Question

In paragraph 5, krakauer warns us that he will not be an impartial biographer. what does this mean? are all biographers impartial? what might we expect from krakauer?

Answer 1

Krakauer's statement that he will not be an impartial biographer tells the reader that he will be injecting his own thoughts and opinions into the story. Even though Krakauer has access to McCandless's journal and all of his belongings, Krakauer must make some assumptions or guesses as to McCandless's state of mind and motivations. Many biographers try to be impartial but it is impossible. The biographers make choices as to what about the person's life they include or leave out in the book. In this way, the biographer is not impartial because there is some element of a person's life missing that could change the way the person is seen. We can expect Krakauer to add his own thoughts and opinions about McCandless's actions. Krakauer also includes information about other hikers that have gone missing in the Alaska wilderness.