Throughout his novel Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer’s own perspectives shape the way he tells the story of Chris McCandless. Krakauer’s writing style allows for varying interpretations of the primary motivations of his protagonist, ranging from sympathizing with Chris to perceiving him as selfish. This is especially evident when Krakauer describes an interview with Walt McCandless about his son’s death seven weeks after Chris’ body was found. However, various interpretations of Krakauer’s work can lead to differing points of view on the subject. While Krakauer’s description of Walt’s emotional reaction to his son’s death could indicate Chris’ selfishness in abandoning his family, it could also serve to justify Chris’ decision to embark on his journey into the Alaskan wilderness.
Krakauer’s interview with Walt McCandless reveals that Chris’ disappearance into the wilderness had a negative effect on his family. Walt expresses his grief when he asks the rhetorical question “How is it… that a kid with so much compassion could cause his parents so much pain?” (104). Chris was portrayed by Krakauer as a caring person, and his decision to leave society was in part spurred by how selfish and greedy people appeared to be. When he abandoned his friends and family without any hint as to where he was going or why, he caused his parents great anguish to fulfill his own quest for purpose. It’s ironic that he displayed the very characteristic that he was supposedly trying to escape from. This question Walt poses is used by Krakauer to criticize Chris’ deeply selfish actions by showing the reader his parents’ point of view of his odyssey. Krakauer also makes it clear that Chris was very privileged, having experienced a comfortable upbringing in a rich, well-educated family that loved him. When Krakauer describes the state Chris’ dead body was found in, he states that the body was “wrapped in a blue sleeping bag that Billie had sewn for Chris from a kit” (104). It is interesting that Krakauer included this detail about the sleeping bag; that it had been sewn for him by his mother. Why would Chris keep this with him if he was trying to reject materialism and live solely off of nature, and why would he keep something that could
Krakauer is superior in telling Chris’s story because of his use of pathos to uplift Chris’s character, whereas Medred utilizes it to demean him. The reason for Chris’s disappearance was due to his desire to leave his parents. More specifically, he was angry at his father, Walt, after discovering that “Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret. When Walt’s double life came to light, the revelations inflicted deep wounds”(Krakauer 121). Krakauer includes a story illustrating a distressing event which leads to Chris embarking on his journey.
Krakauer traces back to a time before Chris’ death and later discovers some hidden concerns within “the final postcard he sent to Wayne Westerberg” (Krakauer 133). Whenever Krakauer utilizes the anecdote, the topic of Chris’ perseverance
Jon Krakauer had the same experience as McCandless with his family and travel to Alaska, but Krakauer knew more about survival and had company in case of any danger. Krakauer compares, “as a young man, I was unlike Mccandless in many important regard… And I suspect we had a similar intensity, a similar heedlessness, a similar agitation of the soul” (55). Acknowledging McCandless’s background, Chris left society because, in Krakauer’s point of view, of the “agitation of the soul” and the “similar heedless” of society. McCandless didn’t agree with society’s standards that being successful meant having a well paid occupation, especially when McCandless’s parents enforced it onto him. McCandless truly did not want to uphold the wishes of his parents, for Chris to go to college and get high paying career, but it wasn’t what Chris really wanted, so he left all of his conflicts with his parents and his values or “agitation of the soul” to create a new identity as Alex Supertramp and live in the wild. In today’s modern world, humanity lives in an environment where people are controlled and dependent on others. Chris’s father is someone he despises because of his characteristic of being controlling. Walter becomes controlling over Chris, who pressured him into college. As a result, Chris has an “agitation of the soul” to become independent, and a “heedlessness” for society and had an “intensity” for
Krakauer uses this theme in order to lead the audience up to his reveal of Chris considering to return to civilization and to possibly forgive his parents for their immoral behavior. In the second epigraph, Krakauer borrows a quote from Boris Pasternak which states that you “cant advance in a certain direction without a certain faith.” Krakauer links this quote to Chris due to the fact that he strived to preserve his moral purity and to find more meaning in life by embarking on dangerous adventures in the nature, which allowed him to live a more fulfilling life. Krakauer further elaborated on the dangers which Chris faced during his time in the wilderness of Alaska by explaining the several types of poisonous plants which Chris was unfortunately exposed to, which resulted in his eventual death. Returning to the epigraph, Krakauer states that the only way desires such as these are maintained is by having personal connections with other people, which is a means of formulating the element of a “free personality” and offering “life as a sacrifice.” In this chapter, Krakauer recounts that one of Chris’ diary entries stated that he was willing to “shed some of the armor he wore around his heart,” and instead “intended to abandon the life of a solitary vagabond.” These writings from Chris may serve as an indication of the fact that Chris planned on leaving Alaska and returning to society in order to most likely rekindle the relationships which he left behind. Krakauer also manages to tie the events which occurred in Chris’ life to the overarching course of human history, which consists of huge advancements in challenging areas of life such as science and mathematics that are produced by the deep struggle to overcome the inescapable threat of
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explains how Chris was an individual who didn’t have a liking for materialistic things. He was a person who was in it more for the experience and not for the materials he gained from doing things. He wanted to “have an endlessly changing horizon” as he said in his letter to Ron Franz. He thought it would be good to go out and escape the restraints of society and civilization to truly value what life was giving him and what everything else was taking away from him. Many believed that the only reason that Chris wandered off into the wilderness of Alaska was because he was tired of society holding him back and wanted to experience the greatness the world had to offer.
Lastly, Chris Mccandless got to fulfill his dream, live his own life, and now he even got to find his inner self, find out who he truly is. Chris was the kind of person that lived dangerously unlike most people, he was different “It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders...Danger has always held a certain allure. McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer, 182). Chris’s true self-was one that was riskful and daring until he could finish the task. Furthermore, he was different from others and throughout his journey, others could see that. In the end that was the kind of person Chris Mccandless was, and this is the person he became after fulfilling his dream and living his own life. In contrast, others did
In Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book, Into the Wild, we follow how humans love the wilderness, the strain of father son relationships, and for the majority of the book a young adult named Chris McCandless. We see mostly through Chris’ eyes just how much the wilderness can entice young adults as well as how important crushing news of one’s father can change your life. McCandless was an angry pseudo adult who couldn’t handle a sizeable change in his life. He was too stuck on it being his way that he rarely could bring himself to accept help and improve his ability to actually survive. However, there was some good about McCandless. His search for himself and the truth were great intentions despite the flawed approach.
The world is full of different people. Each of them inherited the habits or personalities whether from the guardian, the parents, or developes it on their own. Each of them views the world or their surrounding in different perspective, different situation, or different condition. This is the reason why everyone is very unique on their own. The world definitely did not contain two exact same person because of the contribution of variation of factors.
Although Chris McCandless’ controlling and toxic family environment was a major motive for his escape, his deep-seated internal battle was simply an irresistible impulse for discovery and liberty. Chris’ journey shows a new level of freedom; what true independence holds. He set out into nature alone without support of family or friends, searching for a path unlike those of most, and running from a barred cage of conventional living. Unsatisfied and somewhat angry with himself and his life of abundance in money, opportunity, and security, his preceding experiences and determined character lead him to an inevitable flee into no-mans land. Throughout the novel, Krakauer wants the reader to understand that there is more to Chris than his habit of criticising authority and defying society’s pressures. He needed more from himself, and more from life. He wasn’t an ordinary man, therefore could not live with an ordinary life. Krakauer demonstrates this by creating a complex persona for Chris that draws you in from the beginning.
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. Along with the irony that occurs in nature, these characteristics are the several factors that contribute to McCandless death.
People believe that humans that control and make their own decision in their life. The story "into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, a non-fiction story following the path of Chris McCandless, this shows how you control your life and chose your path. "the Sport Gene" by David Epstein, a non-fiction story proving a point, and shows how a genetic improvement can increase your physical ability. According to Krakauer, you will have full control of your life and the path you choose. The sport gene contradicts having full control of life when genes can increase physical ability.
The father and son conflict is a crucial theme in the nonfiction book Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. In Jon Krakauer’s book, the main character, Chris McCandless exhibits a lifelong conflict with his father, Walt McCandless. Chris is an erudite, talented, yet stubborn young man. He yearns to leave the typical lifestyle of the upper middle class American family, and after graduating college at Emory, he mysteriously disappears. Walt is a controlling man with a morally unstable past, and his career and money is of more value to him than his family. The theme often appears in the background of the book, representing one of the major motivations for Chris McCandless’ absence. This theme is evident
As Chris breathed his last breath, he was finally able to find his inner happiness through the Alaskan wilderness. In chapter 18, Krakauer notes about Chris’ final photo of himself, describing Chris as, “[he] was at peace, serene as a monk gone to God,” (199). The way he was described in this picture shows that Chris has in fact found the happiness that he was looking for and was able to leave this earth in peace. Then again, in chapter 18, the last words of Chris McCandless wrote, “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD.GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL,”(199). Although he was in severe pain, from starvation, he was still able to find the bright side of things. He was able to die in the one place that he had desired to be at.
Furthermore, Krakauer, in the structuring of his book, presents the reader with great amounts of irony, both dramatic and situational. Fairly early in the story, we know that Chris is dead, and Krakauer uses this to an ironical advantage. By already knowing his fate and his background, the reader is able to see the irony is Chris’ death. By dying in a bus in tandem with dying only a couple of hours from civilization, Chris was not truly in the wild. Once again, Krakauer makes the reader sympathize with Chris, for he died not able to fulfill his dream and escape from society. Like in the bus, he was trapped within society, unable to escape no matter how hard he tried. His use of periodic sentences solidifies this idea. Specifically, when Krakauer travels with Chris’ parents to the place of their son’s death.
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