The Idea of Home Have you ever thought of going off the grid and living out in the wild? Well in Jon Krakauer’s Into the wild, we learn about Chris McCandless, who did exactly that. Chris embarks on a journey into the wild leaving his privileged life behind to discover a sense of purpose and meaning in his life. Jon Krakauer narrates his story and we also hear about some other similar stories. For example, Everett Ruess, a young man who sought out a different kind of home than most people. Both change the idea of home. Chris’s idea of home changes drastically as he discovers that it is not always an actual location, but actually a state of mind or even a person. On the other hand we have Everett who shows us that home doesn’t necessarily …show more content…
As he goes across the country, he realizes that the concept of home isn’t just limited to a specific location. Matter of fact, he claims that the concept of home is subjective, stating, “The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun” (Krakauer 57). This quote shows Chris’s look on home as an ever-changing concept that is not just limited to one specific location or set of experiences. For Chris home is wherever he finds adventure and discovery, whether it’s on a deserted beach in Mexico or even in the deep Alaskan wilderness. As we continue to follow Chris we see him begin to form relationships with the people he meets along the way. He discovers that home can also be found in the relationships we form with others through all the interactions in his journey. This is shown in a conversation he has with Ron Franz, an elderly man he meets on his journey. Ron asks Chris if he could adopt him as his grandson and he responds, “You're not just an old man to me, Ron. You're a friend. I don't want you to adopt me. I want you to teach me” (Krakauer 57). Through this conversation, Chris admits that Ron has become an important part of his and a source of comfort and guidance for him. This interaction shows how home can also be found in people we connect with, rather than just one actual location being our home. Chris found that home can change depending on whatever you’re doing, like with him he loves adventure and keeps on going to find adventure and never stays at one place for too long, yet he feels at home. He also finds that home can also be the connections we build with people. So if you’re with