Conor Large Into the Wild Literary Analysis Word Count: 1,248 The Story of Chris McCandless- As Told By John Muir and Donald Barthelme Following an intensive crash-course of the history of Chris McCandless and the first part of Jon Krakauer’s harrowing ascent of the Devil’s Thumb, is a group of pages collectively known as Chapter 15. Detailing the second half of his journey in the Alaskan Wilderness, and at the same time describing how his relationship with his father aided in both his empathetic understanding and judgement of Chris McCandless Krakauer selected two particularly stimulating excerpts from other literary works. Borrowed from John Muir and Donald Barthelme, these passages allow for one to gain a broader appreciation of the …show more content…
At the same time, however, it ties into both the second quote, from David Barthelme’s The Dead Father, and one of Chapter 15’s most prominent ideas: how people have natural tendencies to emulate their parents. Krakauer is outlining both his mountaineering escapades, as well as the story of he and his father, which in turn aids in explaining why Krakauer shared so much common ground with Chris McCandless. Because Chapters 14 and 15 serve as Krakauer’s testimony as to why he is biased the way he is, John Muir’s own (albeit short) testimony, as an outdoorsman in his own right, has the potential to make the material more relatable because of his great renown. John Muir’s example led many to follow in his path, and the utilization of the widespread comprehension of his motivations and deeds may have aided Krakauer in getting his audience to gain a broader perspective on some of the heaviest material in his own …show more content…
Whereas the original piece discusses the passions pushing humankind to achieve greatness, specifically in the realm of exploration and the appreciation for nature, Krakauer uses it for the purposes of the psychology of inherited behavioral patterns, because they are “uncontrollable” in all of us. He admits this influence on him when on his climb in Alaska when he states that, “it was this inherited, off-kilter ambition that kept me from admitting defeat on the Stikine Ice Cap after my initial attempt to climb the Thumb had failed, even after nearly burning the tent down”
While both philosophies of Realism and Transcendentalism exist in Into the Wild, Realist is the real focus for Jon Krakauer. Since the author is a Realist, he chose to write this book, because he was trying to send a message to all young people. Throughout the book, he tries to not make an authorial presence. Even though Jon Krakauer and Chris have parallel lives they both wanted to accomplish a goal where they felt superior from everyone else. Krakauer dreamed of climbing the mountain Devils Thumb. The difference between the two is that Jon can actually tell a story now based on what he has previously lived. However, I think he is trying to remind us that you do not always get a second chance, Chris McCandless did not.
Krakauer also adored what nature had in store for his yearning for intriguing natural events. In is youth, he “devoted most of [his] waking hours to fantasizing about, and then undertaking, ascents of remote mounts in Alaska and Canada” (134). Shown by the time he spent dreaming, people can infer him as a person who deeply admires nature. At the age of eighteen, Ruess dreamed of living in the wilderness for the sake of fascination. He wandered to find events that could surprise him until his near death, in which he decided to find the more ...
In John Krakauer’s novel Into The Wild, the reader follows the life of a young man who, upon learning of his father’s infidelity and bigamy, seems to go off the deep end, isolating himself by traveling into the wild country of Alaska, unprepared for survival, where he died of starvation at 67 pounds.
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.
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.
John C. Maxwell once said, “There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.” Arrogance and pride lead people to make stupid decisions that can majorly affect their lives in a negative aspect. Christopher McCandless left his comfortable lifestyle in May of 1990 to travel and live life to the fullest, adopting the name Alexander Supertramp. Then in July 1992, Chris’s journey led him to be isolated in the Alaskan Frontier, trapped in a bus, and on the verge of death. Many people are sympathetic the McCandless’s story and his passing; some argue that he just had a string of bad luck and that his bereavement wasn’t
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.
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.
Krakauer and the story Into the Wild, do have some good convincing statements, but some of what Krakauer says does not make sense. For example, Krakauer is very persistent when it comes to being alone and on the road with nobody to help him out, especially rules and responsibilities. In the story Into the Wild, Krakauer says to the readers that read that part of the story is that he felt like he should throw everything away from the past and move on with life but I don’t agree with this one and here is my reason why. My reason why is because back then he had money, a good life, school, and a family. Now, he has absolutely nothing and he has nothing to do with his life now, but he says he is trying his best to get things better. My question would be if he had the motivation to throw his whole entire life away, why couldn’t he have the motivation to strive for greatness in school and have a better
Who could possibly know that the story of one young man could turn the people of Alaska against him, and others from around the country to rally behind his almost majestic journey. Jon Krakauer set out to get Chris McCandless’s story written in greater depth after his article was ran in the magazine Outside and he received so much mail on that topic that inspired him to do more, more than just Chris’s journey itself. This essay will analyze Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild in order to show how well he used the rhetorical analysis concepts and rhetorical appeals.
Chris McCandless is regarded as being something as a spiritual figure almost as a cult hero, some call him a disillusioned fool, some call him a great adventurer, and the debate still continues. As Matthew Power calls in his article, an article where he tells the story of McCandless,“The debate falls into two camps: Krakauer's visionary seeker, the tragic hero who dared to live the unmediated life he had dreamed of and died trying; or, as many Alaskans see it, the unprepared fool, a greenhorn who had fundamentally misjudged the wilderness he'd wanted so desperately to commune with.” Like so many stories covering Christopher McCandless’ death, both ends of the argument are discussed in an unfavored manner in the hopes to help develop an opinion on the McCandless story. This open ended question can only be answered open-endedly based on what the readers base for themselves as covered stories intend. Like Power has done, ...
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 ...
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.
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.