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Role Of Materialism In Into The Wild

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Being materialistic isn’t such a bad thing, but some people take it to the extreme by either wanting too many things or having less than enough to survive. In the book “Into the Wild” Chris McCandless does not feel that materialism is important. When Chris tries to be less materialistic he takes it to the extreme and tries to live off of the wilderness with only a 10 lb bag of rice and a .22 caliber rifle. In the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakaur, Chris McCandless is very anti-materialistic and gives away all of his things, proving that having a lot of possessions was not something he valued. Materialism is a big issue for Chris. Chris feels like materialism is not needed that we should value the things we have and give to the less fortunate.
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Although, Chris took action into going to the wild very quickly without thorough thinking of the consequences that could have come across his way he did have a very good time exploring the wild and met amazing people along the way that made him appreciate society in the long run. Chris had the opportunity to experience a different life other than the one he had. Unfortunately, he died because of the quick decision he made on going into the wild and not being prepared for it. Chris had a good life as a wealthy man, but he never enjoyed it. McCandless was very primitive and never bragged about his wealthiness.

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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.

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Journal 1 Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Villard, 1996. Print. Journal 2

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During the college years, Chris had gradually become disenchanted with his own well-off lifestyle and turned himself into an avid follower of Tolstoy’s asceticism, “In college McCandless began emulating Tolstoy’s asceticism and moral rigor to a degree that first astonished, and then alarmed, those who were close to him” (Krakauer, Author’s Note ). The reason why Chris hooked on asceticism was largely due to Chris’s changed perception of the world that “McCandless took life’s inequities to heart” (Krakauer 113), and “More and more of the classes he took addressed such pressing social issues as racism and world hunger and inequities in the distribution of wealth” (Krakauer 123) only reinforced his stances on the issue of social inequities. Seemingly, Chris considered practicing asceticism: living a frugal, abstinent, and austere life, as his expression of disapproving the unjust world. Subsequently, the asceticism which helped transform Chris into a totally spiritual person also made him a single-minded person with greater intransigence.

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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.

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Chris McCandless was someone who didn’t believe in having money, and items that were materialistic. He was considered an idealist because he didn’t put judgement on people based on how they look, he did it based on his personal values. In the author’s note Krakauer also believed Chris was a “intense young man and possessed a streak of stubborn idealism that did not mesh readily with modern existence”. After getting your degree in college, and your parents buying you a new car you don’t think to just throw it all away to go live in the wild on your own, but that’s exactly what Chris did. Items that would seem extremely important to everyone one else in society didn’t matter to Chris, because it wasn’t a necessity for him.

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The majority of people that hear or read the story of McCandless overlook the fact that Chris could be, in fact, selfless even when it didn’t benefit him. Even when he must go without. Chris McCandless wanted to have an adventure and learn what it’s like to be away from the conforming ways of society. He wanted to escape the evils of his life and the world. He never meant to hurt anyone with his actions; even though his father suggested this.

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Chris keep saying that he does not want all those “things” from his parents. Obviously, Chris does not care much about material wealth and therefore he is too sick and tired of the society and his surrounding which

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Most people look down upon Chris’s lifestyle and find it foolish, although this lifestyle has its flaws in the long term, this way of life carries a sense of beauty and nonconformity that most people will never understand. This lifestyle is not only full of beautiful and adventure but it gives life experiences that are worth more than money could buy. When Jon asked about Chris to one of his former co workers she replied with, “When he talked, he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that. We all thought he was missing a few screws” (40 Krakauer). Although Chris may come off as “missing a few screws” he was actually very intelligent

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Christopher McCandless, whose life and journey are the main ideas of the novel “Into the Wild”, was about an adolescent who, upon graduating from Emory College, decided to journey off into the Alaskan wilderness. He had given away his savings of $25,000 and changed his name to Alex Supertramp. His voyage to Alaska took him two years during which he traveled all across the country doing anomalous jobs and making friends. He inevitably made it to Alaska were he entered the wilderness with little more than a few books, a sleeping bag and a ten pound bag of rice. A couple months after his first day in the wild, his body was found in an abandoned bus.

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Anyone can have a story in their life and can turn it into a book. Jon Krakauer wrote Into the Wild on what happened to Christopher McCandless and turned his story into a novel. Jon Krakauer´s structure his novel to let the reader have their own opinions on Christopher McCandless by stating the book is on his bias viewpoint, putting it in non-chronological order, and wrote about his own background life story, which is all important to strengthen Krakauer 's motive of writing his book. Into the Wild, focuses on the young individual named Christopher McCandless who hitchhiked to Alaska. Along the way, in his journey, he met new people and traveled in many places.

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Chris also knows money makes people cautious which is why he doesn 't need it. Chris burns all of his money and gives some to charity because he thinks money and power are an

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Into the Wild portrays freedom in a sense that Christopher McCandless wants to venture out into the world, even though he had it all. Chris changes his way of life as he gives all of his personal items away as well as; $25,000 from his bank account, his car, and eventually his life. Reasons being that he leaves and does this, is due to the fact that he wants to be on his own and does not want people to depend on him as well as him having the feeling of having to require the obligations of the people around him. Chris had his next two years of college already paid for him by his family. Chris then goes on to tell his parents “I think I’m going to disappear for a while.”

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It should not be about buying a house, car, boat, etc. Why materialism made a sudden leap in this era, I would think the media has something to do with that. It’s understandable to work up to those additions, but they should not just be the “goal” that one works up for! Somewhere along the way, the pursuit of pleasure started taking hold of the dream. Life should not be shallow.

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“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.

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