Journal 1 Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. New York: Villard, 1996. Print. Journal 2
“The Oregon Trail,” written by Francis Parkman is a description of the experiences traveling into the unknown depths of the American west in 1846. The story is told from the first person point of view of Parkman, a scholar from Boston who embarks on the great expedition of traveling into the west in hopes of studying the lives of the Native Americans. His journey is also one of the first detailed descriptions of the beauty and the bounty of a largely uninhabited North American territory. But one of the most critical elements of the story was Parkman’s encounters and recruitment of members to his band of travelers who ultimately play a major role in the success of the western journey.
In the memoir, “A Long Way Gone,” by Ishmael Beah, the author’s natural imagery reveals his struggle to keep hope alive as he watches his family and country fall apart. Specifically, after walking two straight days without sleeping, Beah claims that, “Even the air seemed to want to attack me and break my neck” (49). Obviously, Beah is beginning to feel as if everything is out to hurt him, as violence is spreading all across his homeland of Sierra Leone. Nature is usually meant to be welcoming, but as Beah is struggling to survive day to day and find food in constant fear of the Rebels, even something like wind can start to feel hostile. Additionally, on the third day of wandering in search of a village, in a forest so thick the sky is barely
In his 1995 essay “The Trouble with Wilderness,” William Cronon declares that “the time has come to rethink wilderness” (69). From the practice of agriculture to masculine frontier fantasies, Cronon argues that Americans have historically defined wilderness as an “island,” separate from their polluted urban industrial homes (69). He traces the idea of wilderness throughout American history, asserting that the idea of untouched, pristine wilderness is a harmful fantasy. By idealizing wilderness from a distance, he argues that people justify the destruction of less sublime landscapes and aggravate environmental conflict.
The perception of wilderness can be problematic. One of the most prominent points that Cronon made in his evaluation is the ideology that wilderness is an illusion to escape reality. This perception can be ambiguous because it segregates humanity from nature, by establishing the idea that wilderness is separate from everyday life. Also, Cronon calls attention to the issue of dividing the land and calling it wilderness. The issue of this isolation is that it disintegrates humans and nature, rather than bringing them more in unity.
n Cheryl Strayed's memoir "Wild," her transformative journey along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) can be viewed as a departure from traditional road trip narratives. While the trail itself may not be analogous to a literal road, it serves as a metaphorical road, enabling Strayed to explore themes of self-discovery, healing, and liberation. Rather than adhering to conventional road trip tropes, "Wild" offers a unique perspective on the transformative power of nature and personal exploration. The trail can be seen as analogous to the road in the sense that it represents a path to self-discovery and personal growth.
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.
Romanticism was a movement during the late 18th century that encouraged imagination, exploration, individualism, and emotion. From it derived Transcendentalism, one of the first movements to originate from America and which bore the first American philosophers. These movements are often present in many pieces of American literature and this is no exception in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild. The historic account retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless, who adopts the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp and takes to the road, only to die of starvation in Alaska. On the surface it appears to be cautionary tale, but Krakauer literally retraces McCandless’ steps, talking to the people who Chris spoke with and even traveling to Chris’ final resting place.
The Wild’s settings are hostile environments, in which
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
But the wild men flourished in the unexplored lands of The Americas. The idea of what it was to be a man changed, to be a man meant to risk your life and recognize yourself within the wilds. Much like Thoreau’s stay at Walden Pond it was a solitary idea. No longer fully about camaraderie found with others; the wilderness became a place to lose ones self and achieve a new
Marvin Henberg, retired president of The College of Idaho, writes “Wilderness, Myth, and American Character” which is about how the wilderness affects Americans and the myths that Americans believe in about wilderness. Emily C. Cook, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rhode Island College, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Yale University of School of Medicine, writes about a study that was done on male adolescents that studied the change in self-evaluation after being in the wilderness. There are many effects that wilderness has on people, and they are all very necessary for humans; we need to keep alive the wilderness that we have left
Emanuel Koo Ms. Lafferty Literature and Composition Red 2 October 5, 2015 Call of the Wild People’s views can drastically change through age and experience. Throughout a person 's life they are much different from when they are young and a baby then when they are an adult. Their views drastically change as time passes andThe novel Call of the Wild follows the story of an dog named Buck that goes from domestic, back to his wild primitive self. Buck’s views and personality can greatly change and differ from experiences in the book where he learns of his more primitive self that he may not have had in the past “lives” or experiences.
When McCandless graduated from college, he found the possibility to go away for a while, “He had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family” (Krakauer 55). McCandless could finally go away looking for a journey full of adventures, but he wasn’t going to five stars hotels or luxurious places. His journey was precarious and wild, that was exactly what he was looking for. Places that were difficult for someone to reach and loneliness was abundant, the only interaction was with nature and savage animals. Happiness engulfed McCandless when backpacking anywhere, it was his joy.
Atwood illustrates the natural world in many of her poems, one including “The Animals in that Country.” Through her traveling experiences, Atwood had developed her long-term emotions and fascination for the Canadian wilderness. Most of her early years were spent in the wilderness of northern Quebec, where her father sought entomological fieldwork. In the poem, Atwood pits civilization against the wilderness and its bold savagery. She creates a metaphor for the contrasts within the basic human personality.
