Analysis Of Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer says, “The core of mans’ spirit comes from new experiences.” Jon Krakauer is a well-known author and mountain climber. Krakauer has been fascinated with climbing mountains and going on new adventures since he was a young child. His ambitious personality and immense determination are qualities that likely inspired him to write Into the Wild. Into the Wild depicts the journey of a young man named Christopher Johnson McCandless. McCandless loses his former identity, donates his money to charity, and begins a new, uncivilized life in the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer is able to captivate readers within his book because of his frequent use of personal experiences, articulate style of writing, and effective persuasive appeals. First

After informing the reader that while dying, people occasionally experience a sense of calmness, Krakauer states, “It would be nice to think McCandless experienced a similar rapture”(198). As the story concludes, he establishes a sympathetic tone in his writing. The tone reveals Krakauer’s compassionate attitude toward McCandless and his unfortunate demise. The author uses imagery when he writes, “Vast and labyrinthine, the ice cap rides the spine of the Boundary Ranges like a carapace, from which the long blue tongues of numerous glaciers inch down toward the sea under the weight of the ages”(137). By using imagery it makes it easier for the audience to picture the situation in his or her mind. Imagery is also useful for keeping the reader interested while reading the book. Krakauer writes, “McCandless made an indelible impression on a number of people during the course of his hegira, most of whom spent only a few days in his company, a week or two at most”(48). The author chooses to use a middle level or formality in his book. By using the word “indelible,” Krakauer expresses how people were truly affected by McCandless’ actions. The author skips around from telling his own experiences to telling McCandless’ story. The arrangement of content allows the reader to establish similarities between the life of Krakauer and McCandless. In the book Into the Wild, the author uses a powerful writing

He begins to establish credibility in the author’s note when he writes, “Shortly after the discovery of the corpse, I was asked by the editor of Outside magazine to report on the puzzling circumstances of the boy’s death.” He first got involved in the case of McCandless by writing an article for Outside magazine about McCandless’ death. Krakauer is also very familiar with Alaska and its extremes. Additionally, by conducting various interviews with many of the people in McCandless’ life, his writings are deemed credible. An emotional appeal is also used by Krakauer to persuade the reader to sympathize with McCandless’ friends and family. While being interviewed by Krakauer, McCandless’ friend Walt says, “‘We had our hearts in our mouths the whole time he was gone...but there was no way to stop him’”(118). The reader begins to sympathize for the loved ones of McCandless. The author makes the reader wonder if McCandless was being selfish for letting his friends and family worry about him. Rather than feeling compassionate for McCandless, the reader relates to the people that were affected by McCandless and his adventures. Krakauer’s persuasive strategies are very influential to the reader’s opinion on the