It definitely changed my opinion of the parents. I knew they cared at first, but as a reader, it is comforting to see the Dad stressing and being nervous, as well as the mom being collective. For me, it gave them personality where there really hadn't been before. There is all this talk about how the dad betrays the wife, and that their family was being torn apart from the inside, and here they are in the forest united as a family for the last time. I didn't much care for either the mom for putting up with the dad's second marriage or the dad's betrayal but now I found them human. And of course I would go to the spot where Chris died if I was the parents. I think you have to, otherwise it would definitely bother you forever. A very good ending to a very good story.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Epilogue post
Though the epilogue in Into the Wild was very short, it was also extremely important. How did the epilogue change your opinion or attitude toward Christopher's family after their reactions to visiting the bus in Alaska? Also, if you were in the parents situation, would you also want to visit the bus? Why or why not?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you that the epilogue allowed me to see the parents as human. They way they were described throughout the book made them seem like actors in a soap opera or something; it was hard to see them as real. The dad's reactions had more of an impact on me than the mothers as well. The way he could barely form sentences, and had a hard time saying much at all really got across that he has a hard time expressing his feelings, which is one of the reasons Chris may have ended up where he did.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason this didn't post last night. Probably forgot to enter the code after. But I wrote it on MS word so here was my comment. I had the same reaction. We were told by Krakauer earlier in the book about his visit with Chris' parents after they had heard of his tragic death. No doubt they were sad, but we also had this illusion from Chris' side of the story that they were kind of shitty parents. Always fighting, and his father, Walt, cheating on Billie with his ex-wife. Yea, a lot of families have issues but after reading the epilogue, we can tell that Chris' parents genuinely cared about him and visiting the bus where he died must have been tough for them. Chris' mom was looking forward to it, but I would have been more like Walt. I would need to see the place but I would definitely procrastinate.
ReplyDelete