Question 48: Chapter 17

From this journey, Krakauer uncovered that
1. Chris lacked a good map.(p.174) If Chris has a good accurate map he could navigate himself around the Teklanika river safely.
2. Chris came into the country with "insufficient provisions and lacked certain pieces of equipment deemed essential by many Alaskans:a large-caliber rifle, map and compass, an ax."(p.180)
3. Chris did not bother to master the crucial skills you need to survive in the wilderness for an extended period of time.(p.182) If he practiced what he needed to learn to live by himself before his went on his journey, maybe he would walk out alive.
4. Chris was quick to engage in "risky behavior" and took it to a "logical extreme"(p.182). If Chris was more cautious and planned out his journey in more detail he may have survived.
5. "McCandless distrusted the value of things that came easily. He demanded much of himself-more, in the end, than he could deliver"(p.184). If Chris was not so hard on himself, I think he could have survived.

Similarities between Sir John Franklin and McCandless
1. They both starved.(p.181)
2. They both were perceived to have lacked a requisite humility.(p.181)

Differences between Sir John Franklin and McCandless
1. "McCandless's arrogance was not of the same strain as Franklin's. Franklin regarded nature as an antagonist. Chris went too far in the opposite direction"(p.181). Chris embraced nature and lived entirely off the country.
2. John Franklin had people with him on his journey into Alaska. McCandless was alone.