“People who are isolated interest me, whether they isolate themselves or have been isolated by circumstances,” says Charles Frazier, famed author of Cold Mountain. The subject of isolation fascinates many others, for it can be something heart wrenching and consequential or a transcendental, intuitive experience. Due to its passionate, raw content and its ability to bring out the most fervent of emotions, isolation is an idea deeply explored in all types of media. Cold Mountain is a fictional novel that does exactly this, as well as Jon Krakauer’s biography titled Into the Wild. Each character, such as Chris McCandless, Inman, and Ada, experience different forms of isolation and have different reactions to it as a result. These reactions help to expand on the themes of both books. In conclusion, isolation in Into the Wild and Cold Mountain helps to develop …show more content…
Upon describing Chris McCandless, Krakauer writes, “he was alone and young and wilful and wild hearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangle and veiled grey sunlight” (Krakauer, 31). This quote shows that McCandless took a sense of pride in living apart from most of humanity. His isolation brought him a sense of excitement and a thrill that he could only achieve by surviving alone in nature. Appearing in contrast to Chris’ view is Inman’s: “It was as if nothing were there, himself in the process of becoming some mere figment, fading from the ground up” (Frazier, 261-262). Unlike Chris McCandless, having to survive in the wild quickly took its toll upon Inman. Inman did not experience the adventurous inklings of McCandless’ young mind, instead viewing his journey as a detriment to his emotional mindset and physical presence. While McCandless was attracted to the Alaskan interior, Inman longed to flee from the desolate, dismal wood he was forced to
In “Into the Wild, ” Jon Krakauer explores the human compulsion with nature and the purpose of life. Throughout the book, Krakauer documents the intoxicating/galvanizing life and death of Christopher Jon McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, a young hitchhiker that embarked on an Alaskan Odyssey to explore himself and the wilderness. Like many before him, McCandless thought that he could give is his life meaning by pursuing a relationship solely with nature. McCandless had “an impractical fascination with the harsh side of nature. (85)
In August of 1992, a man by the name of Chris McCandless was found dead in a bus located north of Mt. McKinley Alaska, by a group of hunters. The book, Into the wild, is written by Jon Krakauer who takes on the task of finding out who exactly was Chris McCandless. Through the book, we find out about his childhood, his school life and his travels. The book gives us a sense of who he was a person, his childhood life, and his thoughts on the world. Many argue that his death was a suicide but one can argue that his death was exactly the opposite.
Although numerous may argue that McCandless’s family problems served as primary motivation for his journey, there is more evidence showing that it was the literature he read while he was in college. Various events led Chris McCandless up to the start of his journey into the wilderness, but it was literature that served as the primary reason. That being unusual, McCandless lived according to “I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life” (Krakauer 15). McCandless wanted to go out and explore for himself a life in which he got a glimpse of in the literature he read.
Chris and Timothy 's independence shows the development of alienation; they isolate themselves and find their purpose in life away from society by documenting their journey. The writer of Into the Wild and the director of Grizzly Man apply similar characterization to Chris and Timothy 's story to show alienation from society. The writer of Into the Wild and the director of Grizzly Man apply similar characterization to Chris and Timothy 's story to show alienation from society through documenting their experiences. Jon Krakauer and Werner
Throughout the novel, Krakauer uses vivid imagery to reiterate the necessary isolation so that an adolescent can find their personal self without influence of society by describing the physical action of removing oneself from civilization through regionalism. McCandless decides to go on his Alaskan odyssey to “no longer be poisoned by civilization” (Krakauer 163), in order to reach his euphoria, identity, and purpose. Krakauer illustrates with maps and describes physically, the way McCandless isolates himself along the Stampede Trail. For instance, as McCandless begins his journey to the Stampede Trail, he pulls out an old, crude map of the trail that is “seldom traveled, it isn’t even marked on most road maps of Alaska” (Krakauer 5). In other
Isolation is a way to know ourselves. Ideas can be born and lost if we disconnect ourselves from everyone. In the novel, “The Martian” written by Andy Weir, Mark Watney is an astronaut who is stranded and alone in Mars. An incident occurred, an atrocious dust storm blew a reception antenna that slammed right into Watney’s side causing him to have utter pain and unconsciousness. His crew members believed that he was lifeless; however, he actually survived the circumstance and became deserted in Mars.
seclusion, so called simplicity, the beautiful landscapes, its hard no to believe that alaska could cure all of our issues. the dreamers and the misfits that jon krakauer meantions in the quote from page four in Into the Wild expect alaska to patch up the unsatisfactory holes in their lives. a person being interviewed from Into the Wild, Jim Gallien, explains that people, such as Chris McCandless, have certain expectations for alaska; these expectations include easily living off of the land and claiming "a piece of the good life". all of these people that expect "the frontier" to save us believe that since they will live an imagined simplier life, most of their problems will be cured. the holes they search for something to fill could be caused
Once Christopher McCandless stepped foot in the wild, he never knew what was coming for him. Straight out of college, McCandless knew exactly what he wanted to do: he wanted to travel the country and see where his adventure would take him. Along the way, on his journey, Chris made some good friends, gaining a few jobs and encountered a little trouble from mother nature. From almost dying of dehydration in the Mojave desert, to practically being swept away in the teklanika river while trying to get back to civilization. Some of McCandless’ decisions were not quite wise on his part; going into the wild being unprepared.
Chris McCandless was a peculiar young man who explored the wilderness of Alaska. Many people would consider him courageous as he died doing what he loved, on the other hand some feel he was foolish and unprepared. Inspired by literature and seeking escape from his rocky relationship with his family, Chris wanted to live off the land in the cold Alaskan winter. Jon Krakauer explores what led to McCandless’s death and explains the actions that led him into the wild. In my opinion, Chris seemed more foolish than courageous, since he was escaping his problems back home and was highly unprepared for what he was tackling.
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).
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
“Hunters in the Snow” deals with the motif of alienation, or isolation. Tub and Frank both experience isolation from others, reinforced by the secrets they are keeping. Kenny and Frank rush ahead of Tub while hunting, and almost leave without him. Tub has to run to catch up with them, and pulls himself into the truck before it drives away. Indignant, he says,”’I used to stick up for you.’
Chris McCandless was smart, a straight A student, got accepted into Emory University, and decided to not apply his knowledge when he went into the wilderness of Alaska in 1992. Into the Wild, a biography written by Jon Krakauer, is about Chris’s story of after he graduated high school and went into the wild. Right after he went to high school, he traveled the country in his yellow datsun, met amazing people, and came back to finish college. After finishing college with a degree, he went hitchhiking across the country again and went into the alaskan wilderness, without ever coming back alive. Chris McCandless went into the wild unprepared with any good materials, he did not have a very good knowledge of what he was actually doing, and he left
By virtue of evolution, interpersonal interaction is crucial to the sanity and welfare of Humans. In accordance with the premise of “Survival of the Fittest,” Humans that connect with each other are able to form communities; this bolsters the chances that the whole community will survive through cooperating to address individually insurmountable issues. Therefore, the possibility of isolation presents a grave threat to the safety of an individual. Thus, to dissuade nonconformity, society leverages the punishment of exile to keep its participants in check. As a result, people will commit themselves to avoid isolation at all costs and if they become even marginally isolated, their psyche prioritizes re-assimilation at any expense.
Chris McCandless seeked to find his own truth in life by going into the Alaskan wilderness. Even though Chris’s journey turned fatal, he should be admired for his courage on going into the wilderness and seeking his values, where most other people won’t end up in a wilderness for their beliefs. Chris wanted to find his own truth out in the wilderness. He wanted to be out of society and all of the problems just to be free. “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it” (pg 55).