Have you ever wanted to purposefully strand yourself in the Alaskan wilderness and inevitably die alone? Now you can, through literature! When reading Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, one follows the story of 24 year old Chris McCandless, a makeshift survivalist whose attempt to escape life, cost him his life. As the novel progresses, the author builds an argument upon first hand accounts, thoroughly psychoanalyzing McCandless’ actions post-mortem. He claims that McCandless, despite his obvious faults, was courageous and inspirational. This is incredibly wrong. McCandless is not brave or inspiring. Krakauer simply projected himself―his experiences, emotions, and values―onto a person he never met. He drew heavily from his own experiences, creating …show more content…
Here’s the answer, plain and simple: Chris McCandless was not important enough to write a book about. He was one of the countless individuals who trekked into the Alaskan wilderness, yet failed to survive and tell the tale himself. It’s safe to say that Chris McCandless’ “perseverance” and “bravery” amounts to significantly less than the feats of many others, and his personality is completely indistinguishable from the typical brooding male protagonist. Societal rejection, isolationism, an endless salad bar of superiority complexes, severe daddy issues… these are not atypical traits, so why does Krakauer find them so interesting? Krakauer very obviously relates to McCandless, which he states plainly, “I was willful, self-absorbed, intermittently reckless, moody. I disappointed my father in the usual ways. Like McCandless, male figures of authority aroused in me a confusing medley of corked fury and a hunger to please. [...] If something captured my undisciplined imagination, I pursued it with a zeal bordering on obsession” (Krakauer 134). To Krakauer, Chris McCandless was a personality he held close to him, felt a connection with. Therefore, the romantic, idealized concept of McCandless is what Krakauer became enamoured with, not the story of inept almost-but-not-quite survival. That is why he was chosen against braver, more significant figures. He