ipl-logo

Jon Krakauer's Argument Analysis

860 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character traits of chris mccandless essay

The way Krakauer organizes Into the Wild helps support his argument towards Christopher McCandless and to the responses received by the article Krakauer had written earlier on McCandless and about his trip. Krakauer gives the readers background information for most of the book, along with excerpts from McCandless’s journal he seldom kept. McCandless’s journal entries include statements such as, “MOOSE!” on June 6th when he shot a moose instead of squirrels, and different types of birds which he had been eating since he got to the bus (Krakauer 166). McCandless’s last writing reads, “ I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all,” which he wrote on the back of a poem by Robinson Jeffers, "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours," …show more content…

Through digging deeper the readers know learned what is was like growing up in the McCandless household. Chris McCandless and his sister, Carine, lived with Walt McCandless, their father, and Billie McCandless, their mother, in Virginia. Carine McCandless explains how their parents, “[...W]orked all the time,” (Krakauker 107) and how it was very stressful for them, because their parents had just started their own consulting firm. Chris and Carine McCandless became very close when growing up because they, “[...L]earned to count on each other when Mom and Dad weren 't getting along,” (Krakauer 107). McCandless was very protective of his sister and would hold her hand, and he even waited for her after school so they could walk home together. Chris McCandless was very passionate with everything he did, he had, [...S]o much natural talent,” (Krakauer 111) but, if you tried to teach him anything, he refused. Chris and Carine McCandless were both musically talented, and both took up the French Horn, turned out Carine McCandless was better at it than her brother. This didn 't ruin their relationship, in fact it somehow made it stronger. Through the background information gained about McCandless growing up, Krakauer 's argument is proven valid. Chris McCandless was a very caring person, and cared about

Show More
Related
701 Words | 3 Pages

Callarman’s argument is that Chris McCandless made a lot of mistakes because he was arrogant and that he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness and he says that he was just crazy. I disagree with Callarman’s argument because I think that Chris McCandless (Alexander Supertramp) was not arrogant I think that he just wanted to learn new things. I also disagree because I think that Chris did have a reason to go to Alaska or else he would not have done it even if it just to go because he likes nature, and I don’t think that he was crazy at the beginning but I agree that he did start to get crazy when he was stuck in the wild on the bus. I don’t think that Chris is arrogant I think that he is just a guy who wants to learn new things about nature and just the world in general.

Read More
800 Words | 4 Pages

“Actions speak louder than words” is a centuries-old idea that, in recent times, has been famously said by both Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain, and I think this idea should be the core of any look into the life and actions of Chris McCandless. However, I believe that this idea was hardly considered in Jon Krakauer’s interpretation of Chris McCandless in his book Into The Wild. Into The Wild is taken by many as the complete truth of Chris McCandless’ story, but many people seem to forget that Krakauer tells us in his author’s note at the beginning of the book that “[he] won’t claim to be an impartial biographer.” This means that any judgment of Chris that only uses this book is inherently flawed by Krakauer’s own views.

Read More
301 Words | 2 Pages

The author was correct when insisting Chris McCandless was not a crazy person, a sociopath, or an out cast. Those that crossed paths with McCandless, seemed to be drawn to him with his easy to like personality. “He couldn't get the young man out of his mind”, Kraukauer states about eighty one year old Mr. Franz. “There was something about him”, explains Mrs. Westerberg. Chris McCandless was obviously not an out cast as he made good friends easily.

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy,” shows that Shaun believes Chris had no common sense in his doing for leaving society for the wild. I agree with Callarman’s position of thinking “ he had no common sense” and that he was “bright and Ignorant” because Chris thinks he did not have much to offer in his society, ditched all his possessions to take a trip into the Alaskan Wilderness and did not have much common sense or survival skills. Chris McCandless was very courageous for ditching all his possessions to take a trip in the wilderness.

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

I am in agreement with Krakauer on the fact that Chris McCandless was not a sociopath because he was intelligent, socialized very well, and was able to take care of himself, but he did have his flaws. Being able to be independent, his achievements and his friends all prove the “outcast bush causality” stereotype wrong. Since Chris was a human, he did have his faults. In some cases they were extreme, but they were rooted from an anger that makes it hard to label as “sociopath”. In the end, however, his stubbornness and tendency to dream big left him for dead.

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

Rhetorical Analysis of Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild ” Jon Krakauer ’s purpose in writing Into the Wild is to recount Chris McCandless’ journey, physical and metaphysical, from college in Georgia to his death in Alaska, through the use of factual, and anecdotal evidence. Krakauer uses factual evidence to establish that he is a trustworthy narrator capable of giving the reader a realistic scope on the events in the story. Jon uses anecdotal evidence to see into Chris’ psyche from the various perspectives found in the book’s excerpts, including how Jon understands the events.

Read More
1216 Words | 5 Pages

"I think that Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going to Alaska with his Romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on ignorance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy."

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

Chris McCandless: A Reckless Idiot Chris McCandless was a reckless idiot and there is no denying that basic truth. Chris McCandless was a man born into a middle class family. Chris had parents that loved him, a roof over his head, and food to eat. Despite all those riches he had, he threw them away. Chris was a very selfish man.

Read More
351 Words | 2 Pages

I agree with what Shaun Callarman stated because I thought he was crazy too. Although Chris McCandles did have a creative and open mind, he basically walked into his own death when he went into the wild. And yes because of his arrogance he made plenty of mistakes. What I did admire about McCandles is how he donated his savings to the Oxfam charity. Although in my opinion I think McCandles is crazy, I still admire him for his courageousness.

Read More
987 Words | 4 Pages

Above all Chris McCandless was an arrogant man. He refused many offers of help he got under the ground of that it was cheating. His arrogance led to him taking unnecessary risks which led to him encountering many hapless events. A quote from Into the Wild, his sister Carine said, “ Chris didn’t think twice about risking his own life, but he never would have put Buckley in any kind of danger (Krakauer 128). This really shows that without a person to keep a handle on him, to give him a conscience about what he was putting himself into, he was really the only one credible for his ultimate demise.

Read More
788 Words | 4 Pages

Chris McCandless was in his early 20’s, he was the kind of that guy that wanted to learn and experience life without all of the material things. He wanted to be independent from his parents and friends so Chris did something that would be insane for most of us humans but to him, it wasn’t. He went into the wild of Alaska for months, in fact, McCandless even thought he could make it out alive at the end of his journey. As a matter of fact, he was known as being a risk taker and enjoyed being out and about in the nature side of the world. Many would believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild to purposely kill himself; however, I myself believe that McCandless did not do it purposely.

Read More
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.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Although it may seem as though Chris McCandless is immature or reckless, he is actually rather admirable for his ideals because they allow him to live a life he is happy with. First, McCandless

Read More
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.

Read More
1945 Words | 8 Pages

He’s out there somewhere, and I’d want someone to take care of him like I tried with Alex.” (Krakauer 46). McCandless made the relationship complex, because he would always try to keep his personal life a secret even though he trusted her. Burres knowing the irritation, that would come upon persisting McCandless about knowing any single detail about his personal life to inform his parents about his whereabouts, because Burres had a child out in the world just like Chris she knew nothing about, seeking the opportunity to

Read More

More about Jon Krakauer's Argument Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document