Quote from Into the wild

Quote Assignment

“Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter that was mirthless as the smile of sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the wild, the savage, frozen hearted Northland wild”.

~Whit Fank by Jack London

“Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway” Alex entered the spruce forest feeling cold and hungry after the excitement of leaving his life behind and entering the wild, and after the food ran out. Having nothing to eat in the chilly wind Alex begins to realize that life in the wild might not be as exhilarating as he would have liked. The forest does not usually smile to everyone entering it. It might have taken Alex a while to realize how dark and lonely the forest can become.


“A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness”. Life in the wild can sometimes be exciting and maybe even thrilling. Alex might have enjoyed a few weeks in the wild, having fun and fulfilling his dream. Yet there might have been a time when Alex felt lonely, maybe even missing his parents. Sitting lonely in the dark cold forest, with hunger and only a few books to read, Alex remembered his life back in Virginia where there were people around him even if they were not always kind. Even his parents whom he described as hypocrites and liars in the dark forest he could probably see that life with his family might not have been as bad as he thought it was. Going to the wild was a great adventure, it might have been fun and exhilarating, but Alex realized that the adventure should come to an end.

“There was a hint in it of laughter that was mirthless as the smile of sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility”. Sometimes the decisions we make in life do not work out as well as we would have liked. Chris McCandless made the decision to come to the wild, but now he could see the forest laughing at him for his foolish decision; coming into the wild unprepared to face the dangers is probably the biggest mistake he made in his lifetime.

“It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life.” Chris ignored the warning that wiser, older, and more experienced people told him. Many people tried to warn Alex of the danger he was about to face. Alex might have been able to survive in the wild, if he had listened to other people’s advice such as Jim Gallien, who advised Chris to take some extra supplies with him. A little more food and a warmer jacket and Alex might have been able to survive in the wild. He could have avoided the hunger and cold that killed him.

“It was the wild, the savage, frozen hearted Northland Wild” This was the end of Alexander Supertramp who had taken over the mind of a young, successful, healthy man and led him to his death in the frozen hearted wild, and there alone without any food or a warm jacket Alex/Chris died.