Within many people, there lies a fascination that cannot be quenched unless people explore it to their hearts’ content. This zealotry devours the mind, leaving behind a maddening obsession that takes complete control. In Jon Krakauer's nonfiction work, Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, displays such a yearning as he travels to Alaska’s countryside, ignoring the advice of others, obsessively seeking to free himself from the chains that hold a materialistic world center. McCandless exists as a zealot searching for the wilderness, fanatically pursuing its fruits of spirituality and blessings of liberty. Throughout his journey, Chris devotes himself to nature, discovering the spiritual aspects of an unknown, cold, bleak world. However, when Chris finally …show more content…
A pilgrim, perhaps” (85). Like a pilgrim, McCandless tries to cleanse himself with a power greater than him, believing that with nature his troubles will no longer haunt him. Consumed with an unnerving passion for nature’s harshest, Chris views his holy land as the wilderness, where he can reflect on his inner struggles. He transcends the boundaries of the modern world, giving him a path to the divine elements of nature. Ordinarily, people stress over their future, but Chris is unlike most people. In fact, McCandless does not worry about what his future will be, rather he lives in the now. In such an unmerciful environment, Chris relishes the thought that his every action has an immediate consequence, making his life simpler yet whole, his mental baggage lifted. Even as he approaches his last breath, succumbing to malnutrition, McCandless takes a picture of himself smiling, and there is no mistake: Chris McCandless is “at peace, serene as a monk gone to God” (199). Though Chris understands the inevitability of his death, he remains content with no regrets, proud that he chose to live in the wild. The wild gives him the euphoria that even starvation cannot suppress, his
As Chris became more fascinated with the wilderness, he increasingly became indifferent towards different aspects of his life. Chris’ operation prior to embarking in the wilderness was fruitless because he lacked the sufficient and valuable preparations. Furthermore, it is appropriate to say that the actions that he took were beyond heedless: “He spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild” (Christian 1). Practice makes perfect is a common proverb that echoes throughout society but was unfortunately missing from Chris’ life. Chris’ enthusiasm towards nature prevented him from making a logical decision of having sufficient experience with the wilderness itself. Ultimately, Chris was an oblivious person because he commenced into the wilderness with meager supplies. However, Chris failed at entering his excursion with sufficient preparations: “He left the map in Gallien’s truck, along with his watch, his comb, and all his money, which amounted to 85 cents” (2). By leaving his belongings in Gallien’s truck, Chris made an extremely absurd decision. More specifically, he disabled any possibility for him to receive immediate assistance when his health began declining rapidly. Finally, individuals should prioritize rationality in certain situations because it is crucial for them to use when they are blinded by a
Chris McCandless was inspired by the stories he read about Jack London. In one of Jack London’s book, To Build A Fire, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” (London 40) Chris proved to his parents that there was nothing they could have done to stop him from going to Alaska. He had a heart bound to set itself free from boundaries and setbacks he held for himself. Instead of being a believer, he wanted to discover the outside world by himself without having others’ criticism thinking his actions were foolish. To Chris, his life meant living beyond the rules and expectations set by human society. By reading London's books, Chris was able incorporate the idea that London was also able to let go of his past and search for his future, he might as well follow his
In the movie Into the Wild Chris McCandless, the main character, held many of the same transcendentalist ideals that influential transcendentalists such as Henry David Thoreau held; however, Chris is a prime example of someone who missed the point by a long shot. In accordance to the transcendentalist beliefs, Chris decided that after going to college he would go out into the world by himself instead of going into the workforce. From there, he went on a long and exhausting journey to eventually end up in Alaska. He did this based on his gut feeling at the time, something that Thoreau urged people to follow. As with many transcendentalists, Chris valued his individuality and broke off all ties to society that he had during his journey. Chris
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.
To most, Chris McCandless from Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, was a young man who seemed to have it all, yet he felt like he had nothing. Chris thought that his ordinary life lacked substinance and meaning which inspired a journey that forever changed his life. He felt trapped by societal pressures and by his parents tense existence. His rough childhood paved the way for the incredible experience he was able to embark on. Although Chris’s soul searching journey eventually led to his demise, it gave him a glimpse into a fulfilled, free life. His strained and disconnected relationship with his parents propelled his journey in search for the true meaning of life.
The book, Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is a non-fiction narrative of Chris McCandless’s short but incredibly inspirational life. After graduating from university, Chris gave up his privileged life and took his adventure into the wild in full swing. By living off the land, Chris had pursued a grand odyssey of freedom throughout the American west, Alaska, and Mexico in search of peace, self-discovery, and solitude in almost two years. Tragically, his life ended during his final journey to the Alaskan wildness. To Chris’s tale of derring-do, People’s reactions varied. Some opined their criticism of Chris’s reckless act, some placed Chris’s adventurous lifestyle under close scrutiny, and others praised him as being inspirational
Chris McCandless saw the wilderness as an escape from reality or as a better reality where he could be free of the pressures of life. “At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence” (Krakauer 22). He thought that being isolated in the wilderness would provide liberation from the woes of existing in society.
Chris has forgotten and left many people on his journey to avoid responsibility and connections with others, he is finally on his way north and has just abandoned Franz. Krakauer states, “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family. He’d successfully kept Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him. And now he’d slipped painlessly out of Ron Franz’s life as well” (55). This quote shows and lists most of the people and relationships McCandless has had along his journey. It talks about him disconnecting from the relationships he has had with all this people and how he seems to be relieved or happy to be disconnected with them. It shows that for McCandless not being connected to a society or having relationships and connecting with nature up north is going to make him much happier. After Chris’s abrupt departure from Franz, he decides to write a letter to him, in the letter he describes that one who wants to find the true light in himself and find more happiness, should disconnect with all relationships, society, and become one with nature. Chris writes, “You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only
As reading the final pages of Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer stated in the beginning of the novel he was for McCandless’s free spirit and adventure. In some occasions, Chris was a free spirit although on many occasions Krakauer has misjudged Chris’s knowledge of the wild. Throughout the novel, Chris was taken in by strangers and was almost near death. When Chris was found he was suffering from starvation. McCandless couldn't have stayed alive and prospered in the bush if Chris hasn't of met those
... every aspect of his life whether it be his education, physical endurance, or making it through the Alaskan wilderness with nothing more than a rifle, a backpack, and a road map. Chris was aware of his differences and that he did not fit into society. He fully embraced that and and chose to lead his own path. Chris led a happy life according to one of his last journal entries he wrote, “I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!” (Krakauer 199). Chris was willing to risk everything to gain that happiness. His ambition to enter the wilderness, in the end, took his life but that did not stop him. He would have rather died a happy man than lived a miserable one. Chris ventured out into the wilderness and found himself; a tragic story for a tragic hero.
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.
“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.
Sudden change is something that is widely feared in today’s society, yet change is also something that is desired for a fulfilling life. For me, there were moments in my life where I felt that I was trapped by my own inaction, and to escape, I needed to free my mind by taking the first initiative towards change. The change would not be made through comfort and safety but through one of the fundamentals of the human spirit: the passion for adventure. From the words of John F. Kennedy, “We do things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Jon Krakauer’s “Into The Wild” is a story about an ambitious young man named Christopher McCandless who, in an attempt to escape human society, transitioned from his comfortable city life in Virginia to the unforgiving wilderness of the Alaskan frontier. Chris’ unique outlook on life has influenced my desire for meaningful changes in my life.
“It would be easy to stereotype Christopher McCandless as another boy who felt too much, a loopy young man who read too many books and lacked even a modicum of common sense”(Krakauer 184). Some people say that Chris was just a normal guy who read too many books and let it all get into his head and drive him crazy to the point where he would go out into the Alaskan wilderness with no one or no supplies. Although this may be true, there are more facts and evidence to prove that Chris is a true transcendentalist. “But the stereotype isn’t a good fit. McCandless wasn’t some feckless slacker, adrift and confused, racked by existential despair. To the contrary: His life hummed with meaning and purpose”(Krakauer 184). What Krakauer means is that the stereotype that people have against Chris is not true and that he choose to go out into the wild because it’s what he wanted to do like how some people want to go skydiving or go to Paris. Chris is a true transcendentalist and there is much to prove
*Chris has decided to go on a journey of self- reflection. It's believed by Jon Krakauer that Chris had no real reflection from college, but needed a further journey to actually build himself to the character he is now. Into the Wild are the steps Chris McCandless took to reflect and truly express himself within many themes. After my graduation, I want to explore more into materialism vs. idealism and “raw, transcendent experience” because these themes would help me build my character.