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A Search For Serenity In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

1155 Words5 Pages

A Search for Serenity in the Wild Has life ever taken a toll on you that may have pushed you to do something many dare not to do or have you at least thought of doing it? Well for Chris McCandless that’s exactly what happened, he didn’t have to think about it he just acted on his desires. In the story “Into the Wild” by John Krakauer, readers are able to get an insight of what Chris McCandless or Alexander Supertramp (his new name he created for himself after abandoning all he had left) experienced along the way to find a new life for himself. He had it all, everything he ever wanted or needed physically was given to him, but what he never experienced was a sincere lifestyle. He was willing to work for what he wanted and he made sure that he’d …show more content…

Chris was a great example of what a high achiever would like. Once he started a task he wouldn’t finish until he found what he needed. During his senior year he became interested with racial oppression in Africa. One of Chris running mates Kris Grimmler recalled their senior year together and how he took injustice seriously. For example she stated “He spoke seriously to his friends about smuggling weapons into that country and joining the struggle to end apartheid.”(Krakauer, 86 PDF). This shows that Chris didn’t have a close minded way of dealing with problems. In this example rather than donating money for the cause like any other person would do, he would be willing to take up arms and go and fight in the country which is something a high achiever does. Chris split personality of Alexander Supertramp was very outgoing and social with those he met along the way of his trip, but what they both expressed was being introverted about personal problems. Carine McCandless stated “He'd keep it to himself, harboring his resentment, letting the bad feelings build and build." This observation allows readers to believe that since he was so introverted about his personal life that it began to build and build and break him down until he finally decided to blow up by retreating into the Alaskan wild. Both Chris and Alex’s personalities were similar and they contributed to his desire of experiencing something

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Born in A Different Life Life on the road is an idealistic way to escape from societal problems. There is no denying that it grants individuals satisfaction by allowing them to fulfill their goals, as well as providing immense freedom and control over one’s life; however, it is a fundamentally illogical path to take due to nature’s malevolence. In Into The Wild, Krakauer writes a biography about a young man named Chris McCandless, in which he illustrates the similarities between himself and McCandless’s overly ambitious journey to accomplish feats in the wilderness. Coinciding with their similarities, they also faced an oppressive father figure at home, which lead the both of them to believe that their journey will provide them an answer to their problems at home. McCandless planned to survive in Alaska by living off the land while Krakauer wanted to be the first one to climb the Devil’s Thumb.

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Chris had more reason to leave unexpectedly with no trace of finding him. He was connected to the wild. Although Chris’s parents were abusive towards each other and made Chris’s childhood traumatizing, he had wholesome moments. He and his family would go on camping trips in nature. It’s funny that Chris has wrath towards his parents for the traumatizing childhood yet his parents were the ones who introduced the wild to him.

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“I won’t run into anything I can’t deal with on my own”(Krakauer 6). Chris also “hadn’t spoken to his family in nearly two years”(Krakauer 6). He wanted no one to interfere with him finding himself and those examples show just how determined he was to do so. One of Chris’s biggest goals for himself was to make a life of his own and not end up like his parents. Being determined like in those specific examples, is what led him to be his own person and not just another variant of his parents.

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Into the Life of Chris McCandless Chris McCandless, a unique man, embarked on the journey of a lifetime. During his adventure, he broke away from the constraints of society and he learned what is important in life. I admire what Chris was trying to accomplish by heading “into the wild”, and I can see parts of my beliefs in his. My experiences are different from McCandless’ experiences in as many ways as they are similar.

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In Into the Wild it says, “ The more they talked, the less Alex struck Gallien as a nutcase” (Krakauer 6). This really shows that Alex, or Chris, was a bright person who, on the outside looked like a strange vagabond was really a well educated person. More important, however, is the fact that Chris had a positive impact on everyone he met. A prime example of this would be another traveler he met named Jan Burres. In the book said, “ We got to talking.

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Even as far back as elementary school would he be “marching to a different drummer” (Krakauer 107). He even requested to be dropped out of his school's accelerated program which he was placed into for receiving a high score on a test. Chris wasn’t “antisocial”, in fact he many friends. He did, however, talk about abnormal things such as the rules of society, smuggling weapons to Africa, etc.

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Into The Wild portrays a man who went on a fatal unforgettable journey through the alaska wilderness. Chris McCandless was a man with great courage and the ability to live on his own made him more of a hero going on his fatal journey. Many would say he was foolish or not thinking right, but that is not the case. The case here is simply a man with courage wanting to fulfill is beliefs through his journey. One may ask what is courage.

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"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”- Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that revolves around self-reliance and independence, commonly in nature, a Transcendentalist wants to find the true meaning in life. I believe that Chris McCandless was a Transcendentalist because he was able to leave his whole life behind and take on a minimalist lifestyle while having a strong relationship with god. However, I believe that I am not a Transcendentalist, but simply an adventurer.

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Chris McCandless abandoned the modern world and chose the wild because he believed that he could improve himself through living in the wild, and found the true happiness of the life. McCandless abandoned his wealthy family because of his complicated relationship with his father, and he was ashamed with his father’s adultery. Therefore, McCandless believed that human relationship was not the only thing that forms happiness, instead a man’s connection with the nature brings joy as well. He also believed the habitual lifestyle was not what people were meant to do, and people shouldn't have more possessions than what they need. For this reason, McCandless traveled with little effects.

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Unlike Mccandless who, was not trying to reform anyone, but himself and to get in touch with his position in life itself. He was independent through his journey despite a few warmhearted individuals that Chris couldn't seem to turn away.(Krakauer, 95) Chris was stubborn to say the least, and did not like anyone helping him. While he was on his Alaska trip, he wanted to pave the way of his life by himself, he was not one that liked to take donations. Chris and Martin are widely known in the category of outcasts, rebels, social and environmental warriors, proving to themselves and numerous peers by breaking barrier after barrier without hesitating to stop for

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“Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer is the story of Chris McCandless’s life and journey. In 1992, this young man, Chris, from an average family in the East Coast decided to cut off contact with his family and give up all his possessions so that he could hitchhike into the Alaskan bush. A main reason many believe Chris went into the wilderness was because he was in search of his identity. From reading this book I have come up with my own opinion of what type of person he was. The conclusion I have reached about Chris is that he was a distant and ill-prepared person who had a very strong will.

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McCandless’s need for society People believe that a stable mental health can be achieved by being alone, they’re simply wrong. A stable mental health cannot be achieved without human relationships. Into the Wild is a book based on Chris McCandless, a man who decided to go into nature to not lose touch with his inner self. Jon Krakauer, the narrator and author, tells this story through Chris’s family, friends, and personal writings.

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He was not concerned with the trivial details of life that most people would have. He constantly tried to get away from society. Chris never wanted to stay in a place for too long. He had a mentality of “Don’t come closer or I’ll have to go / Holding me like gravity are places that pull” (Vedder, Guaranteed). Whenever Chris got close to someone he would always leave.

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“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ―Maya Angelou. Jon Krakauer’s true story titled Into the Wild is about a man who decides to throw away his old life and escape the rules of conventional society. Twenty-two-year-old Chris McCandless came from a well-to-do family in Virginia and, without warning, abandons everything. He changes his name, loses contact with his family, gives away his car and all his money, and begins a two-year long journey hitchhiking to Alaska where he eventually dies of starvation.

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By changing his identity and leaving society, he felt he was shedding the fake elements of his past and evolving into a person he wanted to be. Chris McCandless did not depart on his transcendental quest to die, he ventured into the wilderness to kill the disappointments of his

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