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Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer: Chapter Analysis

1029 Words5 Pages

Zoe Engel
6-19-23
Mr. Selfridge
Period: 2

Stepping Into the Wilderness
The work of nonfiction Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer, tells the true story of Chris McCandless, an adventurous young man, who leaves home to travel around the continent eventually setting foot into the Alaskan wilderness on a journey that becomes fatal. Highlighted throughout this work of nonfiction is the true story of McCandless’s life, along with bits of Krakauer’s personal life as it relates to McCandless’s. Each chapter begins with at least one epigraph that shares common themes with the following chapter. The focus in this paper will be on chapter 14, “The Stikine Ice Cap,” in which Krakauer shares his experience climbing the Devil’s Thumb in Alaska, and the second …show more content…

The idea of stepping off the grid and away from modern society to be in the wilderness was an idea that McCandless also shared with Krakauer and Thoreau. McCandless took this idea to an extreme degree, getting rid of his map so that he could live totally off the grid and apart from society. Although Thoreau shared this value he did not take this idea to the same level, instead he enjoyed smaller scale wilderness trips. In the epigraph, Thoreau states, “It can never become familiar, you are lost the moment you set out,” which shows his free-spiritedness that once he is out in the world he is lost in nature as he becomes detached from traditional societal life. Additionally in this chapter, as Krakauer shares his experience climbing the Devil Thumb he shares, “Those mountains heralded the approach of my desideratum (ITW 137).” This means that the mountains are about to give him the desire he is searching for by setting out into the Alaskan wilderness and temporarily separating him from society, an opportunity he took during the course of his life. All three of these men McCandless, Thoreau, and Krakauer shared this value in life, making this a suitable epigraph to include in this work of nonfiction, especially in this chapter for it ties many perspectives of the recurrent free-spirited

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In chapters 14 and 15 of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer becomes more than just an investigator or a narrator, he becomes a character. He tells his story of climbing the Devils Thumb, which exposes the similarities between himself and McCandless. This aids to his understanding of McCandless’s motivations, without ever meeting him, due to the parallels in their personalities and family issues. Chapter 14 is devoted to Krakauer’s story about his youthful love for mountain climbing. At age 23, he plans to do a dangerous climb on the Devil’s Thumb in Alaska alone. “

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The Alaskan Wilderness: cold, lonely and, for some people, their final resting place. John Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild” describes the story of Chris McCandless, who was a normal American man on the verge of entering adulthood with a college degree, over $20,000 in savings, and a beloved Datsun car who met his fate in Alaska. One day, he dropped everything to live alone, and eventually die alone, in the middle of nowhere, Alaska. Chris McCandless believed that conformity was too restrictive. He trusted that anyone could find true happiness and passion by leaving everything behind and starting a new lifestyle, which would allow for him to become free and independent.

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The nonfiction novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer retells the bemusing true story of wealthy, free spirited Chris McCandless; also known by the alias “Alexander Supertramp”; who abandoned all his possessions and trekked across America, eventually starving to death in the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer goes to great lengths to explore McCandless’s background and motivations, interpreted as both foolishness and moving determination. This piece intends to visualize that interpretation, showing both the poetic tragedy and frustrating avoidability of McCandless’s demise.     The raging ocean, in shades of green rather than the usual blue, represent the indifferent, greedy wilderness that McCandless ventured in to. It’s chaos in ink matches its chaos

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Christopher Johnson “Chris” McCandless wan an American hiker. He ventured into the Alaskan wilderness in April 1992, with little food and equipment, hoping to live simply for a time in solitude from the poison of civilization. In attempt to escape the discomfort cause by society and his family, Christopher McCandless sets off on a two-year trek across the country, where he changed himself into “Alex super-tramp.” “McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or world at large but to explore the inner country of his own soul” (Krakauer182). Krakauer realizes that McCandless’s journey wan because of his desire to find happiness and enjoy life that way he felt life should be experienced.

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Chris McCandless was a free-thinking individual who made a conscious decision to leave behind his life and pursue a life of adventure and self-discovery. In the book “Into the Wild” Krakauer states “I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life.” (Krakauer 15).

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Hunter Roll Professor Swan ENGL 153 27 February 2023 Connection Narrative In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, the main character Christopher McCandless is viewed by most as being a young man who wishes to break free from the chains and rules of society by escaping to the great and wonderfully vast outdoors. The protagonist felt that his best option was to leave our man-made world behind and head out into the wilderness with nothing but a couple of books, some rice, and a small rifle. Some may see his actions and desires as brave and romantic. However, this essay will argue the opposite and provide some personal experiences along the way.

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Krakauer describes McCandless as "an extremely intense young man... (with) a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence". When he set off on his journey, "he entertained no illusions... peril, adversity, and Tolstoyan renunciation were precisely what he was

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In addition, in a journal entry, McCandless writes, “It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive! Thank you. Thank you” (Krakauer 37). This excerpt shows that McCandless sincerely is at peace with himself and the world because of where his ideals have taken him.

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When McCandless graduated from college, he found the possibility to go away for a while, “He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family” (Krakauer 55). McCandless could finally go away looking for a journey full of adventures, but he wasn’t going to five stars hotels or luxurious places. His journey was precarious and wild, that was exactly what he was looking for. Places that were difficult for someone to reach and loneliness was abundant, the only interaction was with nature and savage animals. Happiness engulfed McCandless when backpacking anywhere, it was his joy.

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