25 Random Facts About Me

1. I hate standing in long lines.

2. Before a big game, I usually pray to God for a good outcome.

3. I always try to go outside in my free time.

4. I learn something new every day.

5. I am more of a morning person.

6. I have gone to the Outer Banks of North Carolina every year since since 2006.

7. I share my bedroom with my brother.

8. I play baseball in the spring and basketball in the winter.

9. I have seen horses close-up on the beach.

10. My favorite color is blue and my favorite food is cheeseburgers.

11. I have good relationships with all of my family except my sister.

12. I like when it it warm outside better than when it is cold. 

13. My friends and I always play either touch football or a game of basketball.

14. I have both a dog and a cat and my cat is overweight.

15. I did gymnastics when I was 3 years old.

16. I used to always procrastinate and do assignments at the last minute.

17. When I don't have a lot of homework or a sport to play, I like to relax and play video games.

18. I do not like shopping, unless it is at at a sport's store.

19. I go the grocery store every week with my dad.

20. The worst sight to see is when Joe Flacco gets sacked.

21. I have season tickets to the Aberdeen Ironbirds.

22. I also like to place tennis in my free time.

23. I do not like to speak in front of large crowds.

24. My favorite movie is Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

25. I always try to live life to the fullest, even if times in my life are tough.

footballidea.com

Our Day in Washington D.C.

During our day in D.C., I thought that watching the actors and actresses at the Folger's Theater was very interesting. I don't know how they could have ever memorized all of those lines from all of the plays that Shakespeare wrote! I thought that they did a great job of performing but I also liked how they interacted with the audience. The audience also did a good job of acting along with the professionals. My favorite part of the show was when they did the scene where they brought up 13 people from the audience and they all pretended to die after they got stabbed. It was really funny to see how the people would fall to the floor. I also thought the male actor did a good job of connecting with the audience through body language. That part helped me learn and interpret Shakespeare in a way that I never thought would help me. I also liked walking around Union Station because there were so many cool things to see there. The food was also very good. I thought the walk through D.C. was a bit far, especially when it was kind of hot out. It was also interesting to see the Capitol building and I even got to see the Washington Monument. It would have been better if we were able to do more, but this trip was way better than going to school.

Who is the Real Tragic Hero?

Julius Caesar

• He is a very strong military general with a ferocious army that can conquer almost any civilization.
• He is very brave and courageous, doing anything that he will to save his army and followers.
• He has very high moral standards that is beloved by many people, making him a great role model.
• He was very smart when it came to power that he received, using it wisely to help others.
• He was full of smart ideas and helped his people in important ways

Tragic Flaws

• Was growing to high in power and was not using it wisely.
• He was not trusted as a leader since he had extreme ambition.
• He felt like he could do anything he wanted and that no one could stop him.
• He did not listen to anyone and only to himself.
• Did not trust other people as a leader.

desitin.no

Marcus Brutus

• Very noble person in Rome, well-respected by many people
• Very close with his wife, Portia and has a good relationship with her
• Thinks all of his decisions through and makes the right decisions.
• He had many good friends who respected him for his character.
• He is very brave and is not afraid to stand up for himself.
• Wanted to be honored for the good he did for all of Rome

Tragic Flaws

• He valued Rome more than his relationship for Caesar
• He thought that everyone had the same intentions as he did.
• He didn't think through the plan.
• His devotion to the conspiracy made him lose his wife.
• He was blind to other people's motives.

hubpages.com

Final Review of Their Eyes Were Watching God

In the end, I found that reading Their Eyes Were Watching God provided me a first-hand experience of what the black life was all about in the 1930s. This novel helped me understand more about what exactly happened in the life of a black person and how they were affected by the white people in society. I thought that the dialect used in the novel was going to be very difficult to read as I went farther into the book, but the further I went, the more easier I could read the dialect and understand what the people were saying in the book. I was always hooked on to read the book every time something happened to one of Janie’s husbands because I wanted to know what would happen next. I thought that Janie evolved as a person throughout the book by the way she handled situations and by the way she guided her own life. I liked how Janie did not let anyone influence and mess up with her life and how she lived a full life with a couple of loving relationships. I thought that Janie was a pure leader during her life and she is a great role model for other readers reading this book. I really enjoyed the use of imagery because I could actually see the scenes in the book as clear pictures in my head. This made it much easier to follow along in the book and to clearly know what happened. The symbols used in the novel I thought made this book more realistic where it had more detail and meaning, making the book more interesting to read. In the short amount of time that Zora Neale Hurston had to write this book made the novel even better.  Some parts of the book though were very hard to follow along with or it was very difficult to analyze. Other parts were kind of boring and made me feel that there was useless text included. But most parts of the books were very well written and show the beautiful writing style of Zora Neale Hurston. Overall, I thought that the book was very well-written and portrayed the growth of Janie throughout the book exceptionally well. Some parts of the book were hard to follow along with but I could easily understand the context of each chapter. Their Eyes Were Watching God was a very good, informative book about the life of an African-American, but it is not the best book I have ever read. I would give it a rating of a 7.5 out of 10.

ideachampions.com

Symbolism in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Symbolism is a key element found in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. There are numerous symbols that appear in the novel. Here is a list of the symbols found in the book.

1. Roots and branches of trees- African American people have little to no roots

2. Pear tree- blossoming womanhood and desire for love

3. Mule- black women doing all of the worst jobs

4. Janie’s long, straight hair- represents how Janie is “different.” It represents her bi-racial roots. Lastly, it will represent her freedom as a woman.

5. Janie’s head rag- Joe’s control; similar to slavery

6. A dog- to represent how not to treat a lady

7.  The lamp post (light) - symbol of light and hope for the new town of Eatonville (progress)

8. Horizon- represents new dreams/wishes out on the horizon; new beginnings

9.  The gate- opening to new possibilities down the “road.”

10.  The general store- represents progress in Eatonville because black people in town have their own store and it’s owned by black store owners. It’s also the central meeting spot of town.

11. Overalls- the working class

12.  Spittoon- the power that Joe has

13. Checkers- respect for Janie

14. Blue- Tea Cake’s proof of love for Janie

15. The soil of the muck- growth and the working class

16. Hurricane- God’s ability of omnipotent

17. Mrs. Turner- racism in the black world

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Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

In many novels, authors used a key term called imagery. Imagery can be described as anything that creates a vivid image in the reader's mind through any of the five senses. Imagery in novels helps create a clear image in the reader's mind as they read along through the book.

List of Imagery

1.  “the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume,” Description of Janie’s hair, which is a big symbol in the novel. Page 2

2. “time makes everything old so the kissing, young darkness became a montropolous old thing while Janie talked.” Time loomed on as Janie told her story to Phoeby. Page 7

3. “She had glossy leave and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her.” This compares Janie to the blooming pear tree and how it is blooming as she is growing up and becoming a woman. Page 11

4. “Mind- pictures brought feelings, and feelings dragged out dramas from the hollows of her heart.” Nanny is trying to raise Janie while remembering the past things from her life, and trying to do better this time. Page 16

5. “They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged.” This is symbolizing the start of a new day, and Janie has a new start for happiness. Page 33

6. “The fact that the thought pictures were always crayon enlargements of life made it even nicer to listen.” Listening to stories and talking makes life seem a lot better than it is to Janie; it idealizes things. Page 51

7. “The new moon had been up and down three times before she got worried in mind.” It had been a long time before Janie started to worry that she wasn’t falling in love with Logan as she hoped she would with time. Page 22

8. “She knew the world was a stallion rolling in the blue pasture of ether.” Life is fast changing and constantly moving. Page 25

9. “So they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish.” The people did not use their heads and they just criticized Janie in harmony. Page 2

10. “One mornin’ soon, now, the angel wid de sword is gointuh stop by here.” Nanny is getting old and one day an angel will bring her to heaven since she is aging. Page 15

11. “Did marriage compel love like the sun of day?” Love does not come directly from getting married like the sun that comes out. It has to be shared in a relationship. Page 21

12. “The shirt with the silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world.” This strange man had such a nice looking shirt that everyone in the world would be amazed by the way he dressed. Page 27

13. “And then he spit in that gold-looking vase that anyone else would have been glad to put on their front-room table.” Many people would have displayed a gold vase as a prized possession but Joe Sparks used it to spit into, making people feel worse about him as mayor. Page 47

14. “Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun.” Janie had a new day and every day, something new would happen. This would continue each and every day to the world. Page 51

15. “Somebody near about making summertime out of lonesomeness.” Janie spent the most of her summer alone while Joe was out doing business. Page 77

16. “A sack of flabby something hung from his loins and rested on his thighs when he sat down.” Joe was starting to get flabby where his fat was hanging down from his thighs like an old man. Page 81

17. “Inside the expensive black folds were resurrection and life.” Janie might have looked depressed on the outside, but she felt freedom and liveliness on the inside. Page 88

18. “She looked him over and got thrills from every one of his good points.”  Janie was fascinated by everything about Tea Cake and she was thrilled about his playful personality. Page 96

19. “At the newel post Janie whirled around and for the space of a thought she was lit up like a transfiguration.” Janie did not know what to think after Tea Cake said something very rude to her. She was shocked at what Tea Cake said. Page 105

20. “So her firm intention looked like an accident and she didn’t have to give her opinion to folks along the way.” Pheoby’s main intention was to go talk to Janie directly, but she stopped at other houses along the way to talk to other people. Page 112

21. “But, don’t care how firm your determination is, you can’t keep turning round in one place like a horse grinding sugar cane.” Janie was determined to find her lost money, but she kept going backwards in her search, not making any progress. Page 118

22. “Dirt roads so rich and black that a half mile of it would have fertilized a Kansas wheat field.” The land in the Everglades was so fertile that anything could grow on it. Page 129

23. “A little seed of fear was growing into a tree.” The thought of losing Tea Cake was evolving more and more every minute he spent with Nunkie. Page 136

24. “She was an ironing board with things throwed at it.” This is describing Mrs. Turner, who looked very odd to many people. Pages 139-140

25. “The way he petted and pampered her as if those two or three face slaps had nearly killed her made her the woman see visions and the helpless way she hung on him made men dream dreams.” Tea Cake often slapped Janie across the face, but she did not care too much and it was like she just hung on to Tea Cake. Page 147

26. “That night the palm and banana trees began that long distance talk with rain.” Even the trees in the region knew that the rain and winds were coming with the approaching hurricane, making it hard for all wildlife. Page 155

27. “The mother of malice had trifled with men.” Destruction was largely prevalent in the Southern Florida area and evil had done its job.” Page 169

28. “The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall.” The memories Janie made with Tea Cake will never be forgotten and they will light the rest of Janie’s house and the rest of Janie’s life forever. Page 193

My favorite example of imagery was the one with the palm and banana trees talking with the rain because I could create a clear image in my head of what this would look like. This piece of imagery I thought was very easy to witness if I was placed in that scene. I also liked this example of imagery because you could see how close the hurricane was to Janie and how close all of the wildlife were to getting pummeled by rain and wind. You could see how close the rain was to the wildlife in the region and they were all bracing for the worst. I think that this quote describes imagery in a very good way and that is why it is one of my favorites.

igougo.com

Criticism of Zora Neale Hurston

During Zora Neale Hurston’s lifetime, she encompasses a lot of criticism, especially from other authors during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Some people greatly praised Hurston for writing such an intellectual book full of the images of the black life while others did the opposite of that.

 One of these authors who was known for this criticism was Richard Wright. Wright had a very strong voice during the time of the Harlem Renaissance and many people either listened to him or respected him. The criticism was so cruel and malicious towards Hurston that she eventually went into seclusion. He says that, “the minstrel technique that makes the white people laugh" (Wright, 1937). This says that Wright accuses her of writing explicitly writing about how the black people were tormented by the white people with racial comments in her novel too. Wright also said she wrote to satisfy the white audience and to make sure they were satisfied. He also accuses her of continuing the black tradition of white folks “just laughing” at what they do. Wright also said that “Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears” (Wright, 1937). Wright’s criticism was very negative and it made Zora Neale Hurston feel embarrassed and stupid. She was accused of all of these things about the Negro life of characters in her book. With all of this criticism of stereotype, Zora Neale Hurston went into hiding.

          

  I do not agree with the criticism that Hurston received because Hurston was just portraying the black life in a simple but detailed way. The characters in Their Eyes Were Watching God are depicted in an honest and realistic way during the times of prejudice against the black people. Hurston was determined to write a great book and that is exactly what she did. The praise from this book should stand out more than the harsh criticism that it received. The criticism was so mean and unjust, especially for a book that was written in only seven weeks by Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston was just showing the facts of the real black life in the 1930s with great detail and numerous motifs and symbols. Hurston took a chance by writing this book and she accomplished this daring feat. Every book receives some criticism, but Their Eyes Were Watching God received way too much negative criticism. I do not agree with the cruel criticism of this book and that Hurston just wrote from the heart and what she encountered in her own life, making this a fantastic book to read.

hubpages.com 

Source

Wright, Richard. Between Laughter and Tears. 5 Oct. 1937. 13 Apr. 2011 <http://people.virginia.edu/~sfr/enam358/wrightrev.html>.

Duke Ellington

• Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 in Washington D.C. where he grew up with a family who encouraged him to learn about the fine arts.
• Ellington began to perform professionally at the age of 17 and he first started playing in New York City.
• Over time, Ellington became one of the greatest jazz composers America had ever seen up to his date and he was also a band leader.
• Ellington had a love for jazz music and almost all of his works became best-sellers, and he achieved many outstanding awards along the way.
• Ellington received 13 Grammy Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and even the President's Gold Medal in 1966 marking his outstanding progress in America.
• Ellington composed over 3000 songs during his lifetime that depicted the African American life on a much larger scale with more emotions and passion for black people. 
• Ellington also played over 20,000 performances in countries around the world like in Europe, South America, and even in the Middle East.
• The songs that Ellington wrote had so much meaning to what the African American life really was about and his songs touched all of his audience.
• Some of Ellington's best known songs are "Sophisticated Lady", "Mood Indigo", and "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing."
• In 1966, Ellington received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and then the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
• Ellington died on May 24, 1974 from lung cancer and pneumonia, but his great jazz music is admired by many people even living in today's society. 

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http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQNBCI1M1y7wbYWKhjdGk6BNrGhNzJXh5o5TIAKy1qcb34X6__O

Sources

http://www.dukeellington.com/ellingtonbio.html

http://www.biography.com/articles/Duke-Ellington-9286338

Flying into the Harlem Renaissance

Background Information on the Harlem Renaissance

1. This period was part of the African American cultural movement in the 1920s and early 1930s.
2. It was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City and started in 1918, the ending of World War I.
3. This time period marked the first time that any publisher or writer actually took African American literature seriously and with a lot of interest. 
4. With many educated blacks living down South in the mid 1800s during the time of the Civil War, many of them migrated up North to the neighborhood of Harlem, making this spot the center for all African American culture. 
5. The Harlem Renaissance was mainly a time for literary movement, but it was also a move for African American art and politics. 
6. A characteristic very important to the Harlem Renaissance was the diversity of this time period, with over 50 books written along with scripts for theater.
7. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time to appreciate what the African American people did with their hard work to make all kinds of things for white viewers to see.
8. This period was also an important beginning for black musicians to come about, where they flourished in this period.
9. The Harlem Renaissance was an important time period to recognize the African American people and what they could do, which paved the way for other famous African Americans.
10. The Harlem Renaissance declined in the mid 1930s and eventually ended in 1935.

Langston Hughes

• Langston Hughes was born in 1902 and is remembered for portraying black life in America in his poems.
• His main goal was to display black culture based on their own experiences, not to portray other cultures.
• Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published in 1926, when he was 24. 
• Hughes was extremely important in shaping the artistic contributions, like poetry, during the time of the Harlem Renaissance.
• Hughes also wrote eleven plays during his lifetime, paving the way for theater in the Harlem Renaissance for all African Americans.
• Hughes died in 1967 from prostrate cancer, but his work will never be forgotten in the time of the Harlem Renaissance.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld56bnWeNG1qca238.jpg 

Zora Neale Hurston

• Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891 and she and she graduated from Morgan Academy in 1918.
• She was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist during the time of the Harlem Renaissance.
• She helped start the movement of the arts in the 1920s, where many black people came about in the arts.
• Hurston never included racism in her works and writings, which was a major issue during her lifetime.
• In 1937, she wrote probably her best novel in Their Eyes Watching God. This book got many great reviews from even a white audience.
• Hurston died in 1960, but her artistic abilities were greatly proven during the Harlem Renaissance.

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Claude McKay

• Claude McKay was born in Jamaica in 1889 and was educated by his brother, who was very talented at literature.
• At age 20, McKay published a book of verse called the Songs of Jamaica that depicted black life in Jamaica.
• McKay's poems and sonnets greatly depict the injustices of black life in America, important in the Time of the Harlem Renaissance.
• McKay eventually went to Russia and France in the mid 1920s where he was interested in communism.
• But McKay returned back to America and lived in Harlem, New York, where he gained interest in the political leaders of Harlem and what they talked about in black culture.
• McKay's poems will be remembered for depicting the life of black culture and he was one of the few people who gained the most attention from the white audience during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. 

https://connections-jazzage.wikispaces.com/file/view/Langston_Hughes.jpg/54992832/Langston_Hughes.jpg

List of Sources for Information

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/25

http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/hurs-zor.htm

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83

Into the Wild Final Assessment Project

This is a map of where Fairbanks is in relation to the rest of Alaska.

This is the weather for Fairbanks year round. January is the coldest, and July is the warmest, like our climate. It gets very cold in the winter, where it is reasonably pleasant in the summer. 

There are many animals you can find in Fairbanks including mountain goats and the popular Alaskan brown bear. 

There are many plant in Fairbanks, with spruce all over the place along with conifers, evergreens, and Western hemlocks. 

There are many things to do in Fairbanks like going to numerous parks and going to different unique shops in downtown Fairbanks. You can also look at the beautiful scenery in Fairbanks. There are also many animals to see and good campsites to camp at. 

These are good pictures of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights.

To get to Fairbanks, you have to use plane because it is too far of a drive.

There are Italian, Mexican, and American restaurants in Fairbanks. You can find wild Alaskan salmon and even reindeer sausage there. The cabins are very cozy and comfy places to stay at if you are there for a short time.

These are the sources I used for my PowerPoint. 

Characterization Notes on Chris McCandless

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 1, page 6	“There was just no talking the guy out of it. He was determined. Real gung ho. The word that comes to mind is excited. He couldn’t wait to head out there and get started.”	Chris was very excited to go out and start a new life in the wilderness of Alaska. He was so confident that he knew he could survive there by himself. Chris knew that this was a good decision.
Chapter 1, page 7	“I figured he’d be OK. I thought he’d probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway. That’s what any normal person would do.”	This statement by Jim Gallien is ironic because he was the last person to ever see Chris McCandless before he went into the Alaskan wilderness. Chris had a goal to survive there without any human contact whatsoever.
Chapter 2, page 13	“I gave the bag a shake. There was definitely something in it, but whatever it was didn’t weigh much. It wasn’t until I walked to the other side and saw a head sticking out that I knew for certain what it was.”	The bag inside the bus that Chris was living in contained his dead body. His head stuck out and he was dead for a while now. These people found Chris’s dead body first.
Chapter 2, page 14	“But because he had been carrying no identification, the authorities didn’t know who he was, where he was from, or why he was there.”	Chris had no ID that he carried with him, so authorities didn’t know who he was or where he was from. No ID made it hard to know why Chris was in Alaska.
Chapter 3, pages 17-18	“Most of them weren’t much good, didn’t really want to work. It was a different story with Alex. He was the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. Didn’t matter what it was, he’d do it.”	Chris can work really hard and he would do any job that he was told to do. He would even do the dirty jobs along with the normal jobs.
Chapter 3, page 18	“A couple of times I tried to tell him it was a mistake to get too deep into that kind of stuff, but Alex got stuck on things. He always had to know the absolute right answer before he could go on to the next thing.”	This tells me that Chris always wants the truth from every situation and he thinks a little too much. When he gets stuck on something, he wants to know the correct things.
Chapter 4, pages 30-31	“He was a really good kid. We thought the world of him. When he left, we never expected to hear from him again, but he made a point of staying in touch.”	Chris was very important in the life of Jan Burres and he was an all-around special boy. He is even nice enough to keep in contact with other people when he is worrying about the Alaskan wilderness.
Chapter 4, page 35	“All hopes collapse! The canal does not reach the ocean but merely peters out into a vast swamp. Alex is utterly confused. Alex becomes progressively lost to the point where he must push canoe through reeds and drags it through mud. All is in despair.”	This made me start to think that the end was near for Chris and he was going to turn himself in. But deep down, I knew he would find a solution to get out of this great confusion. Chris was strong and he would find a way out of this.
Chapter 5, page 40	“He just didn’t make the connection. It was like he was off in his own universe.”	Chris is off in his own world and he does not care about anything around him. He didn’t connect with other people and he was in a world of himself.
Chapter 5, page 44	“He had a good time when he was around people, a real good time.”	Chris actually enjoyed talking to other people and had a good time doing it. This is the first time in the book that said Chris liked being around other people and socializing with them, too.
Chapter 5, page 46	“He was smart. He’d figure out how to paddle a canoe down to Mexico, how to hop freight trains, how to score a bed at inner-city mansions. He figured all of that out on his own, and I felt sure he’d figure out Alaska, too.”	Chris is physically and mentally fit to survive in the Alaskan wilderness and he has learned from his past experiences. He would be fine in Alaska I think from his past experiences, because he is Chris McCandless.
Chapter 6, page 51	“He was extremely intelligent. I thought he was too nice of a kid to be living by that hot springs with those nudists and drunks and dope smokers.”	Chris is a very smart and intelligent boy who deserved to be living with the normal people in society, not with the smokers and drunks.
Chapter 6, page 57	“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences.”	Chris says that the main point of living is to live with adventure and with a changing spirit, like him. He encourages Ron Frantz to go out in life and encounter new experiences.
Chapter 6, page 60	“I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die.”	Chris was a very special friend to Frantz and he was very important in his life. Chris was the person that God needed to watch over at all times.
Chapter 7, page 63	“He was a big eater. Never left any food on his plate. Never. He was a good cook, too. Sometimes he’d have me over to Wayne’s place and fix supper for everyone.”	Since Chris was living in the wild, he could finish a big plate of food in no time. Chris ate a lot and he shows good cooking skills. Cooking was a strong suit for Chris.
Chapter 7, page 67	“He went on and on about Mark Twain. Gosh, he was fun to visit with; I didn’t want the night to end. I can’t get him out of my mind.”	Chris made a normal conversation into a really fun time with different people. He had so much fun with others that they wished the days would never end with him.
Chapter 9, page 96	“But him and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do.”	Chris was unique because he was determined to accomplish his dream in life, which was to live in the wild. Chris actually tried a daring task that only a few people would actually attempt.
Chapter 10, page 99	“From the newspaper article, what little information there was, it sounded like the same person, so I called the state troopers and said, ‘Hey, I think I gave that guy a ride.’”	Chris was driven by Jim Gallien and Chris did accept the ride from him. Chris drove with Gallien, and Gallien knew this, so he called the troopers.
Chapter 11, page 107	“Even when he was little, he could go off and entertain himself for hours. He didn’t seem to need toys or friends. He could be alone without being lonely.”	Even at a young age, Chris showed that he was independent and had the skills to entertain himself. Chris had fun with only himself.
Chapter 11, page 109	“Chris was fearless was fearless even when he was little. He didn’t think the odds applied to him. We were always trying to pull him back from the edge.”	Chris was a daring boy who had no thoughts of holding back from something. When he wanted to do something, he went straight for it. It was almost impossible to hold Chris back from something he wanted to do,
Chapter 11, page 111	“Chris had so much natural talent, but if you tried to coach him, to polish his skill, to bring out that final ten percent, a wall went up. He resisted instruction of any kind.”	Chris had all of the skills for different things, but he didn’t like to be teached. Chris did not like someone telling him to do something. He is better off on his own trying to teach himself.
Chapter 12, page 118	“He was so thin. He looked like those paintings of Jesus on the cross. Mom started cooking like mad to try and put some meat back on his bones.”	Chris did not eat well on his trip by himself and he became so thin. This tells me that Chris is not fit to survive by himself.
Chapter 12, page 120	“It was obvious that he had changed. He seemed introverted, almost cold. It was hard to get him to open up. His studies were the only thing he was interested in talking about.”	Chris is now becoming more quiet and reserved. He is now starting to become more independent where it is hard to talk to him. Chris is also starting to become less social.
Chapter 12, page 122	“If something bothered him, he wouldn’t come right out and say it. He’d keep it to himself, harboring his resentment, letting the bad feelings build and build.”	Chris kept all of the emotions on the inside and didn’t express his feelings well at all. He just let the bad thoughts build until he had to say something. It was hard to know what was going on with Chris.
Chapter 13, page 130	“No, Chris isn’t dead.” Then she began to scream. Her keening was so loud and continuous that Fish worried the neighbors were going to think he was harming her and call the policeHhHDHDNHNJDVNHJCF,JDXDMC CC L KFC	Chris was very important to Carine and she cared deeply about the safety of Chris. Chris’s death made Carine cry for hours since she was so close to Chris. Chris’s loss was huge for Carine.
Chapter 13, page 131	“His name was printed wrong. His middle initial is really J. I was mad. Then I thought, Chris wouldn’t care. He’d think it was funny.”	Chris’s middle initial was printed wrong on the box with his remains. This made Carine mad. But deep down, she knew Chris would find it funny because that is part of his character. So it was okay for her.
Chapter 16, page 159	“He was a dandy kid. Real courteous, and he didn’t cuss or use a lot of that there slang. You could tell he came from a nice family. Said he hadn’t seen his parents in a couple of years, since his college graduation.”	Chris is very friendly with other people and he showed good behavior when he was around others. But he did not get along with his parents well, so he does not want to see them.
Chapter 16, page 160	“I hoped to find Alex and spend another day with him, take him sightseeing or something. I looked for a couple of hours, drove all over the place, but didn’t see hide or hair of him. He was already gone.”	Chris was extremely quick to start his Alaskan adventure and he did not want to see any civilization for now on. Chris was so excited to start his new life on his own.
Chapter 17, page 177	“The scope of his self-styled adventure was so small as to ring pathetic—squatting in a wrecked bus for a few miles out of Healy, potting blue jays and squirrels, mistaking a caribou for a mouse…. Only one word for this guy: Incompetent.”	This quote says that Chris didn’t have enough skills to survive in the wild by himself. He was not skilled enough to be in the wild. It was as if this quote says that he is ‘pathetic’.
Chapter 17, page 185	“Sure, he screwed up, but I admire what he tried to do. Living completely off the land like that, month after month, is incredibly difficult. I’ve never done it.”	Chris may have made a few mistakes, but he did something that only the bravest of people would do. Chris lived out a life that only the daring and confident people would actually attempt to do.
Chapter 17, pages 185-186	“I guess I just can’t help identifying with the guy. When I first started coming to Alaska, I think I was probably a lot like McCandless: just as green, just as eager. Maybe McCandless reminds other people a little too much of their former selves.”	Chris was eager and looked forward to going to Alaska just like other travelers who have lived in or stayed in Alaska. This might have led to Chris leading his own life in Alaska, because he was so excited to be living off the beautiful land.
Chapter 18, page 197	“It’s just intuition, but I get the feeling he was the kind of guy who might want to ‘set the wilderness free.’ Destroying the cabins would be a way of doing that. Or maybe it was his intense dislike of the government.”	Chris may have been linked to the destruction of the cabins about two miles from the bus. Chris may have done this to promote the wilderness by throwing out all the food there. He also might have done it because the Park Service Cabin identified the cabin as such.
Chapter 18, page 195	“BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT. TOO WEAK TO WALK OUT, HAVE LITERALLY BECOME TRAPPED IN THE WILD.—NO GAME.”	Chris is very emaciated and is now in the worst condition of his life. He is weak, he is having trouble finding food, and he can barely walk. Death has become near to Chris.
Epilogue, page 202	“It’s smaller than I thought it would be. I mean the bus. What a pretty place. I can’t believe how much this reminds me of where I grew up. Chris must have loved being here.	Chris was living in a harsh setting, a small bus. The scenery though was beautiful where Chris lived and this is why Chris wanted to be here, to live in the wild of which he dreamed about.
Epilogue, page 203	“Many people have told me that they admire Chris for what he was trying to do. If he’d lived, I would agree with them. But he didn’t, and there’s no way to bring him back. You can’t fix that.”	Chris is admired by many people in his life but the fact that he did not survive makes it hard to agree with admiring him. It is an extremely hard loss for all people who new Chris, even though he accomplished so much in his life.

At the conclusion of the novel, I think Chris McCandless did impact the people around him and he was a brave man who was smart enough to know what would happen to him in the wild. He had a lot of courage and with his smart tactics and knowledge about wildlife, he was able to survive in the Alaskan wilderness for over 100 days. Many people could never accomplish this feat, which made Chris McCandless special in many people's eyes.