Into the Wild Essay In 1992, 24 year old Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions and decided to hitchhike to Alaska and invent a new life for himself. Chris had just finished college and many thought he was going to further his education but instead he took a fatal trip into the wild. There are many questions still unanswered to why he felt he needed to go on this trip and people will never know the real reason why Chris McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska by himself with insufficient equipment.
Throughout the course of Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild the reader can see that time and time again Chris McCandless is unprepared for what lies ahead of him, which is why he is not a noble man, nor should his journey be considered noble. While it is true that McCandless had gone on adventures before, nothing had prepared him for the bitter cold climate and the lack of food he had in Alaska. McCandless was not prepared physically or mentally and he did not bring anywhere near enough supplies for someone planning to spend the summer in the harsh environment of Alaska. While it wasn’t foolish for Chris to go out and try to find happiness for himself, it was foolish of him to have been unprepared to begin a difficult adventure in Alaska. Chris McCandless
Some people believe that Chris McCandless was stupid and crazy but those people are wrong. Chris is Courageous and noble for going out into the wilderness like this without money or loved ones. When Chris McCandless decided to go off on his own and live of the land, This took a lot of guts and courage, especially when he did it without a car or supplies. Some rangers found McCandless’ yellow datsun, full of supplies, and it had a note taped to it that said ”This peice of shit has been abandoned. Whoever can get it out of here can have it.”
Everybody dreams of their own forms of success that defines a person is what they do with those ambitions. In the novel, "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, Christopher McCandless from suburban Virginia embarks on a philosophical quest throughout the United States, but prior to that he donates a large sum of money to charity and shortly after graduating from Emory University, leaves home for his journey. Over the course of his pilgrimage, McCandless makes it to South Dakota, California, Arizona, and Mexico, discarding his possessions while meeting several types of people whom he connects with. Among the many scenarios McCandless faces, they include a flash flood where he loses his car, powerful rapids while canoeing, and working at McDonalds. McCandless became close with people who had significantly affected him, such as the hospitality of a grain elevator manager and the comfort of an
In the novel “Into the Wild”, Krakaur goes off on tangents about others similar to that of Chris McCandless. These stories all have a similar undertone that make them tie together for the duration of the book. The first story is about a man with aspirations similar to those of Chris. Gene Rosellini, who was named the Mayor of Hippie Cove by the other residents. Much like Chris, Rosellini had his own standards and ideals.
St. Francis of Assisi was a man who sought peace from the world and tried to bring people together. He gave to the poor and even made a new order in the church, called the Third Order. He believed animals to be his siblings and would always preach to those willing to listen. However, he was not accepted by society when he preached that animals were his brothers and sisters.
Chris McCandless was never too thrilled over following and living by the rules his parent's imposed. He was always a rebel, following his parents' rules until he could escape to the wild. When they learned of their son's demise in Alaska, they were devastated at most parents would be. They didn't know that the last time they saw Chris, would be their last because of his intention to leave them. Upon Chris disappearing from their lives, they were angry but thought they would see him again.
Into the Wild Original, is the word many label themselves. “Establishing their own original ideas and doing acts that no one has committed”. But I own one particular opinion being; everyone was designed to be unique but not original. Everyone is different and thinks differently, but inherits their ideas from other people and modifies it to makes it their own. Chris McCandless was definitely a unique individual, imprinting lasting impressions on everyone who come to know him and those who are now reading about him.
Chapter nine, about halfway through the novel, is a discussion of the life of a man who closely paralleled McCandless in his passion and lifestyle. Krakauer opens the chapter with a quote from Wallace Stegner describing Everett’s passions: “What Everett Ruess was after was beauty, and he conceived beauty in pretty romantic terms. We might be inclined to laugh at the extravagance of his beauty-worship if there were not something almost magnificent in his single-minded dedication to it. Aesthetics as a parlor affectation is ludicrous and sometimes a little obscene; as a way of life it sometimes attains dignity. (61)”
It was clear that McCandless was ill-prepared for many of the situations that he was presented with throughout his adventure to Alaska. McCandless was very passionate about pursuing his dreams to live off the land. Although, if he wanted to survive long enough to enjoy living in one of the most harshest environments on earth, it would have only made sense that he carefully planned out every detail of his trip to prevent him from dying. However on the contrary, it was as if he had no plans or strategies to prevent this from happening. The ultimate sacrifice McCandless paid from unpreparedness was death.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a biography that follows Chris McCandless and his journey through the wilderness while finding himself along the way. Chris McCandless died in the August of 1992 after a four month journey through places like Mexico and Alaska. Krakauer investigates his actions and analyzes his identity after his death, trying to find meaning within his seemingly unnecessary expedition. Chris McCandless constructs his personal identity as a man who wanted to be challenged and inspired by his actions and interests with people he met on the road, and his beliefs and values as a stubborn person. Chris McCandless’s actions are unusual in many ways; for one, he graduates college with honors, but instead of pursuing a career,
The question that people are trying to figure out whether Chris McCandless was mentally ill or not? is a question that is left to be said undone, because their is no right or wrong answer but instead based upon opinion. In my opinion I strongly believe that Chris McCandless was not mentally ill. Chapter twelve of “Into the Wild” McCandless gives his father a present which was an expensive quester telescope and he tells him that even though they’d had their differences over the years, he was grateful for all the things he had done for him. Based upon this text you can identify that Chris was normal and loved his family nothing about him so identifies he was mentally ill.
What makes one head off into the wild, leaving behind everything you know and owned? What are one’s motive for such action? Chris McCandless was no stranger to this, a young guy who had just graduated from college a few years prior to his “great Alaskan odyssey” (203). Knowing McCandless’s motive for this dangerous adventure, it makes sense to at least try. It was really important for McCandless to try to prove to himself he could make it on his own without anybody else’s help (205).