Analysis Of Societal Expectations In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Add an interesting intro. Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, is about the life of a young man named Chris McCandless who just graduated from college. The book outlines his journey from living in a family that expected him to go to college to how he died in Alaska. Chris’s story, while being one of many discusses in this book, shows how does expectations shape the decisions and actions you make. Overall societal expectation affects the decisions people in a way that fully reveals itself when dramatic actions come to light. In a child's formative years, their parents are often time the most influential and important person in their lives. Children quickly pick up traits and life lessons taught, unknowingly, from their parents.These often times

Chris for instance was described as someone who had a extremely “ independent nature” (64) and “came into this world with unusual gifts” (106). The author also states that he liked to “call the shots”(105) much like his father which shows how his father influenced his life even if they did not get along very well. Chris followed his parental expectations by attending college and getting a degree. "It's somewhat surprising that Chris ceded to pressure from his parents about attending college when he refused to listen to them about so many other things" (114).This was one example how Chris was greatly influenced by the expectations of his parents and others. McCandless after graduating college felt as if he was “unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers.” (22) His independent nature and the stifling societal expectations were one of the many reasons why Chris decided to embark on his Alaskan odyssey. Chris’s personality and resiliency allowed him to withstand bending over to the expectations of others later in his life however he made many decisions early in his life that were motivated by societal expectations. The reason he left for his Alaskan odyssey was that he felt stifled by his parents expectations which drove him to express his adventurous nature through his dramatic actions. This shows how the expectations of the people around us still impacts our actions and what motivates us to make