Into The Wild Analysis

1223 Words3 Pages

Craig Medred’s “The fiction of John Krakauer’s Into the Wild” makes claim as to why Into the Wild should be referred to as a novel, in comparison to what the story is currently classified as. Backing this statement up with multiple valid points, Medred brings to light information such as; the interview with Jeff Apple Benowitz, that Krakauer basically disregarded – though it was an admittedly hard to believe story – the multiple stories that Krakauer made up based on one or two worded entries, or even the disregarded entries like “DREAM” or “many mushrooms”. However, Medred also seems hell bent on proving that Krakauer was so extremely biased towards McCandless and his actions, that Medred purposefully misled his own audience, by laying out interesting claims and …show more content…

There are many other things that aren’t “traditional”, yet we still freely use today. For example; in Genesis, God deems that humanity will suffer due to Adam and Eve’s betrayal – included in this suffering is that man will wither in heat and freeze in ice storms. Doesn’t it seem as though we’ve cheated the system by having central heating and cooling?
About four paragraphs into Medred’s article entitled, “A death in Oregon sparks another look ‘Into the Wild’”, the word “schizophrenia” is brought up for the first time. Keep in mind, this isn’t the first time that Medred has accused Chris McCandless of being a schizophrenic – see also his article, “The beatification of Chris McCandless: From thieving poacher to saint”. In addition to every time Medred claims that McCandless is a schizophrenic, he occasionally brings up the fact that he may have had narcissistic personality disorder, or that perhaps he was

Show More
Related

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

    1449 Words  | 3 Pages

    A good portion of Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, focuses on the characterization of the protagonist, Chris McCandless. Krakauer shares his opinions on Chris frequently throughout the duration of his book. Chris is portrayed through anecdotes told by people who knew him and through Krakauer’s own personal relation to him. Through these two methods the reader is given a very clear image of Chris. Into the Wild, focuses a lot on Chris’s youth and especially how that influenced his decisions. Krakauer compares Chris’ leneincey on his literary heres versus his harsh judgments on his parents. Chris’ tense relationships with his parents are also used to help show how young Chris really is. After Chris’ youth is made apparent to the reader Krakauer

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless Was a Fool

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    In John Krakauer’s novel Into The Wild, the reader follows the life of a young man who, upon learning of his father’s infidelity and bigamy, seems to go off the deep end, isolating himself by traveling into the wild country of Alaska, unprepared for survival, where he died of starvation at 67 pounds.

    Read More

  • Epigraphs In Into The Wild

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    The epigraphs presented by Krakauer before each chapter of the memoir Into the Wild dive deep into the life of Chris McCandless before and after his journey into the Alaskan wilderness. They compare him to famous “coming of age characters” and specific ideas written by some of his favorite philosophers. These give the reader a stronger sense of who Chris was and why he made the decision to ultimately walk alone into the wild.

    Read More

  • The Success of Chris McCandless

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Into the Wild, Krakauer portrays Christopher McCandless as an infallibly eager young man hoping to distance himself from the society he so obviously loathes, to "live off the land," entirely independent of a world which has "conditioned [itself] to a life of security." Chris, contrarily to this depiction, is disparagingly viewed by some as a "reckless idiot" who lacked the sense he needed to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. This derogatory assessment of Chris's mindset is representative of the society he hopes to escape and contains all the ignorance that causes him to feel this way. Nevertheless, he is misjudged by these critics, allowing Krakauer to hold the more accurate interpretation of Chris's character, his goals, and his accomplishments.

    Read More

  • Into The Wild Rhetorical Analysis

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.

    Read More

  • Into the Wild: Chris McCandless is a Tragic Hero

    1654 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jon Krakauer, fascinated by a young man in April 1992 who hitchhiked to Alaska and lived alone in the wild for four months before his decomposed body was discovered, writes the story of Christopher McCandless, in his national bestseller: Into the Wild. McCandless was always a unique and intelligent boy who saw the world differently. Into the Wild explores all aspects of McCandless’s life in order to better understand the reason why a smart, social boy, from an upper class family would put himself in extraordinary peril by living off the land in the Alaskan Bush. McCandless represents the true tragic hero that Aristotle defined. Krakauer depicts McCandless as a tragic hero by detailing his unique and perhaps flawed views on society, his final demise in the Alaskan Bush, and his recognition of the truth, to reveal that pure happiness requires sharing it with others.

    Read More

  • Jon Krakauer's Use of Ethos, Logos and Pathos When Writting Into the Wild

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a rare book in which its author freely admits his bias within the first few pages. “I won't claim to be an impartial biographer,” states Krakauer in the author’s note, and indeed he is not. Although it is not revealed in the author's note whether Krakauer's bias will be positive or negative, it can be easily inferred. Krakauer's explanation of his obsession with McCandless's story makes it evident that Into the Wild was written to persuade the reader to view him as the author does; as remarkably intelligent, driven, and spirited. This differs greatly from the opinion many people hold that McCandless was a simply a foolhardy kid in way over his head. Some even go as far as saying that his recklessness was due to an apparent death-wish. Krakauer uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos throughout his rendition of McCandless’s story to dispute these negative outlooks while also giving readers new to this enigmatic adventure a proper introduction.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

    1727 Words  | 4 Pages

    Who could possibly know that the story of one young man could turn the people of Alaska against him, and others from around the country to rally behind his almost majestic journey. Jon Krakauer set out to get Chris McCandless’s story written in greater depth after his article was ran in the magazine Outside and he received so much mail on that topic that inspired him to do more, more than just Chris’s journey itself. This essay will analyze Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild in order to show how well he used the rhetorical analysis concepts and rhetorical appeals.

    Read More

  • Christopher McCandless: An Admirable Man

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1992, Christopher McCandless set off on an odyssey into the backcountry of Alaska, an adventure that had proved fatal. After McCandless's corpse was found, Jon Krakauer wrote an article on the story of Chris McCandless, which was released in the January 1993 issue of Outside magazine. The article had received a negative response; several readers criticized McCandless for being foolish and ill-prepared, and showed no sympathy or remorse for his death. McCandless has been referred to as a nut, a kook, and a fool. However, McCandless was not a nonsensical man. In 1996, Jon Krakauer's novel, Into the Wild, was published. The novel uncovers more detail of McCandless's story. Into the Wild rebuts the idea of McCandless being someone who is foolish, and speaks of the many occasions where McCandless has demonstrated great perseverance and determination. The novel also proves the intelligence of McCandless, and brings insight into McCandless's psyche. The following examples will illustrate how McCandless was not a fool, but someone to admire.

    Read More

  • Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless who ventured off to Alaska and tried to survive in the wild. McCandless grew up in Annandale, Virginia where he attended school and made very good grades, rarely bringing home anything below an A. His father, Walt worked for NASA for a little while, before starting his own business with Chris’s mother, Billie, out of their own home. They worked hard and for long hours to get the business up and running and it finally paid off. The McCandless family was wealthy, but had many emotional problems. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, Chris McCandless donated twenty-four thousand dollars from his savings account to charity, changed his name to Alexander Supertramp, and then disappeared. This book tells the story of his life and travels. Some critics say that Chris McCandless was a very admirable person. He was a brave man that followed his dreams. However, given all of his flaws, attitudes, and actions, he is un-admirable. McCandless walked into the wild very unprepared and stubborn. He also treated his family poorly as well as anyone who got emotionally close to him. Chris was additionally too impressionable in a way that he admired authors along with the books they wrote, and tried to imitate them. He was very rebellious in his actions as well, and did not try to change the world or help others.

    Read More

  • Chris McCandless is NOT a Hero

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he becomes more and more disturbed by society’s ideals and the control they have on everyday life. He made a point of spiting his parents and the lifestyle they lived. This sense of unhappiness continues to build until after Chris has graduated college and decided to leave everything behind for the Alaskan wilderness. Knowing very little about how to survive in the wild, Chris ventures off on his adventure in a state of naïveté. It is obvious that he possessed monumental potential that was wasted on romanticized ideals and a lack of wisdom. Christopher McCandless is a unique and talented young man, but his selfish and ultimately complacent attitude towards life and his successes led to his demise.

    Read More

  • How Did Leo Tolstoy Influence Chris McCandless?

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Krakauer, Jon. Into the wild. New York: Anchor Books , a division of Random House Inc.,, 1997. Print.

    Read More

  • Theme and Setting of Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.

    Read More

  • Into the Wild: Comparing the Book and Movie

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    Krakauer, Jon. The. The “Into the Wild”. New York: Anchor Books, 1996. Print.

    Read More

  • Our Relationship With Nature Explored in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can never fully understand how nature functions. Most importantly, he realizes that human relationships are more valuable than infinite solitude. McCandless’ gradual change of heart demonstrates that exploring the wilderness is a transformative experience. Krakauer uses the life and death of Chris McCandless to convey that humans need to explore nature in order to discover the meaning of life.

    Read More

More about Into The Wild Analysis

Open Document