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Materialism In Into The Wild

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In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer depicts a teenager named Christopher McCandless, who is unsatisfied with the values emphasized by our currently materialistic society. Although many of us today may evaluate his behavior as eccentric and absurd, we must not hastily make judgements about his behavior with our conventional way reasoning. To dive deeply into Christopher’s cognitive process we can analyze a letter written by him to Ronald Franz. In this letter Christopher’s values are laid bare for us to see. Unlike many who enjoy the securities of conventional society, Christopher is a person who enjoys living on the edge and despises reactionary and complacent thinking, and he is shown to highly emphasizes the importance of adventure, …show more content…

He believes going out and seeking adventures is too easy with saved up money and having basic needs taken care of by someone else. Certain rules are reiterated throughout the letter and the majority of them involve having to take action by yourself without external help. Chris writes “do your own cooking” which implies using money to buy food from restaurants does not instill adventurous spirit because the action is reactive not proactive. Even the most basic of needs are forbidden in Chris’s mind; “no motels” shows that even shelter should come from oneself not from others. His emphasis on self reliance and independence becomes more and more obvious as he utilizes repetition to heavily emphasize Ronald to “Just get out and do it”. This repetition express’s Chris idea that life is a perpetual adventure that cannot be fully appreciated by waiting for opportunities , but rather by relying on oneself and going out in the world to absorb the nature around us. Chris has a very active view on life, and hopes people will be willing to actively change their flaws and hindrances. If you don't actively try to fix or change your life nothing will happen;If you want change “all you have to do is reach for it”. Being complacent with the day to day mundane lifestyle blinds you from seeking true freedom. People who are disillusioned by this will find unhealthy and convenient ways such as drugs and alcohol without seeking healthier ways to seek a new life. But the majority will be complacent and discard the notion of change so Chris tells Ronald to lose “inclination for monotonous

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