Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Mia Pegher

Mr. Maggs

Honors English 9

January 8, 2023

Into the Wild

The golden rule, or “treat others the way you want to be treated,” is one of the most cliche statements of life, but is an example of how Chris chose to live his life. Chris McCandless, a twenty-one year old from Virginia, the son of Walt, his father, and Billie, his mother, spent his life trying to live life freely, not bound to materialistic objects. He travels to Alaska in hopes of finding purpose and meaning behind life, but unfortunately dies a few months into his excursion due to reasons unknown. His experiences on his journey are illustrated in the book, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. It includes the details about his relationship with family, which is very unstable

Throughout the story, Krakauer tells the reader more and more about Chris’ relationship with his parents, if it even is one. Chris never felt quite sure to be himself around his parents, forming his every move to how they wanted him to live through standards and rules. Sporadically in the book the reader learns different parts of Chris’ life, including what his parents thought of him. Krakauer states that Walt, Chris’ father, said, “‘He didn’t think the odds applied to him. We were always trying to pull him back from the edge”. (Krakauer 109). In this quote Walt told Krakauer that he and his wife had to control Chris because he was reckless. This led to an unstable relationship because Chris felt like he could not be himself around his parents since his parents thought they could control how he lived his life, treating him poorly. Not only did Chris’ parents want to control Chris’ life, but also his education. A few pages later, Billie, Chris’ mother admits to Krakauer that she sat Chris down and gave him a talking to about how he was living his life. She says, “‘Chris, if you really want to make a difference in the

Carine offered Chris a type of unconditional love that made him feel safe and secure in the relationship. When Carine spoke to Krakauer, she said, “‘We were all worried when we didn’t hear from him,’ says Carine, ‘and I think my parents’ worry was mixed with hurt and anger. But I didn’t really feel hurt by his failure to write. I knew he was happy and doing what he wanted to do; I understood that it was important for him to see how independent he could be”’ (Krakauer 125). In the quote Carine tells her point of view on Chris’ disappearance, a point of view that gave Chris the benefit of the doubt. She loved him, so when he needed to find how to live a life that he loved, she loved him just the same, even if it meant she hurt a little, because he was happy. She gave him a type of unconditional love his parents never gave him; this is why they had such a stable and happy relationship. Unlike Chris’ parents, Carine and Chris spent so much time together that they started to depend on each other. Carine tells Krakauer, ‘’Mom and Dad put in incredibly long hours. When Chris and I woke up in the morning to go to school, they’d be in the office working, When we came home in the afternoon, they’d be in the office working…I think it was one of the reasons Chris and I were so close. We learned to count on each other when Mom and Dad weren’t getting