Into The Wild Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a biography about the adventure of Chris McCandless Chris McCandless is a 21 year old who is going into the wild and trying to live. In Alaska, McCandless is going to live off of what he has and the resources he can in hope that he can escape the troubles of society and be his own person. Chris McCandless, who is going to journey into the wild to find himself, finds his identity through the people he meets, his thoughts and beliefs and the adventures he takes. Chris McCandless has decided he is going to leave the life that he knows and go out to find what really makes him happy, but he can’t do it alone. Though he wants to be independent, McCandless comes across some people who have a big impact …show more content…
He wants to do it on his own. Early in the novel Mccandless's parents try to offer him some assistance financially. They tried to buy him a new car but he refuses the help and realizes that if he wants to be self dependent, he must lose contact with his parents, who will try to help him pay for anything he may need (Krakauer 21). The purpose of Chris taking such a wild adventure is so that he may get away from the material things and find what is really important. The longer McCandless ventures the more he leaves things behind, “Rather than love, the money, than fame,give me truth. I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. The hospitality was as cold as the ices.”( Krakauer …show more content…
Out of college with a degree McCandless has a brain and knows what he is doing. In a letter he wrote to his parents, he sends them a copy of his final transcript and tells them that he graduated with a high cumulative average (Krakauer 21).As Chris McCandless is trying his best to survive on his skills he has to do what he can for food.As a moose crosses his path he sees an opportunity to satisfy his hunger and goes after the moose with everything he has.Not knowing that it would be his final resting place, Chris McCandless, trying his absolute hardest to survive he comes across a bus that seems to be the perfect shelter. As he grows weaker in the bus all he can do is hope someone comes by to find him and offer him the last thing he wants; some assistance.A couple who often used the bus for their own needs, read the SOS note that Chris McCandless left that said, “S.O.S. I need your help, I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is NO JOKE. In the name of God, please remain to save me, I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. THank you, Chris McCandless.”( Krakauer 12). Chris McCandless displays actions that his beliefs and interests play a role in choosing, and makes him a very unique person with a distinct personality and
This evidence shows that Mccandless thought he was able to live off of the land to survive and thrive. The author states, “As a youth, I am told, I was willful, self absorbed, intermittently reckless, moody. I disappointed my father in the usual ways. Like McCandless, figures of male authority aroused in me.” (Krakauer 134).
He spent most of his adult life trying to stray as far from it as he could because he believed that was the only way he could live a full happy life. The true irony in McCandless’ beliefs lies in the fact that he believed society would undoing yet it was being so far away from it which caused his demise. Once he was trapped in the wild it was when he had no hope of survival. He could never have and long and full life because he chose to cut all ties to the society he believed was evil. Chris soon began to starve out in the wilderness.
Chris, however, had no interest in pursuing a suburban lifestyle of comfort. He was bored with the life he found himself in. The life of being financially stable, and the life of conforming to a materialistic society, and the only place he could find his freedom was in the wild. As he inched his way towards Alaska, McCandless lived the life of a squatter. Only holding on the necessities, and working when needed.
The story of Christopher McCandless then begins with his epic journey that had a fateful end. His story builds with Krakauer trying to piece together why he left and for what gain. As the book builds up the reader begins to understand why McCandless left he did so because his parents were pressuring him he had a troubled relationship with his father. Krakauer also includes stories of other adventurers who meet the same fate and included and memories of him and letters are also included in the book. Krakauer does so in defense of McCandless to show that it could happen to anyone in the wild.
Though at first glance he would strike you as a nomadic recluse, Chris had an ability to make a strong and impactful connection. If he was, as some would argue insane or naive, I highly doubt he would have been able to fit in society. Not only was he capable of human interaction it seemed as though he left an indelible mark on those closest. Reviewing those last years I can infer that McCandless was completely able to decide when and where to make his impact. When he drew away from his parents, and his previous life it was by choice.
When he was on the road he met a man named Jim Gallien that tells him he is unprepared. Jim Gallien notices when he is in his truck him Chris McCandless he notices his gun is not the correct caliber it should be (Krakauer, page 5). Chris McCandless after leaving Ron Franz decides to canoe the Colorado River with just 5 pounds of rice as his main source of food (Krakauer, page 32). When Chris McCandless gets back to the bus his decisions are not good and he uses too much energy doing certain tasks that should be easy and not consume too much energy (Krakauer, page 189). Chris spends too much energy on collecting berries and hunting and does not think about what he is doing, he dies of starvation by August 19th (Krakauer, page 189).
The aim/purpose of this paper is to analyse Chris McCandless`s development of his idealistic lifestyle. Chris McCandless is the protagonist of the film “Into the Wild”. He tries to find his real personality and his ultimate freedom. Therefore he leaves his family, all his material goods and, his social personality behind, to live a life alone. In his journey he experiences a variety of difficult situations, which most of them he overcomes successfully.
Chris had a huge impact on everyone he knew, but he would not let them influence him or his decisions at all. He rebelled against his family because his father was too controlling. Later on, when any of his companions told him not to go to Alaska, or tried telling him to do anything that he did not want to, he would totally ignore them, and change the subject. As Krakauer writes in chapter 6, “McCandless…relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family.
Chris was a unique person and he felt the need to explain it to others because he wanted to emphasize that any person could do whatever their passion is in life because he asserts, "Alex used to sit at the bar in the Cabaret and read that belt for hours on end.." (Krakauer 68). The summary of McCandless life up to that point is that he has been traveling and taking so many risks. So throughout his journey so far he intended to tell his friends that he went through the trouble times he wanted to show it in one simple
In addition, in a journal entry, McCandless writes, “It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive! Thank you. Thank you” (Krakauer 37). This excerpt shows that McCandless sincerely is at peace with himself and the world because of where his ideals have taken him.
Chris McCandless abandoned the modern world and chose the wild because he believed that he could improve himself through living in the wild, and found the true happiness of the life. McCandless abandoned his wealthy family because of his complicated relationship with his father, and he was ashamed with his father’s adultery. Therefore, McCandless believed that human relationship was not the only thing that forms happiness, instead a man’s connection with the nature brings joy as well. He also believed the habitual lifestyle was not what people were meant to do, and people shouldn't have more possessions than what they need. For this reason, McCandless traveled with little effects.
In the beginning, McCandless starts his adventure by cutting himself off from all the human connections he had. He severs all ties from his family, including his sister which whom he was previously very close to. He burns his social security card, changes his name, and decides to travel across the country. Throughout his journey, Christopher often accounts for his parent’s wrongdoings for the reasons why he wanted to run away to Alaska. He subsists with a minimalist lifestyle and is disappointed in his parents’ behaviors and their materialism.
Into the Wild- Allusions Analysis Analyze 7 Literary Allusions from the entire book (choose from any of the epigraphs) Quote (page #) Author’s name and brief bio Connection to McCandless (1-2 sentences) (at least 4 sentences) “Greetings from Fairbanks! This is the last you shall hear from me… I now walk into the wild,” (3).
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,
When McCandless graduated from college, he found the possibility to go away for a while, “He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family” (Krakauer 55). McCandless could finally go away looking for a journey full of adventures, but he wasn’t going to five stars hotels or luxurious places. His journey was precarious and wild, that was exactly what he was looking for. Places that were difficult for someone to reach and loneliness was abundant, the only interaction was with nature and savage animals. Happiness engulfed McCandless when backpacking anywhere, it was his joy.