In the beginning of chapter 8, Krakauer blatantly states all these strangers’ opinions about McCandless’s death to the reader. These honest and blunt opinions that were stated against McCandless causes one to realize that McCandless’s peril was one hundred percent absurd and puerile. After reading others opinions on his death, it made me resent McCandless even more than I did. “Personally I see nothing positive at all about Chris McCandless’s lifestyle or wilderness doctrine.” (page 71) another opinion states, “McCandless had already gone over the edge and just happened to hit bottom in Alaska.”
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.
When McCandless returned home his parents expressed their fears about his dangerous, daunting trips. Although he knew the dangerous situations he was putting himself through, he didn’t want to back down to his parents, “he wanted to prove to himself that he could make it on his own, without anybody else’s help” (178). He was tired of being babied by his parents, he wanted to show them that he was no longer a boy, but a man. McCandless’ refusal of his parent’s loving advice therefore proves that he wished to be his own person, stating the actions of his trip into the wild as being sane, and a product of independence.
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.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a Non-Fiction Novel about a man named Christopher McCandless that runs away from home in order to feel free. The main character in the story is Christopher McCandless, he is a young man that loves being in the outdoors. Chris McCandless loves the outdoors so much he leaves his family and most of his possessions behind and began his journey to Alaska. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a story about Chris McCandless and his conflicts with his family, society and nature.
Into the wild In history, there is a reoccurring theme of people criticizing the accomplishments and failures of others, which is based on their past causing the reader to form bias. Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild, illustrates how Christopher Johnson McCandless, the protagonist, is criticized for his failures and accomplishments. Krakauer’s bias and writing style influences the reader’s opinion of the protagonist and elucidates the grip wilderness had on American imagination, relationship between father and son, and the allure of high-risk activities for young men of certain mind. The way these themes are presented is what causes the development of the reader’s opinions throughout the narrative and drive the reader. John Krakauer is bias;
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.”
As Oprah Winfrey once said, “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” Adventures are both rewarding and life-changing; they continue to be remembered all throughout a person’s legacy because ultimately, the person who went on the adventure went solely to undergo the long journey ahead of them. Interestingly enough, the bigger picture of adventure, both an exciting and a nerve-racking experience one faces can often create a positive bias for someone else since he or she is in favor of all what went into making the adventure so memorable and illuminating. Similarly, Jon Krakauer, the author of the national bestseller Into the Wild, has a positive bias towards the main protagonist of the book, Christopher McCandless. Christopher McCandless embarked on a journey to Alaska, something he had always dreamt of doing.
Chris Mccandless was destined to live a life of solitude and he didn’t want any help from others. Chris Mccandless was offered supplies by a man named Jim Gallien who gave him a ride to the stampede trail, Jim Gallien noticed that Chris Mccandless was not prepared for the endeavor he was about to pursue.(Krakauer,4). Chris Mccandless had a very good relationship with his sister Carine Mccandless. Chris Mccandless had to separate from his sister and she was going to be the hardest to separate from because Chris and Carine Mccandless had a very strong relationship. Chris Mccandless intended to go into the wilderness and live a life alone, which meant that he would separate himself from family,friends, and society.
While McCandless was submerged into the utmost wilderness without even the basic necessities that the average person would require for survival in uninhabited Alaska. Krakauer himself says that McCandless did not go into the wilderness to contemplate nature or the world, but instead to explore the “inner country of his own
“Honey, you are changing that boy’s life.” A friend of Leigh Anne’s exclaimed. Leigh Anne grinned and said, “No, he’s changing mine.” This exchange of words comes from the film trailer of an award-winning film, The Blind Side, directed by John Lee Hancock, released on November 20th, 2009. This film puts emphasis on a homeless, black teen, Michael Oher, who has had no stability or support in his life thus far.
Going out into the wild all by yourself can be nerve wracking and lonely. Jon Krakauer makes Chris McCandless seemed like a noble person who took the initiative to try to go out and live into the wild. The book Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer, is about a teenager named Chris McCandless leaving society and traveling to Alaska by himself with nothing else but a bag of rice and a small .22 caliber gun. Chris is heroic because he went to Alaska by himself without any knowledge of Alaska and didn’t know any of the dangers of Alaska. One way Krakauer make Chris seem noble is when Chris is about to enter Alaska he tells Gallien “ I’m goin’ to get on up there live off the land,go claim me a piece of the good life” (Krakauer 4).
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
Society is a limitation, often preventing many from following their dreams or beliefs. Some may forsake these dreams and ideals and forget who they are in an attempt to conform. Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer narrates the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man from Virginia. McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska in 1992 to follow his beliefs and managed to live off the land for four months until he met his death in the wilderness. His story gained a lot of publicity and it has led to debates about his sanity and heroic qualities.
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.
