Chapter 14 & 15 the stikine ice cap

1. Chapter 14 & 15the stikine ice cap Jenny Chen Jacqueline Ip

2. Chapter outline Map Trip to Devils Thumb, Petersburg, AK (ch.14)the motives of writing the trip the ways to the Stikine Ice Cap his feeling and adventures on the Stikine Ice Cap (ch.15)his father’s influence attempts to Devils Thumb life after the trip The trip also included in Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains

3. Chapter summaries • Krakauer’s own experience of climbing the Devils Thumb. • His first failed attempt to the top. • The things his dad has been putting in his head is what helped him. • Nothing has changed when he got back and no one cared about what he did. • Not much came out of the trip. It was a trip that was not thought out.

4. Writing attribute • There were speculation that McCandless had been bent on suicide from the beginning. • Krakauer uses his own experience to dispute the theory. • Both stories would’ve turn out differently if Krakauer didn’t survived and vice versa.

5. Connections • “If I can do the scariest, hardest thing I can think of, my life will be fixed, but I have failed on far more mountains that I’ve succeeded. It’s the journey, not the destination” • Krakauer leaves to pursuit and figure out what he wants but it turns out he had it all along.

6. Annotations • Why does Krakauerwants to provethat McCandless was not suicidal? • Why did Krakauer choose to climb to the Devils Thumb? -geographical location? • Why does he needs to talk about Kai, the woman he met in Petersburg?- different from McCandless • Why does he needs to describe his journey in detail? “The climbing was steep and so exposed it made my head spin. Beneath my Vibram soles the wall fell away for three thousand feet to the dirty, avalanche-scarred cirque of the Witches Cauldron Glacier. Above, the prow soared with authority toward the summit ridge, a vertical half mile above.” (142)

7. Annotations cont. • Why doesn’t Krakauer stop after he failed at trying to reach the top the first time?-“Fix all that was wrong with my life” (155) ?-symbolic meaning • These two chapters point out the similarities between McCandless and Krakauer. Why does Krakauermentions “he was unlike McCandless in many important regards”?

8. miscellaneous thoughts • 1995: “At that stage of my youth, death remained as abstract a concept as non-Euclidean geometry or marriage.” (155) 2007: clip (Sean Penn + Jon Krakauer episode of Iconoclasts, Season 3.) • “Krakauer knows it, lives with it and worries about it. Wall climbing is not his idea of climbing. Take away the risks and climbing is no longer the same sport, he said. It is American processed cheese or non-alcoholic beer or fat- free ice cream.” (Medred)

9. New vocabulary • Sinister (135) : (appearance) suggestive of evil or mischief • Triumphant (135): has achieved victory or success • Intimacy(137): having a close relationship with someone • Chutzpah (143):  Brazen impudence (slang) • Scurried(152): to go or move quickly • surreal(153): dreamlike, unreal • Grudging(154): unwillingness or reflecting reluctance • Wreak(155): to inflict or execute

10. Annotated bibliography 1) “Into the Wild Summary” Into the Wild Summary at WikiSummaries: Free Book Summaries. MediaWiki, 27 Aug, 2009. Web. 23 May, 2010. This is a website contains characters’ s introductions and chapter summaries. Also, it gives Chris McCandless and Jon Krakauer background information. It is a useful website; however, it is just a book summary without any analyzation. 2) Marshall, John. “A Young Man’s Death Prompts A Haunting Look At Allure Of The Wild : [Final Edition].” Seattle Post - Intelligencer. Seattle, Wash. 1996. c.1. Database. ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 22 May. 2010. An interview written by Marshall, a newspaper reporter. In the interview, Marshall gives Mccandless’s background information and talks about Krakauer’s reasons of writing McCandless’s story. Krakauer also uses his personal example to tell readers that why McCandless needs to go into the wild. This shows that Krakauer is a suitable person to write the story. It helps readers to understand Krakauer and McCandless more; however, it is just in a shallow introduction of Krakauer and McCandless only.

11. Annotatedbibliography cont. 3) Medred, Craig. " We’re Too Far From Its Edge To Revel In Life: Final Edition." Anchorage Daily News. Anchorage, Alaska (1990): pg. B.1. ProQuest Newsstand, Proquest. Web. 21 May 2010. Craig, the Daily News editor, wrote an article about the interview with Jon Krakauer. Krakauer is the writer of a stories collection book called ‘Eiger Dreams.’ The interview is about how Krakauer looks at mountain climbing. Base on Krakauer’s reply, Craig puts on his point of view and the perceiving of the general public towards mountain climbing. The source is trustful but not objective. It is because Craig believes Krakauer is a good example of what is living; he adds in too many personal comments to support Krakauer. 4) Orth, Donald J. “Devils Thumb” Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Washington, DC: GPO, 1967. This is a Devils Thumb report published by the U.S. Geological Survey. It includes history, Devils Thumb geographical location, and its description.