Iconoclism In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

The story of Chris McCandless, chronicled by Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild, is a story of iconoclasm, of a young man who wants to deviate from the norm, and seclude himself from mainstream society. Chris, despite seeming like a typical kid fresh out of college, who wants to finally declare independence from school and family, is not simply like that. Chris not only wants to pursue a life independent from these institutions, but from the institution of society itself. By burning all his money and his social security card, abandoning his car, and trekking all the way to Mt. Denali in Alaska, in pursuit of “the truth”, Chris has effectively declared independence from civilization, the established order of how to live. He is, in essence, a young iconoclast. Throughout the book, the reader gets a glimpse into the mindset of Chris, and why he chooses the path of seclusion from society. One such glimpse is from a letter written by Chris to his friend Ron, in which he persuades Ron to join him on his journey to experience the the truth to life. He writes, “If you want to get more out of

Chris, despite being a young man just out of college, chooses the path of celibacy, a shocking move to most Americans, as Krakauer explains: “We Americans are titillated by sex, obsessed by it, horrified by it. When an apparently healthy person, especially a healthy young man, elects to forgo the enticements of the flesh, it shocks us... Suspicions are aroused.” (Krakauer 66). American society, while not an immoral one, is not one that shies away from sexuality, as most Americans are not immune to sexual desire and find it shocking that one could reject such desires. All societies and civilizations rely on human sexuality and procreation to preserve itself and to grow. By rejecting sex, Chris is effectively rejecting the preservation of American society. Thus, Chris is again engaging in