into such a dangerous environment.  He seems a little crazy.
Chapter 2 Page 8	“I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here.” “I am collecting berries close by and will return this evening”	One of these quote implied that he was scared and need help, but the other proves that he was trying hard to survive.
Chapter 3 Page 13	“You could tell right away Alex was intelligent” “From things he said you could tell that something wasn’t right between him and his family.”	He was able to make an impression of intelligence while keeping thing secret.
Chapter 4 Page 18	“He was wearing long shorts and his really stupid hat.” “He had a book about plants with him”	This shows that he could have not cared about appearance but only cared about knowledge.
Chapter 5 Page 21	“One thing I remember is that he had a thing about socks, he always wore shoes without socks, just plain couldn’t stand socks.” “He was reliable, showed up every day.”	Chris must be a sort of strange person in the eyes of the people who knew him in Bullhead if he never wore socks, but he was a good kid anyway.
Chapter 6 Page 30	“I thought he was too nice a kid to be living by that hot springs with those nudists and drunks and dope smokers” “God, he was a smart kid.”	He seemed to make a good impression of himself no matter where he went.
Chapter 7 Page 42	“He was kind of shy at first.” “I got the impression that this Alaska escapade was going to be his last big adventure.”	This could show that Chris had trouble opening up to people but once he did he told them all kinds of things.
Chapter 8  Page 51	“Alex is a nut in my book.” “Entering the wilderness ill prepared does not make you a better human it makes you damn lucky.”	This shows that people seem to agree with each other that Chris should have thought his adventure through.
Chapter 9 Page 64	“I’ve decided that I’m going to live this life for some time to come.” “The freedom and simple beauty of it all is too good to pass up.”	This in his letter to Wayne shows that he won’t give up his dreams.
Chapter 10 Page 72	No quotes about Chris
Chapter 11 Page 75	“He was very to himself” “He wasn’t antisocial, but he could entertain himself for hours.”	This quote from Chris’s sister tells about what kind of person Chris was.
Chapter 12 Page 80	“I thought his roommates parents were going to have a heart attack on the spot” “Chris walked in with a scraggly beard and worn out clothes, looking like Jeremiah Johnson.”	This quote from Chris’s father shows that Chris really did not care what others thought of him.
Chapter 13 Page 128	“Chris was crazy about Buck” “That summer he disappeared he wanted to take the dog with him”	This shows that Chris did love something in his life. That might have been enough to bring him back.
Chapter 16	“Alex didn’t come out and say too much at first.” “Said he didn’t he did not want to see a single person.”	This shows that Chris was a quite person and did not want the interference of other life.
Chapter 17	“I want to see the bus.” “I want to see where he died”	This show that Chris was influential to people in their lives even after death.
Chapter 18	“Happiness only real when shared.” “Extremely weak. Fault of pot. Seed. Starving. Great jeopardy.”	This shows that he liked other people’s psychology. The  second shows that he was desperate in the end.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chriso2000/2100029996/