McKenna Vargas Mr. Cagley ERWC-Period 3 08 December 2015 Module 4: Life on the Road In the biographical book, Into the Wild the author, Jon Krakauer, reveals the journey of the late Chris McCandless. McCandless chose to leave his privileged life for a much more rugged life in the Denali Borough of Alaska. McCandless’s ill-preparedness led to his journey’s end after only 113 days resulting in death. McCandless’s story begs the question, Is life on the road suited for everyone?
Jon Krakauer attempts to understand the inner-workings of a man named Chris McCandless, who goes on an outrageous journey into the Alaskan wilderness, in his book Into The Wild. Krakauer romanticizes McCandless’s reckless venture by telling of his own escapades, however, McCandless’s mission should not be idolized. McCandless had overestimated himself and underestimated the wilderness when he went on his deadly adventure. McCandless went around a large portion of the lower half of North America and survived with little help. He believed because he could survive without provisions in these areas, he could also do so in Alaska.
McCandless was searching for freedom and the chance to truly become an individual. Alaska gave McCandless a place where he could be far away from everything that held him back. One of these was certain human relationships in his life. “You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships.” (Krakauer,42) McCandless did not feel that
In his article “Baked Alaska: Surviving Aniakchak National Monument”, Christopher Solomon argues the importance of taking risks and traveling where few have gone before. Though there might be hardships along the way, the experiences will be worth it. Solomon provides sufficient evidence by sharing his feelings, using statistics, and using literary devices to support his argument. However, his experience is only relatable to those who are daredevils. To the rest of us, this article is more of an informative read about the Alaska Peninsula.
Zoe Engel 6-19-23 Mr. Selfridge Period: 2 Stepping Into the Wilderness The work of nonfiction Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer, tells the true story of Chris McCandless, an adventurous young man, who leaves home to travel around the continent eventually setting foot into the Alaskan wilderness on a journey that becomes fatal. Highlighted throughout this work of nonfiction is the true story of McCandless’s life, along with bits of Krakauer’s personal life as it relates to McCandless’s. Each chapter begins with at least one epigraph that shares common themes with the following chapter. The focus in this paper will be on chapter 14, “The Stikine Ice Cap,” in which Krakauer shares his experience climbing the Devil’s Thumb in Alaska, and the second
He’d spent the last hour of the drive trying to ignore the fear and the worry that had grown intertwining roots in his heart. Fear that no matter what he did, he might not
Danger has always held a certain allure... McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer 182). There was no way to stop him from getting to Alaska, he lived in the Fairbanks city bus 142 for 112 days which is now commemorated in his honor. Most people see McCandless as an idiot who took on challenges he could not handle and dies in the process but from a readers point of view McCandless is a man brave enough to go on a voyage to find himself something most people cannot
Imagine a day where everything changes to something new. The daily routine is unrecognizable and suddenly everything becomes a blur. Remembering last christmas or even the day before seems impossible and all the information disappears. This represents the daily life of people with Alzheimer's disease. In the book, Last Night in the OR by Bud Shaw, the final chapter of the book is “Good Days and Bad.”
In April, 1992 a young man named Chris McCandless walked into the Alaskan bush never to be seen or heard from again. He entered the bush with minimal supplies- a firearm, ammunition, a ten pound bag of rice, a small library, and a few other basic survival items- and confidence in his abilities to survive (Krakauer, 162). Four months later, six hunters found the remains of his decomposing body inside an abandoned bus amidst the thick vegetation of the Alaskan wilderness (Krakauer, 13) . Upon hearing Chris’ story locals and critics promptly labeled him as an “ill-prepared kook”, but were they right? If his critics were correct, then McCandless would not have survived quite as long as he did in complete solitude.
Exploring the United States of America and the nature of it has been a dream to the many adventure seekers throughout the world. Long adventures like this create long-lasting memories and friendships with Mother Nature and the society around it. Chris Mccandless, a newly college graduate, gives up everything including his Family and possessions to fulfill his dream to travel the west and live in the wild of Alaska. Throughout his long journey he creates many strong relationships with the many people he met hitchhiking his way to Alaska. His ultimate goal was to survive in the wild of Alaska with as little supplies needed and without contact to any human being.
The short story “What Happened During the Ice Storm” utilizes two major literary elements; one of which expresses a current social issue. The author, Jim Heynen, employes allegory and imagery to represent charity and self-sacrifice. Imagery is often used in this short story to create a somber tone, for instance “most animals were safe… But not the pheasants” and ”The boys stood still in the icy rain. Their breath came out in slow puffs of steam.”
How could he be alone? He'd never been alone is his life! Or had he? It was a disarming thought, taking him by surprise and then brutally bashing at his heart and leaving him cowering in fear, left only with wisps of his former
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.
In the book, Christopher McCandless rejected the American Dream and sought a more fulfilling experience in the wilderness that is Alaska. His demise from starvation was the result of underestimating the scale of civilization and the uncivilized
“The girl was running. Running for her life, in the hope of finding a safe haven for her and her family. She never looks back, the only indication her father was still behind her was his ragged breathing above her head, forming puffs of air in this cold morning. She suddenly stumbles on a root, but her mother secures her fall with a small wisp of air. They lock hands, all three of them, and continue pushing themselves, desperately trying to find the others they lost on the way.
