Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

In Into the Wild, Alex and Krakauer share a combination of dissatisfaction with ordinary life and a passion for adventure. Among other reasons, this is why they set out into the wild. The reader wonders if there is some kind of connection between solitude in the wild and self-discovery. Both Alex and Krakauer express their dislike of the ordinary in bold independence, striking out on their own. In solitude, they are able to explore themselves and seek happiness in ways they were not able to in society: “You are wrong if you think joy emanates only or principally from human relationships.” (Krakauer, pg 67) They both take risks and create situations that show them new aspects of themselves.

Habitual Lifestyle

The experiences of Alex and

Krakauer have shown that the isolation of oneself from everything familiar contributes to a deeper self discovery: “We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.” (Alex, pg 57) Later, Alex explains, “I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly.” (91) This echoes Thoreau’s reference in Walden to “a life in conformity to higher principles.” Alex discovers that for him, the solution to a habitual lifestyle is “deliberate living...a constant attention to your immediate environment and its concerns.” (Alex, 168) Krakauer expresses a similar idea connecting it directly with solitude: “Because I was alone, however, even the mundane seemed charged with meaning.” (Krakauer, 138) The pressure, the expectations, the duties, all slipped away and made room for finding meaning in the mundane. Krakauer claims that the “accumulated clutter of day to day existence...was temporarily forgotten.” (Krakauer, 143) Isolation gave each of these men a break from the habitual and opportunity to find meaning.

Passion for Adventure

Related to the independent thinking that Alex and Krakauer show in their dislike for habitual lifestyle, is their passion for adventure.

Somehow, adventure means risk and challenge: “I was dimly aware that I was getting in over my head but that only added to the scheme’s appeal. That it wouldn’t be easy was the point.” (Krakauer, pg 91) Krakauer then describes his fascination with balancing on the summit ridge of the Devil’s Thumb. He asks, “Could a person keep a lid on his terror long enough to reach the top and get back down?... but I never had any doubt that climbing the Devil’s Thumb would transform my life. How could it not?” (Krakauer, pg 135) This was a mindset of attraction to challenge mixed with fear seems to be something they both shared, prior to their adventures. Alex's friend, Andy, understood this about him when he said that Chris “was born into the wrong century he was looking for more adventure and freedom than today's society gives people.” Krakauer quotes Alex as saying that a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all (pg 182). Alex makes the observation that “the very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure.” (pg 57) This is the key to understanding the power of the call of the wild over him to connect to his spirit or deeper sense of

self.

It’s difficult to explain what a “deeper sense of self” means for another person but Krakauer gets at it in this quote: “You grow accustomed to the exposure. You get used to rubbing shoulders with doom. You come to believe in the reliability of your hands, feet and head.” (142) So, learning to rely on yourself seems to be a part of this “deeper sense.” Alex hints at what it means for him when he says, “The beauty of this country is becoming part of me. I feel more detached from life and gentler...I’ll never stop wandering. And when it comes time to die, I’ll find the wildest, loneliest, most desolate spot there is.” (91) The thought of death cannot take away from the incredible journey and learning Alex gathered about himself and his life’s meaning. Both Alex and Krakauer value discovering themselves through taking risks more than their own lives. They value independence, adventure and making their own paths more than their own lives. Or maybe to them, this is what makes life worth living. The wild might be a place in which people go to find a deeper sense of self because the isolation creates a space for reflection on life and the experience of freedom, in a way that regular life just can not. Isolated from others, your choices and your destiny are yours alone.