Materialism In Into The Wild

Eddie Vedder’s song “No Ceiling” expresses many of the themes in Krakauer’s Into the Wild. A very evident theme is the theme of isolation and independence. In the book, Chris left home for many reasons, however, a very large part of it seemed to be his family problems back home. Chris not only suffered from his parents fighting all the time, but he also found out that his dad had been lying to him for his entire life. As Krakauer puts it, “When Walt’s double life came to light, the revelations inflicted deep wounds. All parties suffered terribly.” This seems to be a key factor in Chris leaving and not wanting anyone to find him. Chris wanted to “isolate” himself from his problems and live his own independent life where he wouldn’t have to suffer from his relationships back home. Eddie Vedder expresses this theme when he sings, “As I walk the

Materialism and risk-taking, two more themes in Krakauer’s Into the Wild, are expressed in Eddie Vedder’s song, “Far Behind”. In Chris’ story, he was very against having “things”. He grew up in a privileged family, which taught him that happiness doesn’t come from having a lot of “wants” in life. Chris deliberately wanted to have nothing and be alone. This is evident when the book explains how little Chris packed for his long journey into the Alaskan bush. It also shows how under-prepared he was, which conveys Chris as being prideful in the fact that he thought he could do it on his own with as little help as possible. As Gallien said, “Alex admitted that the only food he had in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice. His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April still lay buried under the winter snowpack. Alex’s cheap leather hiking boots were neither