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. Firstly, Krakauer uses apostrophes concrete diction to give complete and …show more content…
For example, a major anecdote Krakauer focuses on is from Carine McCandless, Chris’ sister. Krakauer hones in on her initial reaction after hearing the news of her brother’s death. When describing Carine, Krakauer emphasizes that “the differences between the siblings were greater than their similarities” (Krakauer 129), though specifying the importance of their similarities in their “energetic and self-assured” (Krakauer 129) personalities. Through explaining these similarities, Krakauer shows the close relationship the two siblings had together, leading to Carine’s distraught and grief after hearing of her brother’s death. He continues to describe her exact reaction, her “eyes blurred” (Krakauer 130) and “tunnel vision” (Krakauer 130). Krakauer’s descriptions of Carine and use of anecdotes in the novel appeals to the readers’ emotions and compels the readers to sympathize with Carine and the death of Chris
Jon Krakauer had the same experience as McCandless with his family and travel to Alaska, but Krakauer knew more about survival and had company in case of any danger. Krakauer compares, “as a young man, I was unlike Mccandless in many important regard… And I suspect we had a similar intensity, a similar heedlessness, a similar agitation of the soul” (55). Acknowledging McCandless’s background, Chris left society because, in Krakauer’s point of view, of the “agitation of the soul” and the “similar heedless” of society. McCandless didn’t agree with society’s standards that being successful meant having a well paid occupation, especially when McCandless’s parents enforced it onto him. McCandless truly did not want to uphold the wishes of his parents, for Chris to go to college and get high paying career, but it wasn’t what Chris really wanted, so he left all of his conflicts with his parents and his values or “agitation of the soul” to create a new identity as Alex Supertramp and live in the wild. In today’s modern world, humanity lives in an environment where people are controlled and dependent on others. Chris’s father is someone he despises because of his characteristic of being controlling. Walter becomes controlling over Chris, who pressured him into college. As a result, Chris has an “agitation of the soul” to become independent, and a “heedlessness” for society and had an “intensity” for
In his novel, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer establishes young Christopher McCandless as a heroic and brave figure. Krakauer supports his portrayal of Chris by utilizing a narrative form and focusing on the relatable, human aspects of Chris, and by contrasting his story with the cautionary tales that are scattered throughout the history of the Alaskan wilderness. The author’s purpose is to promote his own theories and opinions on the boy’s life and death in order to establish what he believes to be the truth. The author writes in a fond tone for aspiring wilderness explorers and their critics.
Towards the middle of chapter two, Krakauer incorporates a vivid sense of imagery when describing the dead body of Chris McCandless. He describes in detail how, “The remains were so badly decomposed that it was impossible to determine exactly when McCandless had died, but the coroner could find no sign of massive internal injuries or broken bones. Virtually no subcutaneous fat remained on the body, and the muscles had withered significantly in the days or weeks prior to death” (Pages 13-14 Krakauer). This usage of imagery helps convey the significant decay in McCandless’ body, and the true sense of fear of the people. Through this description, Krakauer is able
In Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging and the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakauer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakauer protrays McCandless as a young man who is reckless, selfish, and arrogant, but at the same time, intelligent, determined, independent, and charismatic. Along with the irony that occurs in nature, these characteristics are the several factors that contribute to McCandless death.
Through this technique, Krakauer helps to develop Chris’s personality and t conveys the author’s purpose of tell McCandless’s story.
In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can
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.
The day is unlike any other. The mail has come and lying at the bottom of the stack is the favored Outside magazine. The headline reads, “Exclusive Report: Lost in the Wild.” The cover speaks of a twenty four year old boy who “walked off into America’s Last Frontier hoping to make sense of his life.” The monotony of the ordinary day has now vanished from thought as Jon Krakauer’s captivating article runs through the mind like gasoline to an engine. The article is not soon forgotten, and the book Into the Wild is happened upon three years later. The book relates the full story of Christopher Johnson McCandless and how he left his family and friends after graduating college in order to find himself. Krakauer based the book off of his article
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, describes the adventure of Christopher McCandless, a young man that ventured into the wilderness of Alaska hoping to find himself and the meaning of life. He undergoes his dangerous journey because he was persuade by of writers like Henry D. Thoreau, who believe it is was best to get farther away from the mainstreams of life. McCandless’ wild adventure was supposed to lead him towards personal growth but instead resulted in his death caused by his unpreparedness towards the atrocity nature.
Much of the human race live their lives in accordance to what society sees as acceptable, but Christopher McCandless disregards societal norms in the novel Into the Wild. Within the novel, Jon Krakauer explores the story of Christopher McCandless’s journey to Alaska and investigates the events leading up to his death. Krakauer tells the story concerning McCandless’s life in a fashion that reveals a truth about nonconformity. Krakauer sends a message to common readers that nonconformity is not possible and the only way to survive the world we live in is to conform to our surroundings. Jon Krakauer express’s his ideals on nonconformity within Into the Wild through his non-chronological organizational structure, the use of logical reasoning,
Jon Krakauer, fascinated by a young man in April 1992 who hitchhiked to Alaska and lived alone in the wild for four months before his decomposed body was discovered, writes the story of Christopher McCandless, in his national bestseller: Into the Wild. McCandless was always a unique and intelligent boy who saw the world differently. Into the Wild explores all aspects of McCandless’s life in order to better understand the reason why a smart, social boy, from an upper class family would put himself in extraordinary peril by living off the land in the Alaskan Bush. McCandless represents the true tragic hero that Aristotle defined. Krakauer depicts McCandless as a tragic hero by detailing his unique and perhaps flawed views on society,
Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he
Although Chris McCandless’ controlling and toxic family environment was a major motive for his escape, his deep-seated internal battle was simply an irresistible impulse for discovery and liberty. Chris’ journey shows a new level of freedom; what true independence holds. He set out into nature alone without support of family or friends, searching for a path unlike those of most, and running from a barred cage of conventional living. Unsatisfied and somewhat angry with himself and his life of abundance in money, opportunity, and security, his preceding experiences and determined character lead him to an inevitable flee into no-mans land. Throughout the novel, Krakauer wants the reader to understand that there is more to Chris than his habit of criticising authority and defying society’s pressures. He needed more from himself, and more from life. He wasn’t an ordinary man, therefore could not live with an ordinary life. Krakauer demonstrates this by creating a complex persona for Chris that draws you in from the beginning.
Krakauer continues to use emotions through different language choices reflective in varieties of figures of speech to connect his experiences towards his audience, through his inclusion of guilt. Krakauer heavily focuses on the emotional appeal towards survivor's guilt and reflecting this emotional appeal towards his audience in his linguistic choices. The heavy guilt and wondering are directed towards the unknown of Andy Harris, haunting Krakauer continuously. Krakauer uses guilt to say, “My actions - or failures to act - played a direct role in the death of Andy Harris” (283). Krakauer emphasizes pauses to admit to the guilt he feels for not understanding what happened to Andy, as well as to think about the interactions he had to comprehend why the death has occurred. The use of figures of speech through pauses and emphasizing his “failures to act” shows how Krakauer is trying to understand the death of a significant figure in his life. The uncertainty of views when tracing his steps on how Harris’s death results from the small blame upon only Krakauer, rather than on the other dangerous factors. He continues to affirm his guilt, “...the stain this has left on my psyche is not the sort of thing that washes off after a few months of grief and guilt-ridden
Krakauer's rather informal yet factual tone enables him to relay the important details of McCandless's adventure while keeping the readers engaged in the story. Krakauer frequently inserts his own thoughts into the story, but his