In the novel “Into the Wild”, the author, Jon Krakauer, memorializes the life of the young adventurer Chris McCandless. McCandless aspired to travel to Alaska to break loose from the traditional conveniences of society and civilization. During his trip, McCandless journaled about his adventures. However, he did not live long enough to disclose the details of his journey in person. After discovering McCandless’s story, Krakauer decided to write “Into the Wild”. Although Krakauer never met McCandless, Krakauer is able to authorize voicing a dead man’s saga in a trustworthy narrative because of his use of McCandless’s journals and letters, primary source information from Chris’s friends and family, and by showing the parallels between him and the life of McCandless. Jon Krakauer seemingly allows Chris McCandless to be the author of his own story. The first passage in the book is a letter that McCandless had sent to his friend Wayne Westerburg. Krakauer could have started the book in his …show more content…
A great portion of the book is made up of quotes and conversations that McCandless had with others. The aforementioned writing style of conversation allows for a trustworthy narrative because there is less opportunity to expose inaccurate details. Furthermore, Krakauer discussed McCandless’s life with many people who all had very different relationships with him and who knew him at different times in his life. McCandless’s family provided background for his childhood, and a friend, Jan Burres, tells of McCandless at an older age, nearer to the time when he was in Alaska. Utilizing multiple sources permits Krakauer to form his own narration by sorting through the biases of the others. Krakauer clearly spent an immense time analyzing the many writings of McCandless, enabling him to speak with such an authentic voice about his
Krakauer’s use of stylistic devices throughout his book is quite phenomenal. Just a few examples of the stylistic techniques that he uses to uncover his tone are: polysyndeton, anaphora, and antithesis. Krakauer remains indifferent towards Chris for a good 6 chapters, states all the facts, and tells the story as it is. He uses no emotion appealing words to hint to us how he feels about Chris. His indifference is shown through his use of polysyndeton, which is the use of several conjunctions when not necessary.
Jon Krakauer concludes the book by offering in some of his own personal experiences. "The hint of what was concealed in those shadows terrified me, but I caught sight of something in the glimpse, some forbidden and elemental riddle that was no less compelling than the sweet, hidden petals of a woman’s sex. In my case-and, I believe, in the case of Chris McCandless-that was a very different thing from wanting me to die."(156). Both McCandless and Krakauer were both at one point in their lives searching for something in the wild. Krakauer proposes this argument to prove to the audience that McCandless was not crazy due to the fact that Krakauer himself was
Into the Wild by John Krakauer tells the story of Chris McCandless, a man who embarks on a spiritual journey into the Alaskan wilderness and suddenly dies. Krakauer explores Chris's motivations for his journey by examining Chris’s journal and personal documents. Krakauer interviews Chris's family and people Chris met along the way to further understand his personality. The article The beautification of Chris McCandless: From thieving poacher into saint, by Craig Medred depicts Chris as a “bum, poacher, and thief.” Medred criticizes Krakauer’s interpretations of Chris’s journey and Medred believes that Chris has poor intentions throughout his journey.
Krakauer inserts himself many chapter’s trying to show that McCandless is not an anomaly. In chapters 8-10, he told stories of others like Rossellini , John Waterman and Carl Mccunn who had gone into the wild, all of whom perished. In chapter 14 and 15, Krakauer’s parallel and connection with McCandless was seen “I believe we were similarly affected by the skewed relationships we had with our fathers. And I suspect we had a similar intensity, a similar heedlessness, a similar agitation of the soul.”
Jon Krakauer diverges from the story of McCandless’s journey, to inform the readers how all of the other adventures that occurred were similar. He wanted to show how other people were in his situation, that wanted to conquer the world with what the others had with them.
By telling the story of Chris McCandless, Krakauer builds more of a convincing argument to support the idea that by taking matters into his own hands he can get rid of all worldly distractions by living how monks live. This gives him more control than Gladwell does to support his reasoning, that individuals control their own destiny and so Krakauer better answers the question, how much of what happens in our life do we have control. Chris gets rid of all his belongings that doesn't help him in the long run and sets out on a new adventure, he was on the road for a long time. In the outliers it talks about how there is a school full of talented kids that practice endless amounts of hours they practice. You know what they say, practice makes perfect.
In his novel, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer recounts the true tale of Chris McCandless, a recent college graduate who decided against a professional career and instead opted for a life of adventuring and self-reliance. Readers of Into the Wild have shared differing opinions of McCandless. Some view him as passionate, courageous, and admirable while others view him as reckless, arrogant, and “unworthy of the considerable media attention he received.” (Author’s Note) Though McCandless’ courage and steadfast dedication to his beliefs are admirable, I believe that his hubris, naivete, and his inadequate preparation should be the most important points in any discussion of his trips and subsequent death.
When one delves more deeply into the writing of Krakauer it is obvious that there are many literary aspects driving his work. The author uses ethical appeal, which is supported by colloquial language when referring to his protagonist. Not only does Krakauer strive to tell a both fascinating and intriguing story in Into The Wild, but he also looks to gain the credibility of the audience. Before the publishing of this book in 1996, the most intimate writing on McCandless was a 9,000 word essay by Krakauer titled Death of an Innocent. Though this gave way to significant circulation of information on McCandless, and his endured circumstance, the article published in Outside magazine was not nearly as elaborate as his published book. Krakauer used Into The Wild as a stepping point for himself, but also as a mechanism for him to connect to an audience. Throughout the book, Krakauer refers to McCandless as “Chris”, yielding people to feel more in touch with the storyline and it’s characters. Though pathos infused in Krakauer’s writing, he is continually attempting to win over the audience ethically in his book. The author uses McCandless’s first name to get his audience to religiously believe his story, but also his take on what had occurred leading up to 1992. Krakauer says, “Many aspects of Chris’s personality
In his investigative, nonfiction book, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer implies that even though most adolescents who participate in high-risk activities end up with serious consequences, occasionally, those activities are rewarding. This is exemplified throughout Krakauer’s book, showing Christopher McCandless’ journey across North America, John Waterman’s mental unwinding during his ascent of Mount Denali, Carl McCunn’s adventure in the wilderness, Everett Ruess’s journey at the Davis Gulch, and also by describing Krakauer’s own adventure in Alaska. Maia Szalavitz wrote an article titled Why the Teen Brain is Drawn to Risk, which also analyzed risky behaviors of adolescents in regards to possible consequences and rewards. In Into the Wild, Jon
The plot line of a tragic story is one that enthralls a reader with the rise and fall of a tragic hero. After the death of Christopher McCandless in Alaska over 20 years ago, not only is there still discussion of what was the true cause of his death, but also the widespread debate of a much larger question: was McCandless a tragic hero? Some argue that Christopher McCandless is a selfish coward and ended up giving his whole life and education away due to his lack of knowledge of the wilderness, while others argue that he lived his life through pushing beyond the limits of a normal human being and seeking what is limited to most of society. In the novel Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer describes the travels of McCandless and writes about how past
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a well-written non-fiction piece about a seemingly fearless man named Chris McCandless who hitchhikes his way to Alaska in order to find his inner peace. While different people have various ideas upon what makes writing good, most would agree that the basic aspects of "good writing" include having a strong voice, being straightforward, and connecting to the reader. Krakauer's unique tone and voice accomplish these main goals and are major factors in what makes this book a success.
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.
Jon Krakauer 's non-fiction novel Into the Wild explores the mystery surrounding Christopher McCandless and his life before he inevitably ran off into the heart of the Alaskan wilderness in an attempt to discover himself in some manner. In order to tell this story as accurately as possible, Krakauer uses a variety of techniques to give different perspectives to Chris’ life. The most prominent decision Krakauer makes though is in regards to his decision to try include or exclude himself and his views from the text. When telling Chris’ story, Krakauer takes an almost fully unbiased approach, and yet when he does present his biased
My name is Daud, I am a 12 grader who right now goes to High school in Minnesota. I am keeping in touch with you about your outstanding book Into The Wild. In my English class a couple weeks ago, my class and I read this story and it truly made me look at what I do in my life and how much this book truly influenced me, all things considered. This book demonstrated to me that on the planet, there is a lot more out there than the little towns we as a whole experienced childhood in and were raised. It made me additionally truly consider that not everybody needs the convention life that we as a whole grow up anticipating. What I mean, is that there is such a variety of various choices on the planet though numerous things on
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