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Analysis Of Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

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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

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