In our modern society everyone wants to be happy. But for many of us, happiness is an elusive, fleeting state that we can capture only for a moment, before it floats away like dust in the wind. In the novel, “Into the wild” by Jon Krakauer and “The Pursuit of HappYness” by Chris Gardner, both authors have a main character that look to find their own meaning of happiness and strive to achieve it. The book “Into the wild” is about a young man from a troubled family who was enraged by the moral lapses of his mother and father and their multiple failures as parents. McCandless also had a love of nature and adventuring in the wild. Upon graduating near the top of his class from college, McCandless cut himself off from family and friends to go adventuring in the Western United States. His last trip was to the Alaskan wilderness where he was found dead of starvation in an abandoned bus. In the novel, “into the wild” is a thrilling story that helps teach the reader what the true meaning of happiness is.
Every person has a unique mind; every person has the capacity to share different views. Our own definitions of happiness are bound to differ
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However, many people around the world are not satisfied with their jobs, family, or themselves physically. In the story, “Into the wild” Chris searches his own meaning of happiness throughout his journey, but his journey led him to difficult obstacles of being lost and feeling alone. Chris’ journey was supposed to be him finding happiness in his journey, but at one point proved fatal when he admitted that he was lost at a swamp. At that point Chris felt lonely and depressed because he did not know whether if a person by chance would save him. Despite feeling depressed at that time, by the end of the book Chris in his final moments he did not have regret or remorse, he had love and true happiness, which is all he ever
In his article "In Pursuit of Happiness: Better Living from Plato to Prozac," Mark Kingwell describes how there has been many debates on the meaning of happiness for many years yet still a singular, justifiable definition eludes society. The pursuit to define and understand happiness has invited several debates, questions, arguments, and suggestions alike. In 1996, a hand full of genetic and behavioral studies suggest evidence that one’s achievable degree of happiness is genetically decided, with evidences showing that no achievement will change your happiness, you are either happy or you’re not. Some studies demonstrated a correlation between dopamine levels in the brain and expressions of personal satisfaction, while others indicated that
Into the Wild introduces us to Chris McCandless, an intelligent young man from a wealthy family, who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness to his ultimate demise. When the story of this young man was published in Outsider, the magazine for which the author of this book wrote, many other similar stories to that of McCandless’s arose. In August of 2013, a young boy who had a fascination to the story of McCandless was found dead in the woods. His name was Johnathan Croom. While both the tragedies of McCandless and Croom had some major similarities, the two scenarios had completely different causes and their journeys were completely different from one another.
In the national bestseller Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the book investigates and observes Chris McCandless and his life-up to the moment of his fascinating, mysterious death. McCandless had died in Alaska in a makeshift cabin out in the middle of the woods, due to consuming a toxic substance that slowly starved him to death. His story was featured in a newspaper article illustrating his life before his deaths, and much criticism was generated towards it. Many thought that McCandless was just another Christopher McCandless was another “one of those crackpots from the lower forty-eight who come north to live out ill-considered Jack London fantasies” (Krakauer 4), and that he wasn’t anyone respectable to look up to. Christopher McCandless, however, was unique in his determination, love of wisdom, and relentless optimism, and should be regarded as an admirable person because of these traits of his.
The innermost fragments of the soul are what makeup that we are, and many of us do not find out how to achieve every part within us for a long time. In Krakauer’s Into the Wild, he assembles a novel about Chris McCandless' life in an extraordinary way, outlining his various adventures throughout his short existence. Chris was a stubborn young man eager and bent on reaching spiritual haven in the Alaskan wilderness. His determination to fulfill his idealistic his idealistic dreams fueled his efforts elude conformist society. However, Chris would come to realize Alaska is a harsh, cold, and unforgiving landscape that misleads many dauntless individuals, like him.
Into the Wild “‘ He was unheeded, happy and near to wild heart of life. ’”Christopher McCandless, pseudonym Alexander Supertramp makes the daunting decision to go off grid and live a nomadic lifestyle. Author Jon Krakauer uses fervent diction and descriptive imagery to depict McCandless’s turning point in his life and beyond to his final days in the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer choses a specific tone to narrate the story, not far from a hypercritical sense.
In the book “Into the Wild”, John Krakauer gives an account of a man, Christopher McCandless, who decides to take a long trek across the west into Alaska, where he eventually perishes. The book “Wild”, written by Cheryl Strayed, follows her journey as a twenty-six year old woman across the Pacific Crest Trail. Throughout both stories, the characters go through intense battles with the world around them and themselves, but the stories are not completely identical. The reasons for these two people’s journeys are varied as is their outlook on life and how their journeys ended overall. Within these stories there are also hidden parallels that link the stories and create a very similar dynamic between the two.
Before the written novel “Into the wild”, Chris’ story had just been another told story of an idiotic man fighting for his manly hood, thus for he died and failed to accomplish. In January 1993, Jon Krakauer published McCandless’ story in that month’ issue of Outside magazine, getting numerous letters presuming the man was either mentally ill, or letters simply questioning his judgement. Inspired by the details of McCandless’ story, Krakauer wrote and published “Into The Wild” in 1996 about McCandless’ adventures, and how he may have had reasons for what he had done, reasons that weren’t apparent before hand. These adventures and reasons sparked varying responses among students, literary minds, alpinist and survivalists alike. Inspiring the
Who truly knows the definition of happiness if everyone has a different interpretation of what it is. In the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless went into the wild for what some may say to commit suicide while others say he went for happiness. Christopher Johnson Mccandless was born February 12th 1968 in El Segundo, California. He was born into a dysfunctional family with an abusive father that was abusive to him, his sister, and his mother. Happiness is something that Chris didn 't quite have nor did he fathom as a child.
Jon Krakauer has a high amount of respect for Christopher J. McCandless; not only because they have many similarities, but because McCandless searched deep for the meaning of life and did as he pleased. In the book, “Into The Wild,” Krakauer not only tells the story of McCandless, but also of his own life, and how he has been shaped into his own. Krakauer had a deep love for the wild, just as Chris did. Though, the two did not do the same things, they both pursued their passions which made it easier for Krakauer to relate to Chris. Once climbing a mountain, Krakauer had ran into trouble, just as Chris did on his journey.
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild investigates the life and adventures of Chris McCandless. The author provides information about Chris’ life to illuminate his journey. Krakauer also uses rhetorical appeals to defend Chris’ rationale for his journey. Through Krakauer’s use of pathos, ethos, and logos, he persuades the audience that Chris is not foolish; however, Krakauer’s intimacy with Chris and his adventures inhibits his objectivity.
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future (Krakauer, pp. 56-57). This quote by Jon Krakauer symbolizes the countless people that were either terrified or apathetic to invest against their comfort zones. People in today’s society struggle with trying to find their inner selves--their interpersonal expeditions. In the novel, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless was oblivious to the external world.
Romanticism was a movement during the late 18th century that encouraged imagination, exploration, individualism, and emotion. From it derived Transcendentalism, one of the first movements to originate from America and which bore the first American philosophers. These movements are often present in many pieces of American literature and this is no exception in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild. The historic account retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless, who adopts the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp and takes to the road, only to die of starvation in Alaska. On the surface it appears to be cautionary tale, but Krakauer literally retraces McCandless’ steps, talking to the people who Chris spoke with and even traveling to Chris’ final resting place.
A common thought among adolescents is the dream to finally leave home and discover who they are; I certainly share this dream. Though the concept is common, the reasons are unique; The differences in character and circumstances define who a person is. What may appear reasonable to some could very well be completely irrational to another. The story of Chris McCandless as reported by Jon Krakauer in the biographic novel Into the Wild is no exception. From the events in his childhood to the conflict with his father, we can see that Chris McCandless, a young man still discovering himself, became disillusioned with the structure of society and desired nothing more than to “no longer be poisoned by civilization” (163).
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.
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.