Conformity And Conservatism In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

In Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging and the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakauer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakauer protrays McCandless as a young man who is reckless, selfish, and arrogant, but at the same time, intelligent, determined, independent, and charismatic.

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.

Life is a journey that involves many precious moments and, people one may never forget. Yet often the desire to move forward may compel an individual to depart those loved ones in hopes of pursuing their own goals and dreams. Due to the incredible aspect of the human nature which encourages success and further accomplishments, each individual must learn the capability of being able to continue on their life’s journey, with the purpose of achieving their goals. In the Poem The Layers written by Stanley Kunitz, the speaker seems to have traveled many paths yet he cannot seem to let go of his past, and as he continues to change and follow different paths he regain meaning back to his life. His attempt to share his experiences with the reader is manifested in the way he communicates the details of his journey and ideals that guide him in life and describes the love and affection he has for his loved ones.

In the end, however, he must choose between the master he loves or the wildness he belongs in. The novel starts on Judge Miller’s property in Santa Clara Valley. Buck is the king of his domain and everyone knows it - from the lowly house dogs to the Judge’s sons. However, a gardener with a gambling problem soon ends Buck’s relaxed life. He sells Buck in order to obtain more money; Buck is sent west to be a sled dog and is cruelly mistreated along the way.

But what did that matter? If he stayed, his life was no longer worth living” (Lowry 155). Jonas is willing to risk the unknown for the idea of finding Elsewhere for himself. He knows how much he does not fit in with the community and wants to be able to be himself, to love, and to share the memories without being chastised. “He felt, surprisingly, no fear, nor any regret at leaving the community behind” (Lowry 164).

A Journey for Fulfillment In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless gives up all his material possessions to seek fulfillment in the Alaskan Wilderness. In doing this, Chris is able to escape from his parents and live the life of many transcendentalists that he’s read about. As John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” Like John Muir, Chris has developed such a profound love for nature that he is called into the wild by it. Ultimately, Chris’s life decisions are a fascinating paradox that make him both a transcendentalist hero and a fool. Chris grew up reading the likes of Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Jack London.

He had many misperceptions and claims that he was really his main flaw. If McCandless survived, he would likely have ended up maturing, learning to be close to people, to forgive flaws in those he loved, to interact with society. Since he died, he never had that opportunity, and instead is blamed for his ignorance and stubbornness. When Thoreau said “what a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate” he meant how a person’s opinion is important no matter what others think. He said what a person thinks of themselves is an indicator of their life

He had decided to get away from the world and live in Alaska, Jack London style. He had hitchhiked all the way from South Dakota to Alaska. Chris was very excited about the trip. He was going to go into the wilderness alone. ?There was no talking him out of it.

c: It did change because he got exposed to the realities of the life and he began to value life and feared death in the sense that it was all so inevitable. d: He expected his father to share his sentiments and to be more open to the idea that sacrifice was a part of life. 5-XIII ATWOOD a: He does so out of courtesy and is of the opinion that it is the only way he could have extended his help. b: It means that I am completely lost in a place where there is nothing familiar to me and nothing seems similar to what he is used to. 5-XIV PINTER a: The mother and the father.

The novel “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer goes into great detail to describe the main character, Chris McCandless, who died traveling alone into the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless, whom in the novel renamed himself Alex, left his home and family to travel to Alaska in 1992. In Alaska McCandless planned to live an isolated life in the desolate wilderness, but unfortunately he did not survive. This non-fiction novel portrays his life leading up to his departure and it captures the true essence of what it means to be “in the wild”. The author wrote this story in response to a magazine company, and eventually published it into a book.