Book vs. Movie

I personally like the movie better.  It better shows Chris' free spirit and why he was such an unforgettable person.  I almost cried when he turned down the adoption request.  He changed the lives of all the friends he made on the way to Alaska.  The movie really emphasized that it's the journey, not the destination that makes us who we are.  And the book more focused on how his family was taking his disappearance and how intellectual Chris is.  It's a lot easier to watch a movie than to read a book because it offers multiple ways to take in the story, though the book usually contains a lot more information.

Wikitruth

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia.  No encyclopedias should be used at a college level for research.  They're good for getting your head wrapped around difficult topics, but should not be used as a main resource.  Wikipedia has gotten a bad reputation because anyone can post information, but when false information is posted it is almost immediately corrected.  And a lot of the information on Wikipedia is often posted by experts.  Still, do not use it as a primary source.

Revisiting Initial Perceptions

I still have the same opinion on Chris, but with a little more respect.  I always thought he was a genius and I admired that he had the guts to live out his dream.  I hope I die as accomplished as Chris McCandless.
Though, I almost feel as though he new he was going to be famous.  Once his adventure turned for the worst, he continued documenting everything.  He had to have known how great a story he was creating.

"Outcasts"

I think that chapters 8 and 9 were very important.  They helped to better explain Chris and emphasize the fact that he's not like all the other crazies.  When writing, Krakauer found so many people to interview about Chris because he was so memorable.  There was just something about him that made it impossible for his peers to forget.
I believe names are collections of sounds that please our parents' ears.  The sounds are associated with experiences.  The experiences and what we use to put meanings to the names.  And from there, our parents decide on names that they hope their child will one day embody.  But what's more important, is who you, yourself, want to be.  Christopher McCandless changed his name to Alex Supertramp not only to avoid being found, but because he felt it better expressed him.
I figured I'd look up the names.  Christopher actually means 'Christ-bearer' and Alexander means 'defender of the people', so I can see the appeal there.  Plus Supertramp reminds me of the beginning of the novel when rubber tramps and leather tramps were being explained to Alex.  He probably chose Supertramp because he walked, drove, canoed, trudged, and whatever else he had to do to get where he was going.