ipl-logo

Into The Wild Compare And Contrast Essay

1168 Words5 Pages

Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is a story about a young, twenty four years old, man who chose to explore the wilderness and his limitations. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He was intelligent, idealistic and a truth-seeker. One of the epigraphs, Krakauer used to start a chapter, is about Everett Ruess. Everett, a twenty years old man, also invented a new life for him by leaving the city to live in nature. His story was attracting to Krakauer because of the many similarities with Christopher McCandless’s story. Krakauer utilizes Everett Ruess's exploration story to compare Chris McCandless's relations, his attachment with books and commitment for change.
Chris and Everett both had talented parents. Chris’s father worked for NASA and his mother for Hughes Aircraft while Everett had “a Harvard-educated father and an artistic, well-read mother” (James 367). Apart from having brilliant parents, Chris did not have good relations with them. He respected and listened to them but …show more content…

They carried books with them on the journey. Chris took nine or ten books with him. He changed his name to Alexander Supertramp. According to Merlin, the name comes from two books; Alexander from War and Peace and Supertramp from “Autobiography of a Supertramp”. One of Everett’s favourite books was Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. His father said that “Everett may have identified with the book’s Captain Nemo, who hated civilization, explored unknown lands in the ocean, and invented a new language—just as Everett was exploring unknown deserts and learning the new language of Navajo” (Berger 7-8). Everett had carved ““NEMO,” with “Nov 1934”” (Lyon 89), into a cave stone. According to him, he was the Captain Nemo born in Nov 1934. Both explorers were fond of books and utilized them to satisfy their imaginations. Krakauer used Everett’s story to compare and highlight Chris’s personality and

Show More
Related

  • Chris Mccandless Comparison

    447 Words  | 2 Pages

    Krakauer’s anecdote illustrates how he was drawn to the story of Mccandless and how Chris’s actions, thoughts, and mental processes came naturally. He informs us of the inevitable accidents that can occur while hiking the wilderness, as well as his own mindset during his similarly troubled, youthful years. Krakauer went through similar mental growth as Chris, but had the fortune of surviving where Chris did not. Unlike McCandless, he didn’t have a single minded focus of living an idealistic life inspired by a great such as Jack London or Thoreau, but Krakauer did yearn for something larger than himself. Both he and Chris shared the desire of personal morality.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Of Into The Wild

    920 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis of Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild ” Jon Krakauer ’s purpose in writing Into the Wild is to recount Chris McCandless’ journey, physical and metaphysical, from college in Georgia to his death in Alaska, through the use of factual, and anecdotal evidence. Krakauer uses factual evidence to establish that he is a trustworthy narrator capable of giving the reader a realistic scope on the events in the story. Jon uses anecdotal evidence to see into Chris’ psyche from the various perspectives found in the book’s excerpts, including how Jon understands the events.

    Read More

  • Differences Between Into The Wild Book And Movie

    881 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jon Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, is a continuation of his article which appeared in the magazine, "Outside. " It follows the life of Chris McCandless, a charismatic twenty-something-year-old, who decides to leave his comfortable suburban lifestyle to travel across the country straight out of college and eventually live a life off of the Alaskan backcountry. Driven by his idealist views, he breaks ties with his family and embraces the natural world surrounding him. However, his acts lead to his demise and consequently cause varied opinions about the adventurer. While some sympathized with McCandless, others castigated him for his selfishness and foolishness.

    Read More

  • Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer: Character Analysis

    425 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer writes of his personal experience to add more to Chris McCandless’ story and to the readers understanding of his character. After Krakauer had written the article on Chris, many people had believed that Chris was a suicidal kid who wanted to rebel against the world and his parents. Krakauer, however, did not believe that this was the case because at one time he and Chris had similar characteristics and dreams, “As a youth, I am told, I was willful, self-absorbed, intermittently reckless, and moody. I disappointed my father in the usual ways. Like Chris McCandless, figures of male authority aroused in me a confusing melody of corked fury and hunger to please.”

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless: A Reckless Idiot

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chris went off after he graduated college and “lived off the land”. Chris would travel to the coast of Mexico, the plains of Kansas, and the dunes of Nevada. Chris went on a final expedition to Alaska that cost him everything. In the following paragraphs I will fully detail how Chris was reckless, selfish, and naive. I will also explore how Chris tied his life to the beliefs of transcendentalism.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

    629 Words  | 3 Pages

    Krakauer completes gaps in Chris’ story; but loses objectivity as he intertwines Chris’ experiences and emotions with his own. Though Krakauer’s details about Chris provide insight, his emotional involvement in Chris’ life becomes an

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless In Jon Krakauer's 'Into The Wild'

    986 Words  | 4 Pages

    Krakauer also put some of McCandless’ journals and letters in the book. According to Shaun Callarmans analysis Chris McCandless had no business going to Alaska. Callarman thinks Chris McCandless is just plain crazy. Callarman doesn't admire his courage or noble ideas. Even though Shaun Callarman thinks Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant, also made mistakes because of his arrogance, I disagree with Callarmans analysis

    Read More

  • Chris Mccandless

    422 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, he focuses on one main person, Chris McCandless. Krakauer explains most of Chris's life and even, at times, puts his own input into the pages of this book. Chris McCandless (a.k.a Alexander Supertramp) was from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Chris had a father, Walt McCandless, a mother, Billie Mccandless, and a younger sister, Carine. Chris's obsession with nature and high-risk activities was believed to start when "Walt took Billie and his children from both marriages to climb Longs Peak in Colorado."

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Into The Wild

    915 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, Jon Krakauer proves his argument that McCandless was not arrogant, foolish, antisocial, or crazy by giving examples of other young men who were similar to McCandless to show that his journey wasn’t unprecedented. He also proves that McCandless wasn’t antisocial because he developed personal relationships with Ronald Franz, Wayne Westerberg, and Jan Burres in such a short amount of time and explaining the many times that McCandless respected the Alaskan Bush. Krakauer admits that McCandless may have suffered from hubris; he was still a victim of circumstances. Krakauer proves that McCandless had an intrinsic motivation to discover and that he wasn’t alone because Krakauer too ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was younger. The Alaskan Bush is a very difficult place to survive if one isn’t prepared for many challenges such as hunting for food or staying warm in the frost ridden

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

    783 Words  | 4 Pages

    “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ―Maya Angelou. Jon Krakauer’s true story titled Into the Wild is about a man who decides to throw away his old life and escape the rules of conventional society. Twenty-two-year-old Chris McCandless came from a well-to-do family in Virginia and, without warning, abandons everything. He changes his name, loses contact with his family, gives away his car and all his money, and begins a two-year long journey hitchhiking to Alaska where he eventually dies of starvation.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ignorance In Into The Wild

    539 Words  | 3 Pages

    Intelligent beyond one's years but seemingly native or blatantly argagent when applying this vast knowledge to one's self to the point of impending self destruction, this seems to go bounds beyond ignorance but as the phrase states “ Ignorance is bliss ”. Chris McCandless was a young intelligent man and is the main character of the story “ Into The Wild “ by Jon Krakauer. Chris, who called the untamed life his home from the moment he graduated from college, a man whose body and soul seemed to be ever wandering and only ever sated when on the road, in the wild, or thriving in danger the definition of wanderlust. He was a man who made large impacts on all of the lives he touched, with his combination of; intellect, self love, happiness of life, taking hold of his life, and naive fragileness he made bonds with all of the lives he touched in a very short amount of time. Chris was an educated individual which drew people towards him.

    Read More

  • Christopher Mccandless: A Tragic Hero

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Christopher McCandless, the protagonist of the novel and film Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, is not your average guy. Driven by his minimalist ideals and hate for society, he challenged the status quo and embarked on a journey that eventually lead to his unforeseen demise. A tragic hero, defined by esteemed writer, Arthur Miller, is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on tragedy. Christopher McCandless fulfills the role of Miller’s tragic hero due to the fact that his tragic flaw of minimalism and aversion towards society had lead him to his death.

    Read More

  • Into The Wild Book Vs Movie Essay

    571 Words  | 3 Pages

    Into the Wild is a personal tale of Chris McCandless’ journey as he runs away from home to try and live in the Alaskan wilderness. The book follows the story through the eyes of the author as he investigates the mysteriousness of Chris’ life through the eyes of those he came in contact with and the journals left behind. However like every book adapted into movie there are slight differences and characterizations throughout the story that aren’t expressed deeply enough or seen in a different light. Into the Wild is no different.

    Read More

  • Who Is Chris Mccandless's Identity In Into The Wild

    959 Words  | 4 Pages

    His persistence carries him through his journey into the wild, but also gives him trouble in later life when he gets a job at McDonald’s but leaves because they want him to wear socks while working (Krakauer 39-41). However, although McCandless has a few good morals, he lacks the belief of valuing family. This is evident when he states that, “I’m going to completely knock [my parents] out of my life… and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live” (Krakauer 64). McCandless’s beliefs give him a platform for his identity as a stubborn person that is hungry for something challenging, but also provides him with hardships and trouble along the

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Based on a real story, Into the Wild can make us think from different perspectives about what the main character Christopher McCandless did. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a dramatic but also remarkable story from a young, newly graduated, college student that escaped for a long wild journey but never came back. As time passes throughout the book, the reader may notice how the main character interacts with society and nature, finally McCandless dies in the wild but even though he was struggling for survival he died happy. Some people never get out of their comfort zone, others are tired of it and retire from their comfort zone to have different experiences in life, some are good enough or some are terrible.

    Read More

More about Into The Wild Compare And Contrast Essay

Open Document