You can write novels, poems, and short stories about it, but you’ll never truly understand the beauty of life until you experience it for yourself, until you immerse yourself in it. Every person has their own set of wants, needs, and desires. But it isn’t until you go out and do the things that you’ve imagined, that you really discover what you love. Every person has a unique mind; every person has the capacity to share different views. If you asked every person in the entire world what they believe the meaning of life is, you would receive several answers. Many would be different, but most would say something to the effect of “living a happy, healthy life.” Because we’re all so different, our own definitions of happiness are bound to differ from the next person. Christopher Mccandless' definition of happiness would have been simple. He wanted to find himself, who he really was deep down. In Into the Wild(1997) by Jon Krakauer, Mccandless didn't want to be the person his parents or society expected him to be, he instead wanted the rawness of life itself; and in order to achieve this, he left everything behind and ventured from place to place, eventually ending in Alaska. In chapter 17, Mccandless is compared to naval officer Sir John Franklin because some claim McCandless "lacked a requisite humility" and "possessed insufficient respect for the land." With these claims in consideration, McCandless is a young man who is arrogant because he is reckless and stubborn; however, he is also humble because he is gentle and kind.
Chris McCandless is very stubborn. Chris McCandless fails to see reality and that is one of his tragic flaws this is what ultimately leads to his demise. Chris McCandless doesn’t accept help or...
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...zy, he was not ‘lost’, seeking attention, unintelligent, or suicidal. “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large, but rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul.” (Krakauer, 183)
McCandless was not a transcendent saint, nor was he a bumbling, arrogant dis-respecter of nature, and to press him into service as an emblem of anything is a mistake. If we examine the life of another and don’t see them as a fellow-person—if we don’t look into a dead face and see our own–we’re missing something important. Chris McCandless was deeply kind and supremely selfish; tremendously brave and jaw-droppingly foolish; impressively competent and staggeringly inept; that is to say, he was hewn from the same crooked timber as the rest of us.
Work Cited
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1997. Print.
“McCandless was something else – although precisely what is hard to say.” (pg. 85). Chris was a very different person, but not crazy. He was emotionally motivated at the time and had his mind set on Alaska. In the end, Chris was nowhere near prepared for this journey, but was too caught up in what he was trying to do to realize this. I agree with Krakauer that Chris wasn’t crazy or insane, but in his attempts to survive in Alaska he made several mistakes and ultimately, led an ill-prepared journey to Alaska that killed him.
Chris McCandless was a man who paved his own path in society. He didn't wait for
In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, he retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless by putting together interviews, speaking with people who knew him, and using letters he writes to his companions. Chris McCandless also known as Alexander Supertramp is a bright young man and after graduating from Emory University with all honors, he abandons most of his possessions and travels around the west, making long lasting impact on whomever he meets. He then hitchhikes to Alaska where he is found dead. In chapter 14 and 15, both named “Stikine Ice Cap”, Jon Krakauer interrupts the boy's story and shares his anecdote of going to Alaska to climb a dangerous mountain called the Devils Thumb. Krakaure’s purpose is to refute the argument that McCandless is mentally ill because many others, like Krakauer have tried to “go into the wild” but they are lucky to survive unlike McCandless. While describing his climb, Krakauer exhibits through the descriptions of and uncertainty about personal relationships.
This book Into The Wild is about how a young man wants to get away from the world. He does escape from society, but ends up dying in the process. The author, Jon Krakauer, does a great job of describing Chris McCandless and his faults. Chris is an intelligent college graduate. He went on a two-year road trip and ended up in Alaska. He didn't have any contact with his parents in all of that time. Krakauer does a great job of interviewing everyone who had anything to do with McCandless from his parents, when he grew up, to the people who found his body in Alaska.
Chris McCandless does not wish to follow defined life structure that society enforces to simply be alive, instead, he chooses to take a seek a path to live a life with purpose. Such an eagerness to seek detachment from what is expected by society, is enforced by not only McCandless but also Thoreau. A primary factor resembling this, is McCandless’ view that many people “live within unhappy circumstances...yet will not change…they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism...damaging to the adventurous spirit(40).” The detesting tone risen through the confliction of “unhappy circumstances” and “damage,” to “safety, conformity and conservation,” emphasis his will to separate from a lifestyle lacking change. This is done
...emselves. They endure mosquitoes and rain and tough walking and bad river crossings and the possibility of bears. The burden the pilgrims carry to the bus is so heavy, laden with their frailties and hopes and desires, with their lives that don’t quite satisfy. Well, so many of them are young, and they’re lost, somehow, just as he was.” What makes Chris McCandless such a hero to young men is that he is easily relatable to those young men. As Neal Karlinsky writes of Chris McCandless,“McCandless tramped his way across North America determined to live completely free of the trappings of modern society. He was intoxicated by nature and the idea of a great Alaskan adventure — to survive in the bush totally on his own. In his last postcard to a friend, he wrote: "I now walk into the wild."
John Karkauer novel, Into the Wild tells a true life story about a young man
...nt happens when McCandless starts his journey. Just like when he encountered Franz, and had a close relationship with him, McCandless met other people, and he made lifelong relationships with those people that he met. He even wrote letters to them so they could keep in touch. To him, all those people, like Franz, Westerberg, and even Jim Gallien all seemed like his family. Some of them gave him a place to crash for the night, gave him a job, and even assisted him on his journey like giving him a ride. McCandless being nice and appreciative to all those people for helping him throughout his journey shows how “saintly” he can be.
McCandless’s utter repugnance for his parents caused something to snap within him resulting in his desire to remove them from his life, thus becoming free of their demands, judgments, and inquisitions. Krakauer explains; “Children can be harsh judges when it comes to their parents, disinclined to grant clemency, and this was especially true in Chris’s case" (122). The standards some parents set for their children are often unattainable and often come from a place of their own failures and shortcomings. In McCandless’s case, this is exactly what happened. Walt and Billie had demanded so much of Chris physically, academically, and morally, that when he was made aware of their i...
Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a rare book in which its author freely admits his bias within the first few pages. “I won't claim to be an impartial biographer,” states Krakauer in the author’s note, and indeed he is not. Although it is not revealed in the author's note whether Krakauer's bias will be positive or negative, it can be easily inferred. Krakauer's explanation of his obsession with McCandless's story makes it evident that Into the Wild was written to persuade the reader to view him as the author does; as remarkably intelligent, driven, and spirited. This differs greatly from the opinion many people hold that McCandless was a simply a foolhardy kid in way over his head. Some even go as far as saying that his recklessness was due to an apparent death-wish. Krakauer uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos throughout his rendition of McCandless’s story to dispute these negative outlooks while also giving readers new to this enigmatic adventure a proper introduction.
Life is a form of progress- from one stage to another, from one responsibility to another. Studying, getting good grades, and starting the family are common expectations of human life. In the novel Into the Wild, author Jon Krakauer introduced the tragic story of Christopher Johnson McCandless. After graduating from Emory University, McCandless sold of his possessions and ultimately became a wanderer. He hitchhiked to Alaska and walked into the wilderness for nearly 4 months. This journey to the 49th state proved fatal for him, and he lost his life while fulfilling his dream. After reading this novel, some readers admired the boy for his courage and noble ideas, while others fulminated that he was an idiot who perished out of arrogance and
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.
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.
...not be seen as an admirable person for many reasons. Chris treated his family very poorly and practiced emotional avoidance. His mom took his disappearance the worst and he left no goodbye or apology letter to her or anyone else in his family. He hurt the people who loved him dearly. McCandless was also too impressionable by trying to be like the authors who wrote the books he read. If he had been more realistic and seen the outcomes of some of their lives, he might have not tried to copy them. He also failed to follow governmental rules and was rebellious. This showed how immature Chris was. These flaws McCandless possessed cannot be seen as admirable. Christopher McCandless died happy, but he did not have to die, therefore making him an un-admirable person.
The book, Into the wild, takes us into the world of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless. He travelled across the western United States from 1990 to 1992, and on April 28, 1992, he started his last adventure and walked into the wilds of Alaska. About 112 days later, he died of starvation. Unsurprisingly, public opinion polarized on his behavior. Some may admire his courage and noble ideals, though some regard him as an idiotic and arrogant narcissist. Although he died on his way to find the truth and back to nature, I believe that Chris McCandless should be considered as a hero, but I cannot completely approve of all his behaviors.