Getting to Know McCandless Through Direct and Indirect Characterization

Direct Characterization- the method of character development in which the author simply tells what the character is like. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/direct+characterization) 

Indirect Characterization- the writer reveals information about a character and his personality through that character's thoughts, words, and actions, along with how other characters respond to that character, including what they think and say about him. (http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/characterization.html) 

Direct Character Descriptions	Indirect Character Descriptions
Christopher McCandeless—eighteen, maybe nineteen years old, hard, stringy physique of an itinerant laborer, face had a strange elasticity.	Friendly, calm and collected, had an answer for everything that Galien questioned him about, excited, determined, gung-ho, amiable, extremely ethical, set high standards for himself, intelligent, did too much thinking, tried too hard to make sense of the world.
Jim Gallien—	Concerned, afraid of water (Nenana River),
Ken Thompson—owner of an Anchorage auto-body shop	Contumacious Alaskan with a certain fondness for driving motor vehicles where he shouldn’t.
Gordon Samel—Ken Thompson’s employee	Contumacious Alaskan with a certain fondness for driving motor vehicles where he shouldn’t, strong opinionated, steely enough to search the bus.
Ferdie Swanson—friend of Ken and Gordon, construction worker.	Contumacious Alaskan with a certain fondness for driving motor vehicles where he shouldn’t.
Butch Killien—coal miner, moonlights as an emergency medical technician for Healy Fire Department.	Insists on not carrying dead body away, job for the Alaska State Troopers.
Wayne Westerberg—thick shouldered, hyperkinetic, black goatee.	Owns two grain elevators, kind, willing to give hitchhikers work and a place to stay, drinks frequently.

  Based on these descriptions, I am getting the impression that Christopher McCandless was very focused on what he was doing, very intelligent, and not willing to do anything half-halfheartedly. He was not the type of person to go into something like a journey into the wild without getting his research, and cutting out halfway. No, McCandless was one to go into something like his trip full and not stop until he had accomplished what he wanted to. 

A Desired Adventure

I have been to places like the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert, but one place in the United States that I have never been to and would like to go to are the Great Lakes. I have been to many places in the southwestern part of the country, but i have never been to the northwest. The Great Lakes together cover an area of 244,000 km2, and they carry roughly half of the world's water supply. Only the polar ice caps contain more fresh water. I think it would be incredible to see bodies of water this immense, and aside from the ocean, I never have seen such enormous bodies of water. The Great Lakes are together made up of five lakes: Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, and Lake Ontario. Lake Superior is the largest lake, and covers about 355 miles (length) and 160 miles (width). Lake Michigan is the second largest lake, and is the only lake that is entirely in the United States. It covers 320 miles (length) and 70 miles (width). Lake Huron is the third largest lake by volume, and covers a stretch of about 190 miles (width) and 20 miles (length). Lake Erie is the second smallest lake, and is the most southern lake. It is the most extensively farmed of all the lakes. Lake Ontario is the smallest and most southern lake, and it lies between New York and Canada. It's name means beautiful in the Indian language. I would like to visit the Great Lakes someday, and see for myself what they each look like.  Hopefully one day I will be able to go and see each lake.

Jon Krakauer Biography

Jon Krakauer was born in Massachusetts on April 12th, 1954. However, when he was two years old, his family moved to Oregon, where he spent most of his childhood. he is the third of five children. He was a really athletic child, and when he was eight years old his father introduced him to mountaineering. he graduated from high school in 1972, and in 1976 he received his bachelor's degree. In 1977, he spent three weeks alone in the wilderness of the Stikine region of Alaska. He met Linda Mariam Moore, who he eventually married in 1980. In 1983, Krakauer quit his jobs to be able to write full time. In 1996, he teamed with several other team members and together they went on a guided ascent of Mount Everest. However, a terrible ice storm came and took four of his teammates,and Krakauer shared his story with Outside magazine in a article that he wrote. Krakauer's work has appeared in many magazines such as National Geographic and Times. He is currently an official editor of Outside magazine, and lives in Seattle with his wife.