American Muslim

Teaching "Into the Wild"

Asalaam Alaikum (Peace be with you),

I'm fairly sure I've mentioned this before, but of all the jobs I've ever had, the most rewarding one ever was teaching English at CPSA. The College Preparatory School of America (CPSA) is a private, Islamic school in Lombard, IL. Although I only taught there from October 2007 to May 2008, my life was changed in many ways. Even though it wasn't the most challenging - that dubious distinction would go to being a middle school "sub" at the nearby Islamic Foundation School (IFS) in Villa Park, IL - working at CPSA enriched my life to a great extent. Being in such a righteous, Islamic environment - teachers, students and even the curriculum - really helped strengthen my imaan (faith).

While I was there, I taught two sections of English Writing to 8th grade (boys and girls separate); two sections of English Literature to 9th grades (again, separate); and one, combined section of English Lit to 12th grade (small class, about 10 students). What really made the experience so awesome was I had a lot of freedom to assign books that many of these students may never have read on their own. For 9th grade, we read "The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told to Alex Haley)" and "Night" by Elie Wiesel. But, for 12th grade, we read "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.

I first read "Into the Wild" in the spring of 2002, during my last semester at Purdue, while taking "American Regionalism" with Kip Robisch (a life-changing experience that I wrote about before). That was a really rough semester for me as I struggled to cope with the double suicides of the past year. I only took two classes, both in English, and spent much of my time drinking and working at a college bar and listening to music. In fact, I have a tremendously distinct memory of eating bagels, listening to The Band and reading "Into the Wild."

Krakauer's tale of Christopher McCandless gut-punched me for numerous reasons, but namely because I empathized so much with McCandless. I felt directionless, lost, stripped of meaning and identity in a world that was just too cruel, too f**ked up. I was floundering, listening to tons of depressing music like The Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work"; The Juliana Theory's "You Always Say Goodnight, Goodnight"; Linkin Park's "In the End"; and the Band's "I Shall Be Released." I was immersed in Kip's class, so I was reading Faulkner, Kesey, London and Cather and supplementing all of that with Bukowski and Eliot.

Fast-forward six years - now I'm a 28-year old English teacher at an Islamic school, teaching "Into the Wild." And astonishingly, though I still loved the book, I loved it for a different reason. I think that happens to many of us - a book we cherished when we were younger takes on a different meaning when we get older. I know of at least three books in my life that I appreciated more - or in a different way - when I was older - Leon Uris's "Battle Cry," Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" and Orwell's "Animal Farm."

The second time around, I also read "Into the Wild" from a different perspective. I read it as a Muslim, which changed how I perceived McCandless's life, his relationship with his parents, his thoughts on religion, etc. And my Muslim students at CPSA read the book differently then the way I read it when I was a little bit older than them. Many of them scoffed at his decision to "escape" reality for a life in the wild and basically accused him of losing a total grip with reality. But, they all sobered up when we watched the 2007 film in class. That's why I think Sean Penn made such a great film and one of the few screen adaptations that was pretty close to the original (also because Penn shot the film at all the actual locations mentioned in the book).

So, when it came time to make their final exam, I decided to assign essay questions that examined the book from an Islamic perspective as well as from a direction that might resonate with a 17- or 18-year old high school student.

3rd Quarter Take Home Final, 12th Grade English
- Spring 2008, CPSA

Asalaam Alaikum (Peace be with you),

Please pick FIVE out of the following SEVEN essays and submit them in class on Thursday, April 3rd. All essays should be at least 300 to 400 words; double-spaced; in Times New Roman (font 12); have page numbers; and cite appropriate page numbers (in brackets).

1. There is a persistent theme in the book relating to McCandless living on the "edge of society." What drove him to this position and relationship with society? Why did he want to be an outcast?

2. One of our class discussions revolved around how McCandless's life was, in some ways, wasted because he wasnt' Muslim and didn't have a "higher power." Write an essay discussing McCandless and his relationship with God and how his story might have been different if he had been Muslim and had a relationship with Allah (SWT). Discuss the Sahaba (companions of the Prophet) as well and their sacrifices for the sake of Allah (SWT) as being different from McCandless's own desires.

3. There are frequent references to Twain, Thoreau, London, Tolstoy and others. How did these authors and others influence McCandless?

4. Describe McCandless's relationship with his parents. Why was it that he was distant from his own family, but during his travels, seemed to pick up father and mother-figures including Jan, Gail, Wayne, Ron, etc.?

5. One of the most important figures during McCandless's journey was Ron Franz. He tells Krakauer that he [Franz] gave up on his faith in God because of what God "did" to McCandless. Write about Franz and his role in McCandless's life.

6. An unusual theme in McCandless's life was his seeming forced "abstinence" from sex. What were the influences that led to McCandless adopting this position?

7. Compare McCandless and other similar figures like Rosellini, Waterman, McCunn, etc. Were there similarities? Differences?