A Walk In The Woods Analysis

Both Henry David Thoreau and Christopher McCandless ventured out into the woods to get away from the dreariness of everyday society and to find themselves. Only one lived to tell the tale. What was the fatal flaw of the man who didn’t continue on? The only way to find this is to analyze the differences and similarities between the two. McCandless, while embracing some of the same values as Thoreau, was ultimately a different man. While they led very contrasting lives in very distant times, both McCandless and Thoreau sought a type of freedom that can only be achieved when immersed in nature. Thoreau’s entitlement and cozy cabin in the woods is a far cry from McCandless’s constant struggle during his expedition, however, certain parallels

“Even staid, prissy Thoreau, who famously declared that it was enough to have “traveled a good deal in concord” felt compelled to visit the more fearsome wilds of nineteenth- century Maine and climb Mt. Katahdin. His ascent of the peak’s “savage and awful, though beautiful” ramparts shocked and frightened him, but it also induced a giddy sort of awe. The disquietude he felt on Katahdin’s granite heights inspired some of his most powerful writing and profoundly colored the way he thought thereafter about the earth in its coarse, undomesticated state. Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the inner country of his own soul. He soon discovered, however,

The mountains are a beautiful adventure. As you walk up the incline, trees overhang, animals run wild, and rivers roar. All of these are things that keep me coming back to hike. On my most recent hike, while it may have been 100 degrees back home, where I was it was a chilling 40 degrees. As we walked around ten miles up and over the mountain, I took many breaks to catch my breath and take in the majestic scenery. There are also the snow skiing vacations. While you can’t see anything besides snow and trees, the adventure of cruising down the slopes is full of adrenalin. The mountains have always signified an adventure for me. Just like the mountains, life is a beautiful adventure. I do not know yet what adventures are in store for my life, but I look forward to them. I strive to see the beauty in everything.

The gripping tale of a young man who leaves all that he has and goes to live amidst the natural world, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer showcases the two years Christopher McCandless had spent journeying throughout the United States before his unfortunate death. After graduating from Emory University in 1990, McCandless disconnected with all of his past relations and abandoned the majority of his possessions. McCandless’ decisions either seem extremely unwise or extremely courageous. He had a comfortable life with few worries yet he still chose to toss it all away and venture into unknown territories. What many wonder is why he would do such an irrational thing. Maybe, McCandless’ was simply trying to run away from his perception of reality.

Many great writers have a way of connecting to their audience and influence the way we analyze their writing strategies. Cheryl Strayed created a biography, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, about her life changing experience that allows us the opportunity to apply aspects of a rhetorical analysis to her writing. Cheryl’s memory of her journey along the Pacific Crest Trail, that extends over 1,000 miles from Mexico to Canada, provides us with explicit details and evidence that tie into her motives and conditions for writing and her intended audience. Cheryl also makes appeals to her knowledge, trustworthiness, and emotions that help us illustrate her insights as she traveled along the trail.

Throughout history, people encounter a stage in their lives where they feel the necessity to assert their independence and challenge their abilities and self-worth. In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the author shares his understanding and kinship with the main character, Chris McCandless, a young man who thrusts himself into a life of solitude and a harsh environment during his search for meaning to his life. Krakauer depicts himself and McCandless as modern day transcendentalists with an abundance of competency, resourcefulness and skills as naturalists. Although McCandless chose to experience a life of solitude and face the hazards that nature presents, his lack of preparedness prevented him from completing his endeavor successfully.

There was no pavement for his dog to follow. The trail is marked only by small patches of white paint on trees, rocks, or occasional posts. No signs were in Braille, so Bill Irwin had to run his hands over their etched letters to read them. Many of the hundreds of footbridges were only twelve inches wide or less and Irwin had to cross them on his hands and knees. The trail often wound its way along steep cliffs and mountainsides. He had to contend with the continual unevenness of the trail’s rocky surface, which tore up his boots and twisted his ankles. And Bill Irwin fell literally thousands of times – fracturing several ribs on one occasion. There were no inspiring vistas that would reward all those uphill climbs. He made the journey in perpetual darkness. And although the Appalachian Trail Conference has published dozens of detailed topographical maps of the trail, they were all useless to this man who couldn’t see. How, then, could he find his

Taking on a journey stretching well over 2,100 miles, covering fourteen states (from Maine to Georgia) by foot is no simple stroll where at the end of the day a comfortable bed and hot meal would await you. Instead, hiking the Appalachian Trail can be an endless battle with all the elements of mother nature: whereas in one state spring would have sprung already with wildflowers dressing the forest floors and insects buzzing through crisp air, on other parts of the trail it [the weather conditions] would be smothering heat, but meanwhile a few states north the rain would fall endlessly with gusts of cold wind, and snow would blanket the pathways of the trail and more than likely blizzards

In the first passage of Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction novel, he argues that Christopher McCandless was thought to be an avid survivor of all terrain. In his two year journey, McCandless learns to live off  “wild plants,” experiencing his “adventurous spirit” across North America. He encounters many people from Mexico to South Dakota, who set a trend of wonderment in what a “twenty-four-year-old vagabond” could be doing traveling the country with nothing but a backpack. His “figure out all on his own” attitude suited his “nomadic” life well. The “radical” lifestyle provides McCandless with a sense of newly found “solitude” until his unfortunate “great Alaskan odyssey,” that ultimately ends his life.

Though adventures in nature, and life, include fear and loneliness, having confidence is the true key to survival. During Wild, and A Walk in the Woods, Cheryl Strayed and Bill Bryson recall the experience of their journey of self discovery and realization in the wilderness by using significant contrast and, powerful pathos.

The story of a young man’s journey, told through interviews and acquired letters and journal entries, is interpreted and analyzed by Jon Krakauer in his novel Into the Wild. Chris McCandless, the combatant of his own story, embarks on an adventure around America after graduating from Emory University. When McCandless finds himself in the Alaskan wilderness with only a rifle, ten pounds of rice, a camera, and a few extra books and journals, he dies of starvation after a mere four months. In the novel, Krakauer successfully uses concrete diction to create complex sentences, apostrophes, and anecdotes to analyze the few interactions McCandless has leading up to his death and to drive the reader to question the role of an individual in society and if Chris McCandless deserves his eventual death.

The scenes journey along the Appalachian Trail captures the true magnificence and greatness of the eastern U.S. of wilderness. Starting in the Deep South at the foothills of the smoky mountains, this journey overwhelms one with southern beauty while also making one experience the South’s legendary simplicity and retreat from the urban gridlock of modern society. The Appalachian Trail’s scenery attracts many people from all over the world to witness it for them. Causing many people to come with their families and possibly volunteer.

Jon Krakauer is an American mountaineer before a writer. His passion for literature arose indirectly from a series of analyses he wrote for magazines regarding his daring exploits. Many of his works reflect his multiplex feelings regarding the topic of exploration and the dangers associated with such activities, as seen in the effects of Christopher McCandless’ futile expedition. Most of his pieces entail details regarding the realities of mountaineering that defy the common misconceptions and reveries that young and ignorant minds associate with nature. Thus, with his experience driving his work, Krakauer establishes himself as a credible source that brings new insight, tenacity, and style to the art of journalism.

I feel individuality is more important. You know who you can trust and who will be there for you. Most of the time you will be there for yourself and help yourself. It is also a good way to figure things out because then you wont need to be dependant on other people and need help all the time. You will also be able to surpass people if they are holding yourself back alone.

Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” is a book that epitomizes the struggles that one needs to go through in order to better themselves. This is evident with the main characters. They are two middle aged men named Bryson, a man who resideds in New Hampshire and Katz, Bryson’s overweight alcoholic college friend from Iowa. When he thought of someone to accompany him, a grumpy college friend named Katz came to mind. As they started off, Bryson started off with the goal that the trail was only being hiked as a way to see the grand nation of America, but it lead to so much more as it uncovered many important topics. This is true because the trail was filled with adventure in discovering America’s heartland and realizing their own personal