Mr. Antolini, a friend and mentor of the protagonist Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, tells Holden, "the mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause." (Salinger, 188) Chris McCandless is the perfect example of this. Fresh out of college, McCandless is still too young and naïve to realize the severity of his sojourn into the wild. He was unprepared and thoughtless. Although his intentions may have been noble, he does not deserve to be recognized as a hero. Chris McCandless' boisterous attitude, idealism and arrogance ultimately kills him. Chris McCandless denounces and rejects American materialism. He leaves his parents and the upper middle-class suburban setting in which they raised him. He fails to appreciate …show more content…
their efforts to support him by paying for his education. He is focused solely on the negative aspects of their relationship. Before entering the wild, he donates all of his savings to charity, abandons his car, and burns his paper money on the desert floor. Donating his money was a thoughtful act, however burning his money was melodramatic and unnecessary. A more thoughtful man would have used his extra savings to properly equip himself for survival in the wild. Survival in the wilderness is the central theme of the works of Jack London, one of Chris McCandless' favorite authors. At the site of his death, a piece of wood was found with the sentence "Jack London is King" carved into it. (Krakauer, 9) The most relevant of London's works to McCandless is "To Build a Fire." This short story is about a man who freezes to death in the woods because of his inability to do precisely what McCandless intended to do, survive in the wild. In a way, this story foreshadows McCandless' own fate. McCandless' desire to leave behind the hash ideals of mankind and find himself in nature is comparable to Nick Adam's goals in Ernest Hemingway's short story, "Big Two-Hearted River." Much like McCandless, Nick Adams attempts to escape from civilization through nature. Hemingway writes of Nick feeling like, “he had left everything behind, the need for thinking, the need to write, other needs. It was all back of him.” (Hemingway, 179) In "Up the Black to Chalkyitsik," Edward Hoagland says: We have in America the "Big Two-Hearted River" traditions: taking your wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conservation, a rest, or whatever.
And as in Hemingway's story, if your wounds aren't too bad, it works. But this isn't Michigan (or Faulkner's Big Woods in Mississippi, for that matter). This is Alaska. (Krakauer, 70) Hoagland makes a valid point; besides the fact that Adam's is a fictional character, the biggest difference between the two journeys is the severity of the conditions in the areas they were entering. Both boys entered the wild with little to no preparation, however, Michigan's climate is milder than Alaskas. The seventh and eighth chapters of Into the Wild focus on the similarities and differences of Chris McCandless and several other individuals who also embarked on similar journeys, including a man named Everett Ruess. Much like Chris, Everett Ruess adopted new names. He went from Everett Ruess to Lan Rameau to Evert Rulan and finally, to Nemo. Both McCandless and Reuss were romantics and pursued experiences they had dreamed about. They loved freedom and being alone, but also enjoyed the occasional accompaniment of others. They differ in the goals they wish to attain while on their adventures. McCandless' main goal is to completely reject society and start anew. Ruess, on the other hand, has a burning desire to be surrounded by beauty. They both, however, strive to be a "lone wanderer of the wilderness" (Krakauer, 91) McCandless and Ruess' journeys eventually
lead to their demise. McCandless died of starvation; Ruess' cause of death is unknown. It is assumed that "he fell to his death while scrambling on one or another canyon wall." (Krakauer, 94) To call McCandless unintelligent would be a falsehood. He is a notably scholarly man, graduating from Emory University with a 3.72 gpa. (Krakauer, 20) Perhaps, McCandless was inspired by the long line of characters from American literature who reject society and its causes by journeying into the wild, such as Ernest Hemingway's creation, Nick Adams. It is possible that McCandless used these pieces of literature as preparation for his sojourn, opposed to conventional ways of preparation like physical exercise or purchasing the proper equipment for survival. Regardless of the truth behind the previous statement, McCandless was unqualified to embark on such a demanding journey and in return, suffered fatal consequences.
An essential part of Krakauer's argument rests upon convincing the reader that he has the authority to accurately interpret the facts of McCandless’s life. His attempt begins in chapter fourteen, where his main focus is explaining why he thinks McCandless did not go to Alaska seeking death. Krakauer establishes his credibility by drawing upon his own experiences and comparing them to McCandless’s. “If something captured my undisciplined imagination, I pursued it with a zeal bordering on obsession...” (134). This passion, he believes, is the same feeling McCandless felt while traveling across the country. At age 23, only a year younger than McCandless at the time he went to Alaska, Krakauer's preferred thrill was mountain climbing (135). During ...
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.
Chris McCandless was a young man who did everything in his power to try and represent that freedom he was searching for. McCandless had everything before we went out but he decided to go out and travel by choice. He was considered a selfish man because when someone offered him to help him he rejects it in a nice way since we wants to do things himself. In the book Into the wild he states that,"You don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not destitute. I'm living like this by choice."
Many people were puzzled on why the young man decided to go on such an expedition without being properly prepared. His death has led to a controversy between whether he should be idolized for having the courage to follow his dream or repulsed for his grand stupidity. Although Krakauer never met McCandless, he provides his readers with personal examples that explain why the young man went on this journey. Expecting his readers to comprehend McCandless, Krakauer’s primary purpose is to help his readers understand the importance of embracing one's personal dreams. In order to achieve his purpose, he uses a variation of literary and rhetorical techniques. Some of these techniques include epigrams and ethos. These devices are essential to Krakauer’s purpose because they illustrate and explain the reasons why McCandless went into the inhospitable landscape of Alaska.
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.
To start with, McCandless was not someone who gave up. Despite others trying to scare him out of continuing with his journey into the Alaskan wilderness, nothing deterred McCandless. He anxiously awaited to experience life off the land. The people McCandless encountered on his way to Alaska often commented on his determination. Jim Gallien, a man who drove McCandless into the Alaska interior, described McCandless as “real gung-ho”. McCandless's attempt to undertake such a risky endeavour is something to admire in itself. To travel two years, mostly on foot, is certainly not an easy task. However, McCandless still persevered through the hardships he faced throughout his journey. McCandles...
This book Into The Wild is about how a young man wants to get away from the world. He does escape from society, but ends up dying in the process. The author, Jon Krakauer, does a great job of describing Chris McCandless and his faults. Chris is an intelligent college graduate. He went on a two-year road trip and ended up in Alaska. He didn't have any contact with his parents in all of that time. Krakauer does a great job of interviewing everyone who had anything to do with McCandless from his parents, when he grew up, to the people who found his body in Alaska.
One of the most important literary devices Jon Krakauer use in his novel is irony. By using this device, he depicts the breathtaking and heart-wrenching story of Christopher McCandless. On the first page of the authors note, Krakauer gives a synopsis of his novel. He writes, “In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters” (Krakauer, ANI). However, McCandless himself is unaware that the fate of his excursion will prove to be abominable. He believes that his own physical competence and superior intellect will guarantee his survival in the Alaskan taiga. The fact that the reader knows Chris is dead within the first few sentences of the book but the character is portrayed as believing he is going to live is an example of situational irony. . This gripping introduction entrances the reader adding ...
Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
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.
...fe for oneself. McCandless primary tragic flaw being his unwillingness to form long-term relations brought him both to the happiest moment of his life, but also to his demise. McCandless never had a problem with people, but rather with the status quo of society, the idea that a man or a woman has to live inside of a coordinate plane. McCandless left home and went on his adventure simply for his own well being, he achieved both what he wanted to accomplish while learning a valuable lesson along the way. He learned that happiness must be shared, and while everyone has his or her flaws, it is important to let these go. Christopher McCandless should teach people the importance of following your dreams, and the importance of enjoying the natural serenity of life.
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.
...can be a life-changing experience. McCandless entered the wild as an overly confident hitchhiker and left as a self-accepting and humble man. He thought that human relationships were futile, he was impervious to materialism, and that he could understand nature on a scientific level. However, McCandless left the wild with a newfound appreciation for humanity, some clarity on his purpose in life, and the ability to create his own legacy. Many people finish reading Into the Wild and form negative opinions about McCandless’ reckless behavior. However, it is important to focus on how being in the wild brought McCandless closer to understanding himself. Into the Wild should motivate humans to participate in explore the wilderness to discover the true meaning of life.
Sometimes a character may be pushed over the edge by our materialistic society to discover his/her true roots, which can only be found by going back to nature where monetary status was not important. Chris McCandless leaves all his possessions and begins a trek across the Western United States, which eventually brings him to the place of his demise-Alaska. Jon Krakauer makes you feel like you are with Chris on his journey and uses exerts from various authors such as Thoreau, London, and Tolstoy, as well as flashbacks and narrative pace and even is able to parallel the adventures of Chris to his own life as a young man in his novel Into the Wild. Krakauer educates himself of McCandless’ story by talking to the people that knew Chris the best. These people were not only his family but the people he met on the roads of his travels- they are the ones who became his road family.
Holden Caulfield is one of the most well-known antiheroes in American literature, ever since his debut in the book Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951. According to the definition of ‘antihero,’ the character is in many ways the antithesis of a hero, which certainly Holden fits that perfectly. If you consider many of his interactions, he is incapable of reacting in the way that the audience would hope a hero would react. However he does fantasize about being the saving grace for children. He wants to keep them from harm’s way. He wants to be known as the ‘catcher in the rye,’ but he is unable to follow through with this heroic fantasy. He surely does not present the noble characteristics that most heroes have, like honesty, courage, strength and decisiveness. He is actually quite the opposite of all these things. Holden can be seen as: a perpetual liar, a coward, pretty weak for his size, and plagued with passive inaction.