Analysis Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

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Krakauer’s Into the Wild gives readers a spontaneous urge to toss our cell phones into a shredder and pursue a life deprived of apples, not the edible ones. We often forget that such a “Flintstone-like” life even exists because our dependence of technology consumes us. Chris McCandless, the main character, serves not only to make us aware of this nomadic alternative but also presents that happiness exists without owning the latest cell phone or a vehicle with a dumb peace sign or crown. Evidently, the power of technology is far greater than we imagine; our dependency on technology has made us materialistic individuals that base our happiness on luxury items. Technology can be an ideology meant to advance or improve our lifestyles. This technological …show more content…

The reason Chris despises his parents seems to stem from their prioritization of their jobs, to obtain money, to buy things which Chris does not care for. His parents symbolize “the billionaire road to joy” as they try to enforce such a way of living on him. Their willingness to buy Chris a new car when he has one that works fine offends him and disgusts him: “I can't believe they’d try to buy me a car… a car I will never trade... and they think I’d actually accept a new car from them!” (Krakauer, 21). To abandon the materialism and technological ideology that society drills in us, he must abandon his parents. With this he has a greater appreciation for the world around him since he is not distracted by law school, money and new cars. “My days were more exciting when I was penniless and had to forage around for my next meal.” (Krakauer, 33). While we focus on growing our net worth exponentially and admiring the beauty of the overpriced watches that we one day hope to have, we fail to appreciate something so simple as the sunset or the stars. From such appreciation, we can discover legitimate happiness. As Krakauer writes, “there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have an endlessly changing sun. “(Krakauer,