Summary Of Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

One “stakeholder” in the book Into The Wild is Ron Franz who crossed paths with Chris in his home state of California. He was a former soldier stationed in Okinawa and he had a son and a wife. His son was around Chris’s age and Franz recalled that he was soon to finish medical school when he and Franz’s wife were killed by a drunk driver. Franz felt that Chris was like his son who had died. Franz was affected positively and felt some of the hole left by his son’s death become filled while he spent time with Chris. When Chris left it made him depressed, until he received a letter from him saying he should live out his life boldly doing things he had never done. Surprisingly he took this advice and stayed near where Chris’s camp had been

Krakauer was instead the author and detective for Into The Wild interviewing each person Chris had crossed paths with and left an impact. This long process gave Krakauer a new insight into why Chris had gone to Alaska. In the end ,although not living, Chris affected Krakauer by giving him a new outlook on the transcendentalist way of life and why it was so appealing to him. Krakauer felt closer to Chris than many of those that actually crossed his path. He had a similar experience when he was younger going out on his own and scaling the “Devils Thumb” in Alaska. He understood why Chris went and was able to sympathize with him. Chris and his story gave Krakauer flashbacks and allowed him to almost relive his journeys that he had taken as a young

He had been pure in his reporting straying very few times from the stories of those who crossed Chris. The book therefore has remained very neutral. But when he shifts at fourteen it still holds its same honesty as his story allows himself and the reader to better relate to Chris and his story. The shift was made, telling how his own story was similar to Chris’s story. He makes this shift so that the reader, instead, of alienating Chris accepts him and sees how his story may have unfolded had he planned a little better. Krakauer explained that he would do this purely to help the reader better understand Chris and his reason for going to Alaska even if he ended up never returning