Analysis Of Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Life on the road is a commonly chosen path many individuals are pushed into taking as a result of the many overwhelming stresses in society, family, and life. These individuals find themselves jumping from job to job, settlement to settlement, to wandering the depths of nature’s wilderness and barely surviving on the little that they have. Living life on the road is a passage individuals take to find themselves, what they want to do in life, and find what the many meanings of life may be. A representation of an individual living life on the road can be found in Jon Krakauer’s book, Into The Wild. The book revolves around a college graduate named Chris McCandless who is plagued with the stresses of finding a career path that meets the criteria

Chris McCandless’s journey around the country is an example of how exploring the beauties of nature while living life on the road can aid an individual in finding one’s true self. Nearing the end of the book, the narrator begins to uncover more of McCandless’s diary entries and discovered what McCandless was thinking throughout the entire trip and what his true intentions were for this journey. As the narrator compares McCandless’s journey to other individuals who have lived life on the road in search of themselves he states, “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large, but rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul. He soon discovered, however, what Muir and Thoreau already knew: An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one’s attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds” (Krakauer 183). What this quote shows about McCandless is that his intentions for this journey was not to avoid life’s problems but rather to live life on the road while explorings nature’s offering in order to find himself and who he really is. Nature and life on the road is not a place for individuals to go and escape life’s problems, but rather a place where individuals can freely explore themselves without having anything to worry about and hold them back. Life on the road and nature has more to offer than what can be seen. Nature allows individuals to not only explore the beauties of its wildernesses, but it also allows them to really explore themselves as a person. Nature can help guide individuals in finding themselves by teaching them life lessons. Life lessons are lessons you mainly learn from your