1. My first response to the book after reading it was that it is very revealing of the human condition, and the way it affects the mind. The book made me feel more aware of my own human needs to have contact with other people, whether it be by phone, e-mail, or in person. I responded the most, when Chris McCandless died in the bus out in the Alaska Bush, and his help note was found, and read. This not affected me greatly because in it, Chris portrayed, at the only time in the book, a sense of helplessness, and his incapable situation he placed himself in. This had a positive affect on me, reinforcing my own belief that no one, not in this era, can live happily, and safely, completely isolated from all human contact.
             2. Chris, the main character in the book is a very single minded person. He is only concerned with what he wants out of life, not of others. Chris, on the other hand, is very charismatic, and kind. He generally keeps to him self with personal feelings, but gets along with most people.
             3. Over the course of the novel, Chris faces many hardships. The first problem he faces is when his car breaks down in the desert, and he is forced to abandon it, and hike on foot. The only other problem he faces, is when he injures himself, and dies of starvation in the bus he camps in. He faces many other hardships in the journey, but all the other are self-inflected, to help him receive what he most likely believes to be an enlightenment. Chris does not overcome the last problem, because of his unprepared thinking, he dies in the bus from starvation.
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