Into The Wild /chapter 1 & 2

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Chapter 1:

The date was April 28, 1992.

Chapter one, which opens with Jim Gallien driving through Alaska, when he sees a hitchhiker who looks as though he is eighteen years old. The hitchhiker is actually twenty-four years old and he claims to be named Alex and to come from South Dakota. Alex seems to be carrying a light pack for someone planning to live off the land for a few months, as he says he will do in Denali National Park.

Gallien tries to make Alex change his mind as he elaborates on his plan. Gallien is certain that Alex is not prepared for life in the Alaskan outdoors. Jim even offers to buy him some decent gear, but Alex refuses. Gallien insists that Alex take his boots and his lunch for the day, Jim gives Alex his phone number and telling him to call if he makes it out alive.

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Chapter 2:

Chapter two Opens on September 6, 1992, at a broken down bus in Denali National Park. Ken Thompson, Gordon Samel, and Ferdie Swanson visit the park to drive their ATVs. There is a couple from Anchorage that looks spooked when they arrive at the bus. A bad smell comes from the bus. A note is taped to the bus, begging for help.

"S.O.S. I NEED YOUR HELP. I AM INJURED, NEAR DEATH, AND TOO WEAK TO HIKE OUT OF HERE. I AM ALL ALONE, THIS IS NO JOKE. IN THE NAME OF GOD, PLEASE REMAIN TO SAVE ME. I AM OUT COLLECTING BERRIES CLOSE BY AND SHALL RETURN THINS EVENING. THANK YOU, CHRIS MACCANDLESS, AUGUST?"

Samel finds a dead body inside the bus, wrapped in a sleeping bag. No one has room in his vehicle to remove the dead body. Another man, Butch Killian, arrives on the scene. Butch drives back toward the highway and alerts the authorities on his two-way radio. The next day, a police helicopter removes the body of Chris McCandless, five rolls of exposed film, the SOS note, and a diary with 113 entries. An autopsy reveals that McCandless starved to death; his corpse weighed only sixty-seven pounds.

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Note: The way Krakauer begins the story: at the end. In this way we already know what happens to Chris McCandless and must wonder how someone with so much going for him could end up so sadly. This move generates suspense and is on purpose to keep the reader interested in the story through enticement.

Next, it will be also a summary of chapter Three and Four.

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