Arrogance And Ignorance In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Confidence is essential to living a happy, successful life. It is extremely hard to find any motivation or work hard at something if you have low self-esteem. However, there is a fine line between self confidence and arrogance or ignorance. While confidence is a great motivator, too much of it tends to end in more negative rather than positive consequences. In “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer and “Last American Man” by Elizabeth Gilbert, Chris McCandless and Eustace Conway share a passion for the wilderness. Their passion leads them to have goals that they put all their effort into. Unfortunately, end up unsuccessful and unhappy due to their over confidence. Arrogance and ignorance often prevent one from achieving goals by leading to an inevitable

One of Eustace’s major goals is to build Turtle Island, a large nature preserve where he eventually brings in other people to educate them about the wild. However, his excessive hatred of materialism causes him to be ignorant of others’ needs and capabilities. Many people at Eustace's camp cannot handle the physical labor and its toll on their bodies. This, Eustace claims, is due to modern America, which causes people to “have no discipline” (Gilbert 212). On the contrary, it is not the people's’ faults, but rather it is Eustace’s fault. Because he has separated himself from materialism for so long, he does not understand how it affects others and has no sympathy when they are in need. Furthermore, instead of attempting to understand it, he pushes it away further and loses his campers’ trust, resulting in his unhappiness with Turtle Island as it falls apart. Eustace’s overwhelming control also resembles that of his dad, someone he dislikes immensely. As a result, he refuses to acknowledge that he is in any way similar to his father. His ignorance affects his ability to assess his actions and he pushes away those he loves as a result. Eustace desperately wants a girlfriend and has found several girls who he claims to be “the one”. However, each time, his arrogance and oppressive behavior

Chris’s refusal to accept obviously needed help led to his demise and Eustace’s over-confident controlling behavior prevented him from settling down with a nice family and the success of Turtle Island. While in the beginning, their confidence seems almost inspirational, the extent of the confidence and the effects evidently show the powerful consequences of overconfidence and how it cause unhappiness and