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What is krakauer's purpose in writing into the wild
Into the wild by jon krakauer essays
What is krakauer's purpose in writing into the wild
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The strange life and death of Christopher McCandless has been an enigma. After disappearing for 2 years, McCandless was found dead at age twenty-four in the Alaskan wilderness, the world stunned on why an affluent young man with a bright future would give it all up to live in seclusion in the wilderness. In his book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer theorizes the motivations of McCandless and why a seemingly sane person would take such dangerous risks. Krakauer’s major theories of why McCandless did what he did revolve around a singular idea: freedom. Krakauer uses McCandless’s change of identity and wilderness adventures to symbolize freedom and self expression. McCandless was previously burdened by the expectations his parents put on him to Krakauer’s purpose is to show individuals should not allow outside forces to control the direction of their lives but instead, individuals should be free to live the way that see fit. In order to achieve this freedom, Krakauer advocates for his audience to emulate McCandless and sever ties with anything and everything that hinders personal freedom. Krakauer theorizes on why McCandless desired freedom in order to give his audience an idea of why freedom is so valuable for the development of individuals. Growing up, McCandless had a seemingly normal childhood, where he was loved by his parents and sister, and family was well off financially. As McCandless grew up however, tension began to rise between McCandless and his father. The main problem was that McCandless was a simple person who didn’t care about material possessions and money, however, his father pushed him to pursue college and a career which McCandless felt like was restricting him from being himself. Through the years his resentment began to grow.
The story of Chris McCandless is a long story that is complex to tell in its entirety. This essay will analyze Jon Krakauer’s book, Into The Wild, in an attempt to pursued you that Krakauer did a magnificent job telling McCandless’ story up to his death.
The first acknowledgement and proof of Krakauer’s correct statement is found almost halfway through the book. Krakauer begins to use logical appeal to convey to the reader that McCandless was not “a reckless idiot, a wacko, [o...
...id this because he passed through the same thing. When he quitted his job he saw how easy it was, “and how good it felt” (Krakauer 136). Considering that Krakauer has a conscience it made him say this because he knew how it felt to be in McCandless and could actually talk about it. In conclusion, not everyone follows their dream and because McCandless did, Krakauer used appeal to ethos to prove it.
Chris McCandless has a very interesting and compelling story, which tragically ended sooner than it should have. McCandless’s story is immortalized in John Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, which follows Chris’ story from the backstory of his early childhood, to his ventures as a teen and young adult, and all the way to the end of his life in Alaska.
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.
This fails to be taken into account that Chris had already lived in a hostile environment of a different kind. Both his Father and Mother were constantly working and arguing with one another, “‘I was always on mom and dad’s case because they worked all the time and were never around’...” (Krakauer 129). They failed to give Chris and Carine, Chris’ sister who he adored and loved very much, a healthy environment to grow in. Critics may say that McCandless suffered from psychological problems caused by the abusive environment he grew up in, yet according to the Joyful Heart Foundation “A Child who has been abused can go on to have a healthy and productive life” (“Joyful Heart Foundation”). Chris’ journals and other writing indicates that he lived a rich and productive life, “I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness.”(Christopher McCandless). Chris would continue to hold a grudge over his father for continuing his relationship with his first wife Marcia. Chris resented his father for his lies and immoral actions; direct evidence of why Chris rejects his parents ' spirituality. In a letter to Carine, Chris declared “I’m going to divorce them as my parent once and for all and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live. I’ll be through with them once and for all forever”(Chris McCandless). Walter McCandless’ actions were shameful and dishonorable, and Chris’ abandonment of him can be justified by these actions and their consequence. Not only did Walter have a hypocritical attitude when it came to raising his kids, he held them to the strict and unforgivable expectations. I strongly believe that Chris’s actions were motivated by some type of revenge and like Schadenfreude said “If someone enjoys the misfortune of others, then there’s something
Never did Chris McCandless feel so alive than when he abandon his wealthy lifestyle to live the life of a vagabond. Wealth has been associated with happiness, even though this is not always the case. Money may make the world go round, as well as have the power to manipulate and control situations towards one’s favor, yet as much as people crave it they despise it as well. People, such as Chris McCandless, have proved that while riches may give one a comfortable lifestyle, it will not always be a fulfilling one. Life is not going to revolve around one’s paycheck. Society has marked those who do not accept the accumulation of either money or power as the purpose of life to be exiles. Throughout Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, the depths of Chris
In August of 1992 Christopher McCandless died in one of the strangest ways in human history. McCandless was a transcendentalist, an adventurer, a crazy, wild-man. His strange and confusing life and death boggled the minds of everyone who heard his story. Everyone except Jon Krakauer. Krakauer, himself, was an adventurer. Jon and Chris’s stories were so similar, they seemed to be intertwined. As soon as Krakauer had heard Chris McCandless’s he was simply fascinated by his worldview. After much investigation of McCandless’s life and death Krakauer claims, “I was haunted by the particulars of the boy’s starvation and by vague, unsettling parallels between events in his life and those in my own (Krakauer ii).” As fate would have it, in 1995 Jon
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
McCandless believes that many people are unhappy with their life because they don’t think they can do this. In a letter written to Ronald Franz, Chris states, “so many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous within a man than a secure future” (Krakauer 57). This letter was sent to Franz to make him rethink how he had been living his life for many years. McCandless understood Franz well, and knew that he was extremely lonely and unhappy with his life.
He attempts to try to reach the audience and tries to explain his reasoning for letting go of the primary causes, he believes if one is to let go of the reasons of the natural man's desires one may enjoy freedom.
John Krakauer’s nonfiction novel Into the Wild recounts the harrowing journey of a lone drifter and his adventurous trek into the Alaskan wilderness. Chris McCandless, a recent college graduate, sells his possessions and cuts ties with his affluent and controlling parents to live a nomadic existence in the remote outback. As Krakauer’s biographic narrative develops, the author reveals a theme of ignorance and arrogance illustrated by McCandless’ series of uninformed and prideful choices that eventually lead to his demise.
“McCandless was a first-class freeloader,” writes Craig Medred of the Anchorage Daily News. Craig, as well as many other Alaskans, view Chris McCandless, whose story is immortalized in Into the Wild, as a foolhardy charlatan. These people scold those who admire him and his journey through the American West and believe that Chris took his privilege for granted. Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, however, sees McCandless as a pioneer in the twenty-first century way of life. Krakauer chronicles Chris’ journey as he travels from Atlanta to South Dakota to Alaska. Frustrated with his parents and the privilege associated with his class, McCandless embarked on a journey away from his past life, leaving no indication to anyone of his plans
McCandless is convinced that his relationship with nature is more profound and honest than that of his relationship with people. Krakauer deduces that McCandless’s decision to be a vagabond is due to the “threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it” (Krakauer 55). McCandless’s fear of “human intimacy” and “friendship” unravel his true purpose of escaping civilization, which is to break away from burdening others by his imperfections. McCandless presumes that nature would provide him reassurance because it does not doubt his choices and require him to explain himself for any of his actions. Due to this misconception, McCandless has misled himself into thinking that he is refraining others from
...McCandless it’s a book about one complicated, interesting, troubled guy (Jon Krakauer) trying to understand and process the early death of another.’’