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Together we stand, stand alone, as we stand, we stand together. Chris stood by himself searching to find Alex. McCandless’s need to find himself is what led him into the wild, and it’s what led him to his eventual death. No one could know why Chris searched to find Alex. We can only Speculate.
Throughout chapters 8 and 9, the author showed his bias towards Chris McCandless, which is an act of defiance to his position as an objective journalist, when he attempted to alter the readers’ negative point of view towards Chris by the introduction of different people who had similar experiences and characteristics as him and then making comparison. After reading the previous chapters, the readers have already made their own judgement on Chris, which are probably mostly negative. To address this issue, Krakauer initiates chapter 8 by introducing negative comments and mails not only about Chris but also to him, the author. These will serve as an argument that he will later attempt to disprove while at the same time, still informing the readers about what makes Chris special and unique.
This was evident to everyone around him, especially when it came to cross country, as he would tell his teammates to, “...Imagine [themselves] running against the forces of darkness, the evil trying to keep them [them] from running [their] best” and would try to lose them while leading runs (Krakauer 112). This gives us a small but important window into Chris’ brilliant mind. Typically, high schoolers trudge through their class periods and sports practices and scrape up just enough motivation to do the bare minimum, but Chris was never a typical person. Chris always, “...Had a need to test himself in ways, as he was fond of saying, ‘that mattered’”(Krakauer 182). He tested himself by not bringing ample supplies, abandoning his car, hitchhiking, and burning all his cash.
McCandless is a caring and modest person while he was been thoughtless about his trek as Krakauer reveals throughout the book. Krakauer portrays Chris McCandless as a person in the world who did not wish to ally with society and wanted to flee from people to become unrestricted of rules of society. Also, he did not feel attached to his community and people so he decided to escape from public as much as he could. Therefore, McCandless can be called as unintelligent, but his journey proves how humble and warm- hearted he is as a person. Can it be said that McCandless found himself before his death?
Born in A Different Life Life on the road is an idealistic way to escape from societal problems. There is no denying that it grants individuals satisfaction by allowing them to fulfill their goals, as well as providing immense freedom and control over one’s life; however, it is a fundamentally illogical path to take due to nature’s malevolence. In Into The Wild, Krakauer writes a biography about a young man named Chris McCandless, in which he illustrates the similarities between himself and McCandless’s overly ambitious journey to accomplish feats in the wilderness. Coinciding with their similarities, they also faced an oppressive father figure at home, which lead the both of them to believe that their journey will provide them an answer to their problems at home. McCandless planned to survive in Alaska by living off the land while Krakauer wanted to be the first one to climb the Devil’s Thumb.
An attribution to Jon Krakauer’s convincing overall argument is his thorough and plausible research formulated to create Christopher McCandless’s biography. Krakauer conducted a copious set of interviews with various people; he consulted specialists and scientists, and others in their respected professions. Krakauer also ventured in McCandless’s footsteps and studied into other adventurers cases. The “sources” Krakauer uses to devise his argument range from the people “close” to McCandless such as friends and family, people Alex (Christopher) met during his journey, professionals (police officers, rangers, scientists, professors, authors, etc.), those that found McCandless’s body, Alaskan locals, and letters from the readers of his Outside
Many people thought McCandless' unplanned journey in the wild was a suicidal attempt and that McCandless was suicidal. I don’t think this was the case, I think he went into the wild to explore and clear his head from finding out about his fathers passing. I believe he didn’t want to die, however he knew he would, especially since he was starving and there was a note saying he needed help laying right next to him. Krakauer also had father issues like McCandless and wanted to climb mountains as well, one of them being Devil's Thumb. It sounds like it would be a very dangerous hike to get to the top, just based on the name.
McCandless, a compassionate young man who stole the hearts of everyone he met, possesses a thirst for adventure. Numerous individuals have misinterpreted McCandless as a reckless idiot who had squandered his life away; however, after deep scrutiny of Jon Krakauer’s work, McCandless is better characterized as a non conformed sensation seeker. Furthermore, McCandless could distinct with his virtuous actions he had perpetrated throughout his non conformed life. McCandless should be acknowledged for his non conformed lifestyle, adamant state of mind, and charismatic personality. To commence, McCandless is contemplated as a sensation seeker due to his idiosyncratic strives towards a non conformed life.
Chris McCandless may first be described as a rebel and his inclination to abstain from the family he was brought up with. Krakauer says that he 'believed that wealth was shameful, corrupting, and inherently evil '. Despite that, Chris always liked money. Chris was also a very independent person who had a strong relationship with nature. Chris was also the kind of kid to always get good grades, without even trying to.
Realist: This means to have an understanding of what can be accomplished. By using this word, Krakauer was able to let the readers know that he viewed McCandless as more of a realist than an idealist. Being a realist is a noble trait, due to its denotation meaning of the word which implies that one knows their own limit and weakness and knows how to set forth and complete a goal. Ambivalent about killing animals: The meaning of the phrase is having mixed or contradictory feelings or ideas about killing animals.
Christopher McCandless, the protagonist of the novel and film Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, is not your average guy. Driven by his minimalist ideals and hate for society, he challenged the status quo and embarked on a journey that eventually lead to his unforeseen demise. A tragic hero, defined by esteemed writer, Arthur Miller, is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on tragedy. Christopher McCandless fulfills the role of Miller’s tragic hero due to the fact that his tragic flaw of minimalism and aversion towards society had lead him to his death.
In the novel, Chris did some dangerous things, such as kayaking across a country and not taking nearly enough supplies, he insisted it was all part of the journey though.
However, Jon Krakauer proves his argument that McCandless was not arrogant, foolish, antisocial, or crazy by giving examples of other young men who were similar to McCandless to show that his journey wasn’t unprecedented. He also proves that McCandless wasn’t antisocial because he developed personal relationships with Ronald Franz, Wayne Westerberg, and Jan Burres in such a short amount of time and explaining the many times that McCandless respected the Alaskan Bush. Krakauer admits that McCandless may have suffered from hubris; he was still a victim of circumstances. Krakauer proves that McCandless had an intrinsic motivation to discover and that he wasn’t alone because Krakauer too ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was younger. The Alaskan Bush is a very difficult place to survive if one isn’t prepared for many challenges such as hunting for food or staying warm in the frost ridden
“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” ―Maya Angelou. Jon Krakauer’s true story titled Into the Wild is about a man who decides to throw away his old life and escape the rules of conventional society. Twenty-two-year-old Chris McCandless came from a well-to-do family in Virginia and, without warning, abandons everything. He changes his name, loses contact with his family, gives away his car and all his money, and begins a two-year long journey hitchhiking to Alaska where he eventually dies of starvation.
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.
