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 THIS EVENING. THANK YOU, CHRIS MCCANDLESS, AUGUST? (page 12).
After reading this quote in your book, describe your reaction to McCandless' S.O.S.
Minimally 3-5 complete sentences.
Due Thursday, February 3rd, by 11:59pm
To be honest, I think that that SOS was just a piece of false hope, done only to ease the fear that Chris was experiencing beiing so close to death. However, I think that I most likely would have done the same thing, just to give myself a small ray of hope
ReplyDeleteI think that he knew that he was going to die out in the woods before he vantured out into the wild. I feel like he wrote this not because even though he wanted to live out there like he did, I feel like his natural instinct kicked in as part of the human races and he wanted to fight for survival. I also got the indication that he wasnt that desperate for survival because I feel like that naturally a person would stay near there S.O.S. They would have stayed to see if anyone would come to rescue them.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this proves that Chris had no idea what he was getting himself into when he went into the woods. I feel like he has finally realized what he got himself into and is now in a life or death situation which he requires help. He is in a bad way and need to get some sort of attention by someone before he dies. His S.O.S just proves the point that Alaaskan wilderness is extremely rugged and he is now about to die in a foreign climate and a place where he is all alone. It shows me that if I ever decide to go on an expedition into a foreign place to be over-prepared instead of under-prepared.-----Jez
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that Chris only did this in order to tell himself that he had some hope of being rescued. I said before that I think he knew that he would have died in the forest, and he just did not come to terms with it in the end. It is a natural reaction to try to do anything that could help to save your life in a dire situation.
ReplyDeleteWhen i did this, it was because i was in a very rough situation. I thought it was a very wise thing to do as well. It kept me alive for many more days, and I had hope that someone would come, and know my situation. From what i have heard up hear, many people, as well as scholar Dylan Rutherford, think it was a brilliant idea of me to post this S.O.S.
ReplyDeleteThe SOS was in a way Chris's return to reality. The magnitude of his situation had struck him all at once. I had stated previously that Chris most likely understood his possible fate. This SOS shows he didn't accept it. He rejected help up till now and he probably knew he would not be found. He did wish to be found but had little hope of that happening. His naive bravado shattered in the face of death. It is not selfish to want to live, but he had chances to go back and he not only didn't take them but scorned them. He should have prepared for the outcomes his actions would pose. This simply proves my point. He was brave yet naive.
ReplyDelete-Sean H.
After reading this quote from Chris, I felt a strong sense of compassion and pity for him. On the other hand, he should of known what he was getting himself into by going out into the wild by himself. Then again, maybe he did know he was going to face death and he was just not ready to accept it.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Chris definitely knew he was going to die out there when he wrote this letter. He probably just wrote it because he didn't like the idea of giving up. He didn't want to die, but he had a strong feeling he was about to so he needed to try as hard as he could do fix that. His SOS was his last hope. After reading this SOS, I felt sorrow for him, but it really was his doing. He chose to go out in the woods and risk everything.
ReplyDeleteI think that at the point when he wrote this letter he knew he was going to die. I also think that he did not want to accept that he would have to give up and die. I see this note as his way of trying to keep going and push on.
ReplyDeleteI think Chris wrote this SOS because he wanted to feel like he wasn't going to die alone in the woods. He wanted a reason for staying alive, a reason to not give up. I feel like Chris knew he was going to die so he did this as he last effort to make it out.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Chris McCandles S.O.S. it made me think in a sense that he had given up on himself surviving in the wild, I feel like at that point he probably would not try to do much more to survive. If you think about it, he did not want anyone to know where he was in the beginning and if he had wanted to be independent and fight every obstacle that he came across on his own. Now he was asking for help. He was helpless, he was scared. At this point, he had given up on being in the wild. One thing does not really make sense to me though. He said that he was too weak to hike out to the road, yet he was walking around looking for berries. I really think he just didn't have the will power to make it to the road, and again he was giving up on himself.
ReplyDelete