1. Craft and Structure: What purpose does Jon Krakauer give for following
McCandless's story beyond the initial magazine article for Outside? What effect
might this explanation have on the reader?
Krakauer explains that he received a lot of negative mail after the original article about McCandless ran in Outside magazine, largely from Alaskans who thought McCandless didn’t respect the wilderness, and acted stupidly and stubbornly.
McCandless is compared to Everett Ruess. Carl McCunn was more naïve, John Waterman was mentally insane. McCandless was deeply in love with the land, very romantic, and was passionate about living by his principles.
These comparisons show that removing oneself from society and living riskily can be a symptom of insanity or stupidity, but it is not inherently so.
