Into the Wild

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Into the Wild was written by Jon Krakauer in 1996. It is a nonfiction book with a main theme of finding your own happiness. In this book, the main character, Chris McCandless, journeys into the wild both literally and figuratively. Chris literally goes into the wild when he leaves civilization behind and ventures down a dangerous trail into the unpopulated forest of Alaska. Chris figuratively goes into the wild when he decides to leave everything and everyone that he knows behind. Chris goes into the wild in both these ways in hopes of finding happiness. In Chris’ early life, he appears to have everything; he has a wealthy family and is excelling in school. It is not until Chris learns a hard truth about his father that he realizes his life does not make him entirely happy. With this breakthrough, Chris leaves society and the comforts of his life to rough it and get down to the root of what makes him smile. Into the Wild is an intriguing book that tells a story of a man on a mission to find his peace; but no matter how good the story is, the confusing style of the writing takes away from the book’s excellence.
Chris McCandless, a recent college graduate, is on a road trip when he learns that his father has a second family. This news disturbs Chris and he decides to make a drastic lifestyle change. Without telling anyone, including his family, of his plans, Chris leaves all of his possessions and embarks on a journey through the United States. Chris does not stay in any one place for very long, he just works a job until he becomes bored and then finds his way to a new place. After two years of his nomadic life, Chris hitchhikes his way to Alaska with the plan of living in the wilderness alone with very little supplies.
Chris tak...

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...This though is not true. Jon Krakauer’s interesting way of writing his book many a times comes across very confusingly and leaves the reader questioning who is telling this story and who is this story being told about.
Into the Wild tells a great story told in a not so great style. Jon Krakauer writes out of chronological order, uses multiple viewpoints, and uses too much detail where extensive detail is not needed. These aspects make some areas of the book hard to follow and do not effectively portray the story of Chris McCandless. No matter the confusion though, the story itself is interesting. Into the Wild is not the average story, and it offers a glimpse into the life of a man looking for a peace brought on by ridding his life of what most people find the most valuable. The confusing negatives of this book do not outweigh the positives of reading a great story.

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