Into The Wild

Into The Wild “Although he was rash, untutored in the ways of the backcountry, he wasn 't incompetent—he wouldn 't have lasted 113 days if he were”. This comment from Jon Krakauer’s book Into the Wild conveys his belief that young Christopher McCandless who is the focus of his novel may have been young and inexperienced in regards to the Alaskan wilderness but he was capable of basic survival as he had demonstrated during his many day’s surviving the brutal environment of the Alaskan frontier. After Christopher McCandless met his untimely death alone in a school bus down the Stampede Trail in Alaska, Jon Krakauer received considerable criticism for his viewpoint that Christopher wasn’t “stupid, tragic and inconsiderate”. He firmly believed

On April 28, 1992 McCandless hitchhiked to the Stampede Trail in Alaska starting down the snow covered trail with only 10 pounds of rice, a 22 caliber rifle, a camera and a guide on edible plants. It has been documented that a friend offered to buy him more suitable clothing and some better suited supplies but he refused to accept the offer. McCandless may had wanted to test himself but it is somewhat foolish to venture out in the wilderness so ill equipped with little to no experience on survival in the Alaskan wilderness. As a minimum he should of brought enough food and clothing to sustain him until he could develop the skills he needed to survive in such a harsh environment. Craig Medred a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News best summed it up when he stated “Into the Wild is a misrepresentation, a sham, a fraud. Krakauer left a note talking about his desire to kill the false being within, somebody who managed to starve to death in a deserted bus not far off the George Parks Highway, and made the guy into a celebrity”. Medred further asserts that Krakauer simply wanted to write about McCandless and spin him as a misrepresented hero because it would sell books. Regardless if he decided to take his own life or he simply