Media always makes thing out to be better than what they actually are, including the land of Alaska. While many people think they want to live off the land what they’re really getting themselves into is a death wish. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer is about a man named Chris McCandless who is a victim of himself. Christopher McCandless stands out because he was naive to all the danger around him such as harsh weather conditions, minimum food supply, and wild animals. This character can be described as arrogant, selfish, and foolish. Alex, also known as Chris can be described as arrogant for many reasons. He always wanted to do things the way he wanted to and anytime he couldn’t he would make sure whoever made the rules knew they didn’t have control of him. On page 40 it says ”Chris would comply to with the rules, but as soon as his shift was …show more content…
In one instance he was offered a ride to get proper gear, but rejected the proposal. On page 6 it says ”Gallien offered to drive Alex all the way to Anchorage, buy him some decent gear, and drive him wherever he wanted to go. “No thanks anyway,” Alex replied, “I’ll be fine with what i”ve got.” It is apparent that he is foolish to not take the very generous offer from a stranger who owes him nothing. He didn’t realize what he had, he could've been someone of his own in a different way that allowed him to survive but how he set out was setting himself up for failure. On page 71 it says ”Entering the wilderness purposefully ill-unprepared, and surviving a near death experience does not make you a better human, it makes you damn lucky.” Therefore if his way of going about things were different he might have been able to actually survive. So it is clear that Chris is foolish for not being more prepared and accepting of help when offered, it maybe could’ve changed his
Alex is a pilot in the Navy that is very proud of his military discipline and high standards. He came to see Dr Paul after he bombarded a school in Baghdad thinking that it was an insurgent safe house. As soon as Alex gets in the doctor’s office, he adopts an arrogant position and almost does not let Dr Paul talk. Alex tests Paul all the time, trying to control the topic of the
In the book “The Wild Truth”, Carine writes of the abuse she and Chris endured that “compared to [their] reality, [Krakauer’s] book, and [Penn’s] film were extremely kind” to Walt and Billie (Mccandless 15). This is one of the reasons why someone may think Chris was justified in his decision to “go into the wild”; in fact, one could say that it was his parents’ fault for driving him away. It may be a valid reason for why he left his family’s home, but it does not really justify how he hurt those who he met during his travels. The people that he effected after his death, excluding his parents, had not wronged or hurt him in any way; therefore, it is still not justifiable, in terms of his actions after he left his old home behind. Another thing that should be pointed out would be his reluctance to accept help from others. In the film, he had little to no problem with staying with others for a short time, yet he would be extremely reluctant to accept anything that could potentially help him survive the wild. Due to this reluctance, he was very underprepared when he entered the wild and eventually he died. Even though his death may have been from a mistake he had made, if he had been better prepared or even accepted a bit more help from the people he met, he probably could have survived a
“In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson Mcandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself.” Into The Wild is a book about a young man who travels across some of the most unforgiving terrain to find his place in life. He travels through the tough Alaskan landscape running from Christopher Johnson Mcandless, and embracing the new life that is slowly coming to him. As Chris runs away from his family, and travels along vast areas of terrain, he makes a
The Alaskan wilderness knows no mercy nor no forgiveness, out there one mistake could cost a person their life. Chris grew up in a strict household where he was given little to no freedom. As a young adult, Chris found this lack of individualism overwhelming so he disentangled himself from society in a rather abrupt manner. He unfortunately met a premature death, which continues to arouse suspicion amongst readers. However Chris McCandless did not have a death wish, he had already made it this far and still had plenty left he wanted to accomplish. In the book Into the Wild, author Jon Krakauer uses the three appeals through various devices to convince his reading audience that Chris McCandless was a determined individual whose justified choices
Imagine being stuck in the wild, on the verge of dying from either starvation or freezing to death. There are not enough resources, not enough food, all you have left is to hope. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, is a story written of a man named Chris McCandless who overall did not like his life. He thought society corrupted his dreams that he previously set, and he wanted to get away from all of societies norms. Chris wanted to achieve his dream, he wanted a “thrill” in his life, so, Chris decided to go out into the wild and be a free man. In the process he left behind his family who worried everyday having no notion of his whereabouts. Chris was without a doubt , a very controversial/confusing person. People who have heard his story have reason to believe that he was a foolish, stupid kid who got lost into the wild and got himself killed. However, due to Chris' grit, his ability to look deep inside himself to bring out the real him, and his love of nature are all exceptional. Chris' journey into the threatening Alaskan wilderness was not one of stupidity, but one of self determination and courageousness.
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, describes the adventure of Christopher McCandless, a young man that ventured into the wilderness of Alaska hoping to find himself and the meaning of life. He undergoes his dangerous journey because he was persuade by of writers like Henry D. Thoreau, who believe it is was best to get farther away from the mainstreams of life. McCandless’ wild adventure was supposed to lead him towards personal growth but instead resulted in his death caused by his unpreparedness towards the atrocity nature.
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,
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
Chris McCandless traveled to Alaska in April of 1992 for isolation from society, and unfortunately died in Fairbanks Bus 142 in August of 1992. His death is not what angers readers, but his lack of preparation and arrogance about the wilderness is what proves his “reckless narcissism”. His selfishness to not abide by his parent’s wishes for college and a decent job, his unpreparedness for wilderness survival, and his manipulation and lack of empathy for others is why readers believe he is a “reckless narcissist”. However, many people see him as a “noble idealist” for leaving society and all its amenities to live out his dream of in the wild.
Life is never easy, no matter how hard we try to short cut and escape the inevitable difficulties. After College is when life sets in, when work becomes a necessity and we all begin to find a place to settle down. People respond differently to different situations. Some of us embrace the freedom and the ability to earn money and spend money indiscriminately. Others crumple under the social pressures placed on us. Christopher McCandless is a perfect example. Settling down and raising a family, providing for that family and creating a sustainable lifestyle are important and high stress things that we all must deal with if we are to enjoy the finer things in life. Chris totally abandoned that, he gave away all of his possessions; even
After graduating from college, McCandless had left his Datsun, donated all his savings to charity, and burned all the spare cash he has on him, and took off. Leaving Chris McCandless behind, and beginning the life of Alexander Supertramp. Alex had made lots of new friends that he had grown bonds within a short amount of time, such as Franz, Gallien, Westerberg, etc. But Alex had obstacles and messes that he had gotten himself into.
The book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer is a story about a man by the name of Chris McCandless. He is a man who grew up in a DC suburb, graduated college and decides to change the ways of his life. He journeys across the country, and finds his way to Alaska. His means are to leave the material lifestyle and become at one with nature. During Chris’s adventure he seems to neglect all communication with his family and over look the fact that they care about his health and future.
Another way is because the author wanted his novel to describe the life of Chris in a unique way without him feeling judged from the mistakes he did while on his journey in Alaska, because he’s life did end in tragedy.
It has been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Such is the case with Christopher McCandless, the main protagonist within Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. McCandless sets out of a journey to remove himself from his privileged upper-class upbringing by trekking into the Alaskan Wilderness. While McCandless’s intentions are to prove to himself that he can be independent and make his own life outside of his parent’s net of privilege, those intentions are dashed to the ground when he dies of starvation due to his lack of preparations for his journey. McCandless’s isolated himself from his family, and instead connected with random strangers on his expedition to Alaska, keeping in contact with said strangers instead. Due to his foolhardiness and childish idealism, McCandless made a journey into the wild that would be his last, ripping his selfish presence away from all those who had ever loved him.
Alex also had his own experience with self sacrifice after the death of his cousin in the mine. He gave up a year of university to go work with his brothers. It was his own way of paying them back for all they gave up for him in his early years. He also did it because they were family and he knew that they needed him at that time. "Just tell me you'll come with the same number of men, asked the superintendent... My brother looked at me and I, in turn, looked at the faces of my grandparents and at the parents of the red-haired Alexander MacDonald. I nodded my head slightly. 'Yes,' he said into the telephone's receiver. 'With the number of men. We'll be there'" (MacLeod 130-131). Alexander realises that his brothers gave up so much for him in