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Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

898 Words4 Pages

In Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer, the circumstances surrounding Chris McCandless’s death in the Alaskan wilderness have led some to argue that his lack of preparedness and disregard for safety is a tragic waste of his life. McCandless’s story begins with the discovery of his body by Alaskan hunters who visit Denali National Park and Preserve. Krakauer, tells the story of McCandless, a young man who left behind his comfortable life to live in the wilderness of Alaska. The text explores themes such as the pursuit of individualism, the search for meaning in life, and the dangers of idealism. Throughout the publication, Krakauer examines McCandless’s motivations and decisions and attempts to unravel the mystery of why he chose to leave …show more content…

Krakauer, who is an experienced mountaineer himself, suggests that McCandless was driven by a desire for adventure and a romanticized vision of the wilderness. Krakauer illustrates that McCandless was not the first individual to embark on such a journey. McCandless was aware of the dangers he faced. It can be said that the survival of Krakauer and the unfortunate demise of McCandless is ultimately determined by chance.
McCandless’ lack of careful consideration for his safety and well-being is evident throughout his journey in Into the Wild. For instance, McCandless ventured into the unforgiving wilderness with little more than a backpack, a few books, and pounds of rice. He lacked basic survival skills, such as how to start a fire, and was not properly equipped to survive in the wild. Moreover, McCandless often acted irresponsibly. He ignored the warnings from experienced hikers and hunters who urged him to stay …show more content…

“He didn’t carelessly confuse one species with another. The plant that poisoned him was not known to be toxic… …McCandless simply made the mistake of ingesting its seed pods. (Krakauer)” Due to Krakauer’s familiarity with the sense of wanting to break away from a structure, he often defends McCandless’s arrogance. McCandless did not have enough nourishment to go adventuring into the wild and hunting for game made him uncomfortable. If one commits to going into the wilderness one needs to plan and know basic survival skills. Making an “innocent error,” as Krakauer puts it, one cannot afford to make when pursuing such

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346 Words | 2 Pages

Survival: “He had a book about plants with him, and was using it to pick berries... Said he’d been surviving on edible plants he identified from the book.” (Krakauer 30) McCandless successfully provided the necessity of a sufficient amount of nutrients to fulfill his dietary needs. It is acknowledged that McCandless survived by foraging from the wilderness, essentially allowing him to consume meals without distress.

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McCandless made a lot of mistakes in his journey because of his stubbornness and arrogance. During an exchange of words between McCandless and Jim Gallien, Gallien thought that McCandless did not have the proper equipment to survive in the wild so he tried to convince him to get the necessary gear and equipment but McCandless refused to do so. “Gallien thought the hitchhiker’s scheme was foolhardy and tried repeatedly to dissuade him: “I said the hunting wasn’t easy where he was going, that he could go for days without killing any game. When that didn’t work, I tried to scare him with bear stories. I told him that a twenty-two probably wouldn’t do anything to a grizzly except make him mad.

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By using these strategies, Krakauer was successful in proving his point to the audience as he is able to evoke an empathetic response from the readers, put the story into a perspective that made the audience view the nature and the wilderness in the same way Chris saw it, and allowed them to connect Chris’s story with other people’s stories that have similar aspects to his, and create their own understanding of why Chris did what he did. Krakauer gains knowledge from sources with experience in the wild and knows the ins and outs of living in isolation while in harsh conditions. Krakauer also obtains evidence from first hand sources who knew or had important interactions with McCandless so that he could write this book with enough understanding and information to prove his main idea. Ultimately, Jon Krakauer portrays the idea that Chris McCandless had much deeper internal reasons, than what might be seen from the surface, that explain why he felt the strong compulsion to venture into the wild in complete isolation, away from the constraints he felt in society, to find what he was looking for in

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1343 Words | 6 Pages

In Into The wild, Krakauer narrates the last couple of journeys Mccandless had on his adventure to Alaska where he ultimately died. Mccandless Touched many people's lives through all of his journeys. Mccandless went on these journeys because he was confused in life when he figured out his dad had cheated on his mom. This changed Mccandless to the point he began to hate his parents. Mccandless had a lot of confidence in himself so he left on an adventure to find his identity.

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Chris McCandless’s Rational Exploration: To claim that a young 22 year old boy going into the Alaskan wilderness alone is ignorant, witless, and crazy is inaccurate. This is Chris McCandless. McCandless embarked on a two year long, solo journey to break away from societal exceptions, and discover himself, along with the unknowns of the wild that was recorded in the writings of “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer. Shaun Callarman, a former police officer and now writer, expressed his disapproval of McCandless’ journey by attesting, “I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his romantic silliness.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

Chris McCandless is a complex and controversial figure whose life and death have captured the imagination of many. His journey, as chronicled in Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild,”has been a subject of controversy and debate. While some veiw him as a hero, an adventurous spirit who pursued his dreams and sought to live life on his own terms, while others view him as a naive and misguided young man who continuously put his life at risk. However, regardless of one’s personal opinion, there is no need to justify McCandless’s actions. Instead of people assuming things, they should try to understand the reasons that he went into the wild.

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893 Words | 4 Pages

Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, is a non-fiction book based on the real-life story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who leaves his comfortable life behind to live in the wilderness of Alaska. The book is a fascinating exploration of McCandless's motivations and the reasons behind his decision to abandon society and embrace the wilderness. One of the key themes in the book is the tension between the desire for freedom and the need for human connection. Throughout the book, Krakauer explores how McCandless's desire for freedom and independence led him to reject the traditional trappings of society, including money, possessions, and even his own name.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

Just because McCandless’s life withered away there doesn’t necessarily have to mean the man was naive, now does it? Yes, he starved to death but that’s not the whole story. What is said to have happened is that he ate some bad seeds that caused his body to reject nutrients and eventually starve him to death , “The plant that poisoned him wasn’t toxic, per se; McCandless simply had the misfortune to eat moldy seeds. An innocent mistake, it was nevertheless sufficient to end his life” (194). This statement has then been disproved after Krakauer published the book due to further investigation and research, but what still remains true is that the seeds were not safe to have eaten in McCandless’s health condition.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a biography that follows Chris McCandless and his journey through the wilderness while finding himself along the way. Chris McCandless died in the August of 1992 after a four month journey through places like Mexico and Alaska. Krakauer investigates his actions and analyzes his identity after his death, trying to find meaning within his seemingly unnecessary expedition. Chris McCandless constructs his personal identity as a man who wanted to be challenged and inspired by his actions and interests with people he met on the road, and his beliefs and values as a stubborn person. Chris McCandless’s actions are unusual in many ways; for one, he graduates college with honors, but instead of pursuing a career,

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341 Words | 2 Pages

Into the American Wild In Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, a young man leaves everything he possess behind to venture across America and live off the land. Jon Krakauer investigates the tragically short life of Chris McCandless’s life and his motives for abandoning the life laid out for him. The more in depth Krakaeur delves into McCandless’s life and those alike Mccandless, the more attention to the American Wilderness there seems to be. Krakauer inscribes the attraction of the American Wilderness through recounting Mccandless’s travels and tales similar to McCandless’s including his own.

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899 Words | 4 Pages

He lost a couple of his survivor tools and that costed him some some of the food he wasn’t able to catch. McCandless was going on his own to test his strengths and weakness and see how far and long he will survive in the wilderness, He was

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401 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer gives his own in-depth look of how he feels about the young Chris McCandless. While doing so, he shows the opinions and stereotypes Chris has gained before and after he was in the wild landscapes of Alaska. It conveys how Krakauer feels toward this boy’s journey. Although Krakauer tries to maintain neutrality in analyzing the young Chris McCandless’ life and death, his own views become evident in the Author’s Note.

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806 Words | 4 Pages

Into the Wild tells the story of Chris McCandless, a young man who embarked on an adventure across the U.S. Chris lived for adventure, and sadly met his demise in the Alaskan wilderness. Chris’ death brought about a large debate as to whether Chris was insane or simply idealistic. Krakauer wrote Into the Wild to prove Chris’ sanity and soundly completes that task by using rhetorical devices to persuade his audience. Throughout the book, Krakauer uses ethos to develop Chris’ credibility by providing examples of people who are similar to him. For example, Krakauer provides multiple examples of people who were very similar to Chris, such as Everett Ruess.

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915 Words | 4 Pages

The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.

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629 Words | 3 Pages

Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild investigates the life and adventures of Chris McCandless. The author provides information about Chris’ life to illuminate his journey. Krakauer also uses rhetorical appeals to defend Chris’ rationale for his journey. Through Krakauer’s use of pathos, ethos, and logos, he persuades the audience that Chris is not foolish; however, Krakauer’s intimacy with Chris and his adventures inhibits his objectivity.

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