In the novel Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless is found dead in the Alaskan wilderness. He was raised in wealthy Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. and is a very gifted athlete, scholar, and holds passion and intensity. After graduating from high school McCandless spends the summer on a road trip across the country, which he discovers that his father secretly had a second family during Chris’s childhood. Father and Son is one of the main themes that help develop Into the Wild. Another theme of the novel is ultimate freedom. Chris always felt condemned to be the perfect person because that was the way he was raised.
An example of a literary device used in the novel is personal anecdotes. While most the book is composed
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of interviews, at one point Krakauer leaves the main narrative and relates the story from his own life that he feels connects him with Chris. The father son relationship that both Krakauer and Chris have with their fathers is ambitions. Both of their fathers hold them to high standards. The problem arises in that their fathers’ ambitions for them are very different from their own. Their strong will and passion is to become themselves and to be free. While living with his parents, Chris wanted nothing more than to be free. While their life stories are different, the author relates a story from his own life that he feels connects him with Chris’s mindset. Krakauer believes that he went through similar mental growth as Chris, but has the fortune to survive where Chris did not. “As a youth, I am told, I was willful, self-absorbed, intermittently reckless, moody. I disappointed my father in the usual ways. Like McCandless, figures of male authority aroused in me a confusing medley of corked fury and hunger to please”. Just like McCandless, he was very self-absorbed, reckless, and moody.
The biggest thing that he believes that they have in common with is the fact that he himself has disappointed his father many times. McCandless was angry with his father. Chris carried a secret that no child should have to shoulder alone. He knew that his father and mother had lied to him for most of his life about the fact that when they met and he was born, his father was already married to another woman and had a son. Carrie talks about the difficulty in the relationship between the father and son, and remarks that the only time there seemed to be calm was when they were camping. Walt comments after his son's body has been found, 'How is it,' he wonders aloud as he gazes blankly across Chesapeake Bay, 'that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain.' The literary device that Kraueker used to emphasize the father and son relationship was irony. Chris went out into the woods because he was angry. He was angry at his father, his family, and society. His father is clearly unable to process the actions and reactions of his son. Irony helped develop the book because it let the reader know how he was treated by his father. And for the most part Chris was very privileged and received
anything he wanted but when he lives that privileged lifestyle it also affects him in ways that he cannot handle. He becomes more secluded and isolated to society. He doesn’t respond well to figures of authority like his father. There are many examples of irony that help develop the theme of the novel. So, to say, if Chris did not have to keep the burden of an overwhelming secret on his shoulder he would not have went out into the woods, and maybe he would still be alive. The father doesn’t see it in Chris’s perspective because he thinks and expects highly of Chris and Walt is a demanding and overpowering person in Chris’s life. When Chris went out into the woods, he did that to find himself and to search for a purer world. The world he lived in had too many expectations of him and all he wanted to do was get away and not answer to anyone. Another theme of the novel is Ultimate Freedom. Throughout the whole novel the author presents a depressing tone while emphasizing the search for freedom. For example, he refuses to get a hunting license because he doesn’t think it is any of the government’s business what he eats; were everyone to act this way, animal populations would be destroyed, and food supplies threatened. McCandless's ultimate freedom is thus limited by a larger scale, for on any larger scale it would be dangerous for the people and animals around him. He did not respond well to higher authority because the way his dad treated him. He wanted to become himself when he was in the woods. As Chris sets out, walking away from society, he is seeking freedom from rules and people's authority over him. He believes it is time for him to live in a place where the only rules he need follow are those of nature. Yet in doing so, Chris is living only for his best interests, and this is ultimately self-centered, with no regard for others. He doesn't want relationships or anything to tie him to a place. He wants to be free to move on, to look to each new day as an opportunity. Another literary technique that the author uses is figurative language to describe the nature that Chris was living in. The descriptions the author used made the scenery out to be nothing short of beautiful. When author explains the steep cliffs of the outermost range he uses the words boggy amalgam and veins of scrawny spruce. The use of the dark and gloom
Many individuals decide to live their life in solitary; though, only a few choose to live in the wild. The book, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer vividly paints the adventurous trek Chris McCandless went on. From the friends he made, to the hardships he went through, McCandless is portrayed as a friendly, sociable person despite the fact that he was a vagabond. Other than McCandless, there are even more individuals that have taken the risks to live in the wilderness such as, Jon Krakauer and Everett Ruess. All three of them had both similarities and differences between their own qualities as a person and their journey.
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, describes the adventure of Christopher McCandless, a young man that ventured into the wilderness of Alaska hoping to find himself and the meaning of life. He undergoes his dangerous journey because he was persuade by of writers like Henry D. Thoreau, who believe it is was best to get farther away from the mainstreams of life. McCandless’ wild adventure was supposed to lead him towards personal growth but instead resulted in his death caused by his unpreparedness towards the atrocity nature.
The book, Into The Wild, has a very intriguing storyline. The protagonist, Christopher Johnson McCandless, also known as Alexander Supertramp, faced internal and external conflicts throughout his journey. One example of an internal conflict that he faced through was his complications with his family. He discovered that his father, Walt McCandless, had been living two completely different lives for several years. Christopher was born to his mother, Billie, while Walt was currently married to his first wife, Marcie. Two years after his birth, Walt became a father to another child, which belonged to Marcie. I believe that Chris was filled with anger and felt betrayed, but kept it to himself. An example of an external conflict that he encountered was the nature. He was filled with confidence that he could survive in the wilderness. Even though many individuals warned him and attempted to scare him off, he declined all of their suggestions and continued his plans. Chris attempted to strive through the wild and harsh climates, but failed to do so. People had different theories about his death.
Into the wild is a book about a young man, who leaves society to hitchhike to Alaska and live alone in the wilderness. “Christopher Johnson McCandless graduated from Emory University in May 1990 with a degree in history and anthropology”p.20. “toward the end of June, Chris mailed his parents a copy of his final grade report.”p.21. He was a well educated man. He had many opportunities in life to be successful. “It was the last anyone in chris family would ever hear from him”.p.22. By August, Chris’ parents received his grades in the mail. He asked the post office to delay them mailing his final grades to his family.
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.
Chris McCandless has a very interesting and compelling story, which tragically ended sooner than it should have. McCandless’s story is immortalized in John Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, which follows Chris’ story from the backstory of his early childhood, to his ventures as a teen and young adult, and all the way to the end of his life in Alaska.
The story of Christopher McCandless is that of an over-ambitious youth trying to find himself. Chris’ story, as told in detail in Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, ended tragically in his death within the Alaskan wilderness many months after running away from home with no contact to his family. In Krakauer’s work, he recounts interactions between Chris during his travels and multiple strangers. In this, one may conclude that Christopher McCandless is simply a reckless narcissist, who is selfish and privileged enough to think he can do and get away with whatever he wants. This is, in an emotional analysis, incorrect. Chris was subject to a severe Icarus complex, his ambitions being more than his body and life can handle. He refuses to contact his
Life is a form of progress- from one stage to another, from one responsibility to another. Studying, getting good grades, and starting the family are common expectations of human life. In the novel Into the Wild, author Jon Krakauer introduced the tragic story of Christopher Johnson McCandless. After graduating from Emory University, McCandless sold of his possessions and ultimately became a wanderer. He hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness for nearly 4 months. This journey to the 49th state proved fatal for him, and he lost his life while fulfilling his dream. After reading this novel, some readers admired the boy for his courage and noble ideas, while others fulminated that he was an idiot who perished out of arrogance and
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.
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.
In the story “ Into The Wild “ the main character, Christopher Mccandless is shown to be a normal tennager ready to go into college and start his own life just like any of us. What we didn't know is that this would begin into world of emotions following up to what would lead to his death. In this story chris shows many feeling towards his parents but one of the biggest and strongest feelings would be anger. He always disliked his parents for having a certain point of view on our society and thinking about themselves before others, which to chris was one of the biggest factor in his view of
The dynamic between parents and children condition what the child will think and follow through with. It is important that child and parents establish an appropriate relationship that can guide them through their life.This struggle between parents and children as discussed in In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the life of wealthy Christopher McCandless is chronicled, and what may have drove him away to traverse the wilds of Alaska, which ultimately lead to his demise. Jon Krakauer takes the reader on ride explaining the damaged relationship between christopher and his parents using specific events and words, this shaped Christopher into the person that went into the woods to find new horizons. Krakauer does this by introducing his purpose.
“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.
Into the Wild, a novel written by Jon Krakauer, as well as a film directed by Sean Penn, talks about Chris McCandless, a young individual who sets out on a journey throughout the Western United States, isolating himself from society, and more importantly, his family. During his travels, he meets a lot of different people, that in a way, change his ways about how he sees the world. There are many characteristics to describe McCandless, such as “nave”, “adventurous”, and “independent”. In the book, Krakauer described McCandless as “intelligent”, using parts in his book that show McCandless being “intelligent”. While Krakauer thinks of McCandless as being “intelligent”, Penn thinks of McCandless as a more “saint” type of person.
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.