What Is The Purpose Of Into The Wild

In the biographical novel Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer published in 1996, Chris McCandless, later to be known as Alex Supertramp, goes on a two-year Journey ending in the Alaskan Bush to find himself outside of his parents, wealth and the expectations of society. Told in third person point of view, Krakauer addresses his opinion and view of McCandless's life as well as what outsiders think and even what he Fields McKinley did and did not intend with his journey into the wild.

Krakauer' s purpose in writing this biographical novel was to give Christmas Story and death the respect it deserves and to show the naysayers at McCann this wasn't a childish Kama suicidal for who hated his family but that he was a smart adventurous young men who enjoy

In an interview with Gallian, one of the many connections McCandless came to make along the way, the reader comes to find that right before entering the Alaskan Bush alone Alex states, “ If you don’t take it, I’m going to throw it away! I don’t want to know what time it is. I don’t want know what day it is or where i am. None of that matters.” (7) Any normal person going on a solo trip to the Alaskan Bush would take a map, food, blankets, things to keep warm like fire wood and maybe a gun or knife to keep off predators like bears, but not Aex, all he took was a bag of rice, a gun and a borrowed pair of boots. What makes McCandless seem like a reckless unprepared kid is his ill preparedness for the journey ahead of him and his brash attitude when told that he might need a little more than what hes got.

In her recent work, The Farmer and the Scavenger, Bonnie Kavoussi, offered harsh critiques for both Krakauer and his beloved McCandless. Kavoussi feels that unlike his idol Thoreau, McCandless was foolish and wasted his resources and that Krakauer absurd for endorsing McCandless

It would be best judge him based on all the things he did and people he met prior to his death. It was his trip, his right of passage and it meant a lot more to him then it can make to us. Since it wasn’t our journey our drive our experience we can’t tell exactly what his intentions were with his two year a hundred and thirteen day trip but we can tell what he didn’t mean to do. “All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you.” (168) For McCandless his journey to Alaska and two year trip around the country meant enough for him to cut ties with his family. His journey was something he had thought about for a while and something he was inspired to do by Thoreau and Tolstoy, two of his main literary idols. McCandless figured if they could do so could he and that while he was out there he’d be able to find the true Chris McCandless and he did. It took him two years and a hundred and thirteen days but he found himself and his purpose in society and was ready to go back into civilization when he was trapped by the raging lake. McCandless found peace and happiness and stability How can a life be meaningful when all a person does is what is expected of them, they never challenge the system or go as far as to make their own system. McCandless life was meaningful and he proves it in his last remarks. “ I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE & THANK THE LORD.