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Jon Krakaeur as a Credible

Narrator?By Jasmine Patel

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Experience

•“The only source o kno!led"e is experience#$% &lbert Einstein

•Positi'e or ne"ati'e

•Types o experience

 ()irst hand

 (*econd hand

 (Third hand

•Jon Krakauer?

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Back"round similarities bet!een

+cCandless and Krakauer 

•“But , belie'e !e !ere similarly aected by the ske!edrelationships !e had !ith our athers$-.//0#

 ()orce dri'in" them into the !ild

•Krakauer1s ather “!as ambitious to the extreme2 and

like 3alt +cCandless2 his aspirations extended to hispro"eny$-.450#

 (Pressure enorced by their ather1s

•,ntroduced to their escape rom the !orld

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*imilar philosophies bet!een Krakauer

and +cCandless

•“But at the a"e o t!enty%three2 personal mortality%theidea o my o!n death%!as still lar"ely outside my

conceptual "rasp$ -./.0#

•“&nd , suspect !e had a similar intensity2 a similar

heedlessness2 a similar a"itation o the soul$ -.//0# (Repetition- credibility

•“,n my case%and2 , belie'e2 in the case o Chris

+cCandless% that !as a 'ery dierent thin" rom

!antin" to die$ -./60#•“, !as stirred by the dark mystery o mortality# , couldn1t

resist stealin" up to the ed"e o doom and peerin" o'er

the brink$ -.//%./60#

 (Metaphor 

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Krakauer1s positi'e bias to!ards

+cCandless

•“&s a youn" man2 , !as unlike +cCandless in manyimportant re"ards7 most notably2 , possessed neither his

intellect nor his loty ideals$-.//0#

•“, !on1t claim to be an impartial bio"rapher#

+cCandless1s stran"e tale struck a personal note thatmade a dispassionate renderin" o the tra"edy

possible$ -author1s note0#

•“, interrupt +cCandless1s story !ith ra"ments o a

narrati'e dra!n rom my o!n youth# , do so in the hopethat my experiences !ill thro! some obli8ue li"ht on the

eni"ma o Chris +cCandless$ -author1s note0#

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Krakauer1s Personal Narrati'e

•3hy include it? (9o"os

•, he could do it2 so could +cCandless#

•Both !ere sane !hen "oin" on their ad'enture# Not suicidal

 (Pathos

•,ncluded o!n eelin"s to help relate to +cCandless1s eelin"s!hile on his ad'enture

•:se certain !ords to sho! the mood/tone

 (“, could all to easily picture the smu" expressions ocondolence ,1d recei'e rom those !ho1d been certain o myailure rom the "et%"o$-.460#

 (“9ike +cCandless2 i"ures o male authority aroused me ina conusin" medley o corked ury and hun"er to please$-.;40#

 (Ethos

•+ountaineer 

•

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Krakauer1s Personal Narrati'e

-Continued0

•Constantly compares himsel to +cCandless (“, !as a t!enty%three2 a year youn"er than Chris

+cCandless !hen he !alked into the &laska

bush$-.;/0#

 (“3hen , decided to "o to &laska that &pril2 likeChris +cCandless2 , !as a ra! youth !ho mistook

passion or insi"ht and acted accordin" to an

obscure2 "ap%ridden lo"ic$ -.//0#

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Impact on Reader 

•Credible author% krakauer  (Experience

•=eliable or not reliable

•+cCandless

 (*ympathy

•*ol'es his o!n problems•>e ound the ans!er to his o!n problems althou"ht it !as to late

• &dded to the story

 (Krakaeur1s narrati'e added to the story to sho! ho! 8uick !e are to

 ud"e

•“The act that , sur'i'ed my &laska ad'enture and +cCandless didnot sur'i'e his !as lar"ely a matter o chance7 had , not returned

rom the *tikine ,ce Cap in .@552 people !ould ha'e been 8uick to

say o me%as they no! say o him% that , had a death !ish$ -.//0#

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