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The Wild

Pick Your Dream Team

When Dawn is taken to Out of the Wild, she isn’t able to choose the pack that she is part of. Imagine you had the chance to bring your own seven or eight person team to the program. Describe your team. Who would you bring? Why would you choose them? What colour would you assign each of them?

To Think About...

1. The author talks directly to the reader throughout the novel. What are your thoughts about this as a narrative style?

2. Of the eight pack members in the story, who would you choose to befriend? What influenced your decision?

3. What do you think makes a society cohesive? Do you think the bear pack is actually cohesive?



Comments

  1. Unknown7 January 2022 at 11:16

    2. Its actually really interesting that you ask this question because I was actually wondering what decision I would have made myself if I were actually in the group. I had wondered if I would have been smart enough to pick one of the good ones. I think personally I would have to chose Brielle. First of all she's quiet, calm and does not attract drama. And secondly, she is one of the most advanced so she would be able to help me trough all my levels. And finally I would have chosen Brielle because I feel like I would have related to her the most. I can't say much else without spoiling the book but great question!

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  2. ErinDHS Learning Commons10 January 2022 at 10:30

    1. I'm not sure how I feel about the "Author's Notes." On one hand, it seems like they are supposed to make the reader feel some kind of connection with the author. For example, when the author says things like, "But you and I know that's not how it goes," it suggests a conspiratorial tone, like the author and the reader are on the same team and have a shared understanding of the genre.That is what I think these passages are meant to achieve, but for me, they were a little off-putting, perhaps a little patronizing, and I think the story would have been just as compelling had they been left out.

    3. I think the bear pack is not cohesive. In a cohesive society there is a shared "social contract" that lays out what is and is not acceptable, and these understandings or social norms are intended to allow individuals to work productively together, whether that is for a common collective good, or the individual's good. Although there is an initial venere of camaraderie, this quickly breaks down under the sociopathic influence of some of the members. Interestingly enough, the bear pack ends up being a microcosm of the broader society in which certain priviledged individuals throw off the inhibitions of the social contract similarly to Lord of the Flies, only with more F-bombs.

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Thank you for engaging in thoughtful & respectful dialogue about what you are reading.

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