Chaos In Into The Wild

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

When he left his family and friends behind without informing them as to where he would be, they later found out that their beloved one had passed. When Chris left, his mother suffered terrible pain by the thought that she heard “… ‘Chris calling me,’ she insists, ears rolling down her cheeks…He was begging, ‘Mom! Help Me!’ But I couldn’t help him because I didn’t know where he was (Krakauer 126).” In this tragic portray of events, his parents suffered terribly because he was not considerate enough to inform them of his whereabouts and intentions. Since his mother, a strong woman who dealt with awful dealing with Chris’s father, he could have at least enlightened her with his well-being with a letter to her and his whereabouts. Also, when he abandoned his family, he abandoned little sister, he left her hurt even after “Ten months after Chris’s death, Carine still grieves deeply for her brother. ‘I can’t seem to get through a day without crying…’ (Krakauer 129).” Carine was the person McCandless was closest to in his family. When he vacated her, and left her clueless as he did everybody else, he left the person who loves him most behind in the dark. McCandless left the people who cares for him behind, hurt and filled with sorrow because he wanted to fill his own selfish

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

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 the brighter spectrum of Mr. Chris McCandless, is his deep and intellectual personality, shining through on most every occasion with cynical value or an interesting opinion every now and then. In Chris’s deep scholarly thought he decides to give up many things for his own self righteousness in attemp to make himself free of any evil or distraction as well as anything that may hold him down. As a younger boy in high school he proved his good Samaritan self by spending weekends taking to the the streets, spending nights with prostitutes, the homeless, and the addicts, feeding them and experiencing a little of what they felt. As I mentioned before he gave up what he thought would ruin his dreams and soil his life, he rid his life of luxury and wealth along with long-term relationships with people. As one of the things that he had apparently given up was the desire of sex and all of it’s evils, and proclaimed that his need was much to great for something so petty. Truly I believe traveling as a child with his family engineered a mind set within Chris that made him feel as if familiarity was just a weight holding him down from the flight toward his dreams. He also thought that being lost in such a superficial and trivial society could help no one

Another key similarity between the two protagonists is the refusal to enter the stage of adulthood because of the lack of happiness that one can enjoy in this point of life. Chris’ rejection of adulthood is based on disappointment; Chris believes that he cannot discover the full essence and pleasure of life by entering into a stage of life where freedom is limited, which in this case is adulthood. Chris’ negative impression on adulthood is probably at the cause of the memories of his abusive father fighting his mother; this is portrayed in a disturbing, fast-paced scene in which Chris’ parent’s boiling argument turns into

Chris felt deceived and let down because of his father’s infidelity to both of his wives. Carine says in her interview with Krakauer, “When Walt’s double life came to light, the revelations inflicted deep wounds. All parties suffered terribly” (121). This is a perfect example of how the affair affected the McCandless family, thus giving him a major motivation to leave his parents. Another perspective of the father and son conflict in Into the Wild was between Chris and an elderly man that he met on the road named Ronald Franz. Ron Franz, whom was a father figure of sorts to Chris, felt a sense of treachery from his heavenly father, and this was all due to Chris’ elusion of close relationships. “I decided I couldn’t believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex” (60). That was a father son conflict on more of a spiritual level in the book, and it is clear that Chris had such a large impact on Franz. His impact on Ronald Franz was so compelling, that he even offered to adopt Chris, only to be rejected, which was also an underhanded sort of betrayal on Chris’ part. Krakauer added this element to the book because once there is betrayal, the casualty is

Human beings are individuals. Individuals with their own bodies, facilities and inalienable rights who live in a society. Society by definition is a body of individuals living as members of a community (Dictionary). Therefore logic will lead you to understand that individuals are the basic building block from which all societies are formed and without individuals, society would cease to exist. This provides a clear answer to the decades-old question, which is more important the individual, individualism, or society, collectivism. If individuals make up society how is it possible for society to be more important than the individual?

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.

Emerson greatly undervalues society. He scoffs at any valuable connection between it and himself, writing, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members," (1162). Please, be realistic. What could Emerson have possibly accomplished if he had never come in contact with the stimulants of the arts, sciences, and fellow human life? Where would he have been without society, without friends, enemies, and colleagues? Building a fire? Hunting wild geese? I feel reasonably assured that without society Emerson would not have the luxury of discussing philosophy, nor the opportunity to ponder creating an ironically famous isolationist essay. Society gives humans

Another quote found in the Emerson text that supports this criticism is “Society is good when it does not violate me; but best when it is likest to solitude. Everything real is self-existent.” (Emerson Text 4) In this quote Emerson explains that society is fine as long as it does not encroach on his individualism and is best when it adds to his solitude. Everything in the world that is real in the world is able to be self existent.

In many fictional and real life scenarios, in the absence of society people managed or tried to manage to create and build a society. One example of this is in the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In the absence of society the boys in the books hunt and try to make shelters, some of them

We as a human race have become a byproduct of our society. Through media, technology, and social pressure, humans no longer run society, but it seems like we are run by society. The quote from sociologist Peter Berger states “Not only do people live in society but society lives in them” This statement is referring to a form of social control were groups and the people in those groups conform to society partially knowingly and partially as a reflection based on dominant social expectations. As I further explain Berger’s statement I will explain how individuality, identity, and freedom fit in to such a predetermined future.

Society, on the other hand, is made up of individuals; people live together in communities. The development of people depends on the environment, which in other words, depends on how organizations manage it to make it a healthy society. Therefore, whether a society is healthy or not does has an impact on individuals.