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Who did Chris meet in the book Into the Wild?

Chris McCandless met all kinds of people during his months wandering the country.  There are simply too many to list, but I can help list and briefly explain some of the more prominent figures that Krakauer mentions.  


Jim Gallien.  Jim is interesting, because of how Krakauer chose to introduce him to the reader.  Jim is the first person that McCandless meets in the story, but Jim is also the last person to see McCandless...

Chris McCandless met all kinds of people during his months wandering the country.  There are simply too many to list, but I can help list and briefly explain some of the more prominent figures that Krakauer mentions.  


Jim Gallien.  Jim is interesting, because of how Krakauer chose to introduce him to the reader.  Jim is the first person that McCandless meets in the story, but Jim is also the last person to see McCandless alive.  Krakauer begins the story only a few months before McCandless is found dead, and then Krakauer flashes back.  Jim Gallien picked McCandless up in his truck and drove him to the start of the Stampede Trail.  


Ronald Franz.  Franz was an old man living out near the Salton Sea in southeast California.  He took McCandless under his wing for a few weeks and tried to convince McCandless to do something with his life.  The two men grew quite close and McCandless encouraged Franz to give up his sedentary life.  


Wayne Westerburg.  Westerburg owned a grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota.  He hired McCandless as a worker, and McCandless returned to him for work on multiple occasions.  While in Carthage, McCandless also met Mary Westerburg (Wayne's mother) and Gail Borah (Wayne's girlfriend). 


George Dreeszen and Lori Zarza.  Both were assistant managers at the McDonald's where McCandless had a job for a bit in Bullhead City. 


Charlie.  An old man that gave McCandless a mobile home to live in while in Bullhead City.  

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