74 pages • 2-hour read
A Walk in the Woods
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Essay Topics
Discuss some of the rationalizations that Bill Bryson offers as to why he should hike the Appalachian Trail. To what extent do you think that these rationalizations actually played a role in his decision to do it?
Describe and analyze the sense of foreboding that takes place in the narrative when Stephen Katz asks to come along and Bryson agrees.
Discuss Benton MacKaye’s original vision for the trail back in the 1920s. In what ways was this vision carried out and in what ways was it not?
Analyze the ways in which a loose-knit community of hikers takes shape on the trail. How was Mary Ellen a poor example of this? How were others such as Chicken John good examples?
Discuss the reasons that Bryson was disappointed by his time in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Why does Bryson declare that Shenandoah National Park is his favorite part of the trail? Discuss the ways in which this park differs from others along the trail.
Analyze the juxtaposition between wilderness and civilization that Bryson and Katz encounter when they visit Waynesboro.
Summarize Bryson’s view of technology on the trail, citing specific examples from the text.
What aspect or aspects of the trail in Maine does Bryson find significantly more difficult than the sections of the trail he previously hiked?
Discuss and analyze Bryson’s alternation between the trek narrative and background information about related subjects. Did this approach make the book more interesting or enjoyable? Why or why not?
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