Society has become a place dependent on the technological advances humans have created, and have lost sight in how back, millions of years ago, humans survived off of the land. In the novel, Into The Wild by James Krakauer, the author narrates the life of Chris Johnson McCandless, otherwise known as Alexander Supertramp, which is his alter-ego he created after leaving his old life behind to go on the road and live off the radar and on the land. James writes about the journey of Chris McCandless and how he changed many people’s lives in the process of changing his own. Throughout the novel, James Krakauer is showing the social issue the society has today, which is that too many people are dependent on the life the government has given them …show more content…
Many kids today suffer from abuse or witnessing domestic violence, causing them to develop many emotional and behavioral problems; “How… children will be affected depends on the individual child, their age and gender, how much they witness and whether or not they are personally involved in the abuse, their personality and support available to them.” (children+violence HERE). When kids are abused and witness abuse, even if the abuse is through words, how they take it will affect where they feel safe and okay. Many tend to hide and stay away from outside, and many try to find different shelter. For Chris McCandless, throughout his childhood, he never knew his father lived a double life, which once he found out, it hit him hard; “Chris’s smoldering anger, it turns out, was fueled by a discovery… of his father’s previous marriage and subsequent divorce.” (121) To Chris, it was abuse that he was lied to by his own father for so long. He felt like shouldn’t be around such liars, and instead of finding another shelter, Chris went out into nature, and didn’t keep to the standard quo. Along with kids being affected into not going outside, even the average person in the U.S doesn’t go outside and play very often; “Almost 143 million Americans, or 49.2 percent of the U.S. population, …show more content…
In the 21st century, people only care about the social standard and keeping to the same lifestyle, not interested in going out and exploring. People keep to their luxuries and hide behind them, staying in their own secure zone. Along with people being way to secure, people aren’t in the mood to go out and “smell the roses” anymore, and are so abusive and even violent that they cause people to not want to explore as well and hide from the evils they have seen. The social issues shown in Into the Wild are ones that prove that people today are not open to going out into nature and keep to the social standard, driving around in cars and polluting the Earth in the process. If people would go outside and explore nature, this world would be a happier
Into the wild is a book about a young man, who leaves society to hitchhike to Alaska and live alone in the wilderness. “Christopher Johnson McCandless graduated from Emory University in May 1990 with a degree in history and anthropology”p.20. “toward the end of June, Chris mailed his parents a copy of his final grade report.”p.21. He was a well educated man. He had many opportunities in life to be successful. “It was the last anyone in chris family would ever hear from him”.p.22. By August, Chris’ parents received his grades in the mail. He asked the post office to delay them mailing his final grades to his family.
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.
Throughout the novel, Christopher McCandless’s character changed over time. Up to McCandless’s death, he wanted to live with the wild and to be away from civilization as far as possible. He changes his mind when he writes “HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED” (189). His purpose of living in the wild is to live with freedom and do whatever he wishes to do. However, he realizes he was a “refuge in nature” (189) and intended to abandon his solitary life and rejoin the human community. It is assumed that McCandless died a preventable death because of his unpreparedness, but it is now undeniable that his adversity is what caused his mortality. “…McCandless simple had the misfortune to eat moldy seeds. An innocent mistake, it was nevertheless sufficient to end his life” (194). Had he not eaten the moldy seeds, he would have remained alive to tell the tale.
Loud and dangerous riots are occurring constantly throughout the US taking different forms. In Jon Krakauer 's novel, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless joins the uproar of people disposing their past and an adverse society to head to the vast openness of nature to find peace. In Malcolm Gladwell 's article, Thresholds of Violence, however, students are buying guns or making bombs to dispose of people in their schools and homes; They join a homicidal uprising that began after the mass shooting at Columbine. Militants from both movements are revolting against society, they feel detached and not in need of serious relationships. For example, Chris McCandless and John Ladue both wanted to rid themselves of their parents and Chris refused to allow
An obsession can begin with the smallest of events. Ideas, real or fancied, of what one’s life could be like without the ties that bind them, positive or negative, consume the mind and create visions of freedom from the demands of family, government, or even society as a whole. McCandless’s discovery of his parent’s indiscretions was the onset of his obsession; an obsession which grew exponentially over a short period of time that fettered him to the notion that to be truly happy and free, he must rid himself of everyone he had ever known and everything he had ever owned. McCandless became enslaved to his conception of real freedom. His notion of freedom was extreme, to say the least. It involved an elaborate plan to abandon his parents; separate himself from society; erase himself from the governmental grid; to ultimately arrive at the realization that to experience real freedom in happiness it, must be shared. The discovery of McCandless’s parent’s indiscretions set in motion the first step in his plan: freedom from them both.
The subject of this chapter is the author. It is similar to Chris because he was as stubborn as McCandless since he was a nonconformist and didn’t obey what others told him to do. Next, he traveled to Alaska since he wanted to feel what it was like to get out of the country that he was living in. He also valued the life where he can do whatever he wants instead of conforming to the society. He said, “The world was suddenly rich with possibility” (Krakauer 136).
Reading Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, was an experience that made the reader feel as if he or she was actually climbing on Mount Everest in the Himalayan Mountains with Krakauer himself. He brought the reader into the story by making the reader feel like an extension of the adventure. Standing at 8848m above sea level, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Humans have tried to conquer Everest since the early 1900's however it was not until the 29th May 1953 that Sir Edmond Hillary, John Hunt and Tenzing Norgay officially reached the summit.The dream of climbing Mount. Everest is a very exciting thought. What a rush it would be. To feel the wind in your face, all the excitement coursing through your body. To think of all the
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
Ultimate freedom is an odyssey everyone, at least once in their lifetime, tries to conquer. Chris McCandless did everything in his power to try and capture that freedom he was searching for. He ultimately gave up his own life during that quest. Did he find what he was searching for? We may never know. Very many people have diverse opinions on this character. Chris McCandless was not selfish. He was a young, well-educated boy. His parents handed him everything on a silver platter; he wanted to prove not only to himself but to everyone else he could do things on his own. His possessions did not define who he was as a person. He thought towards everyone else he was just another brick in the wall, a pretty rich boy, and that did not “fly” with him. He had to prove his worth.
The author skillfully uses literary techniques to convey his purpose of giving life to a man on an extraordinary path that led to his eventual demise and truthfully telling the somber story of Christopher McCandless. Krakauer enhances the story by using irony to establish Chris’s unique personality. The author also uses Characterization the give details about Chris’s lifestyle and his choices that affect his journey. Another literary element Krakauer uses is theme. The many themes in the story attract a diverse audience. Krakauer’s telling is world famous for being the truest, and most heart-felt account of Christopher McCandless’s life. The use of literary techniques including irony, characterization and theme help convey the authors purpose and enhance Into The Wild.
Imagine feeling guilty for making it out alive on a journey. In the nonfiction novel, Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, he documents his journey to the summits of Mount Everest and ultimately accuses himself for holding acquisitiveness responsibility for the disaster on the mountain. After realizing only one-fourth of the people that climbed to the summits on May 10, 1996, made it down back to base camp alive, Krakauer theorizes about why that was so. He attributes most of the reason for the disaster to the erratic weather along with hubris, he wanted for the thought of leading a group to the mountain. Despite those reasons, there is no ultimate reason for the deaths documented in the book, but bottom line the climbers that died didn’t thoroughly comprehend the danger they were going to encounter as a consequence that contributes to the disaster.
“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.
Jon Krakauer wrote “Into the Wild”. This book tells about a man who wanted to enjoy life and live in the wild. He believed that he could live in the
In the book “Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer, Jon describes his experience summiting and descending the one and only Mt. Everest. The tallest mountain in the whole world.During his journey he endured many life threatening events such as almost blacking out, getting caught in a storm, and many others. However he was one of the lucky ones, because out of that whole crew, 8 people died. That is the most recorded in one expedition ever.I believe there are two things that contributed to the deaths in this book. The greed of Nepal primarily is a factor, and also the lack of knowledge the people have that seek this rush of climbing Mount Everest. It is not anyone's fault in particular but there is topics to be blamed. A lack of knowledge can mean life or death in many various scenarios.
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.