Taylor+Pestorius+RP+Post+7

My most recent working title of my RP is "A Walk in the Wild: A Literary Review of Jon Krakauer's //Into the Wild".// "Should the infamous McCandless bus near Healy, Alaska be removed?" by Sean Doogan

As one might expect, controversy has arisen surrounding the bus in which Chris McCandless stayed and later died. The bus remains in the same location as it did in 1992 when Chris lived in the bus. Many, especially local Alaskans, want to remove the bus because it is expected that its presence has "lured" tourists and lost souls to the location, which has resulted in injury and death. Most people "who live out here" describe this bus as a "siren's call" and wish to "haul out" the bus to "somewhere in Healy where people can see it safely." Jon Nierenburg, a local who runs a dog sled tour that stops by the bus during the winter gets a call "at least once a week" from people who want to visit the bus. He tries to keep them away when the weather is especially bad, but this can just lead to the foolish travelers making the trips on their own. Blogs and web forums offer advice on how to cross the Teklanika river, but this advice resulted in the death of a Swiss tourist three years ago, who drowned in the river. The writer claims her used to hate McCandless's story, because it was a beacon for stupidity, but Jack London's "To Build a Fire" tells a similar story in the same setting and with the same sad outcome. Doogan writes that he believes the bus should stay in its original location, for the intrigue will "fade away eventually." I have to agree with Doogan. Removing the bus will not stop ambitious admirers of McCandless from taking the dangerous trips, and his influence will not die just because the bus is destroyed.

Doogan, Sean. "Should the Infamous McCandless Bus near Healy, Alaska Be Removed?" Alaska Dispatch. Alaska Dispatch, 4 June 2013. Web. 04 June 2014.