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Chris Mccandless

Decent Essays

Epigraphs serve to lead into the core of the chapter and text, as well as connect the reader's experiences to the text. John Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, craftily selects these epigraphs, and uses techniques of fiction to create an appealing story and characterize Chris McCandless as a latter-day transcendentalist, counterculture rebel, and hero. By doing so, Krakauer explains and defends Mccandless’ actions from criticism, therefore transforming a man who some think of as suicidal into a character whose story is exceptional. Krakauer's use of Mccandless’ highlighted portion from Henry David Thoreau's’ Walden as an epigraph not only draws parallels to Mccandless’ life, but rather explains Mccandless’ condemnation of materialism and his rejection of the opulence built around his father's lies. …show more content…

Mccandless’ views aligned perfectly with the views of Henry David Thoreau in Walden, discussing his repudiation of material possession and his desire to achieve a higher spiritual purpose than to increase his bank account. The significant passage highlighted by Mccandless further explains Chris’ journey to find truth outside of societal conformity and in the wild, by living off the land rather than the artificial wealth built around lies. Moreover, this passage addresses the relationship Mccandless had with his parents, illustrating the immense betrayal felt by Mccandless when he discovered that his father lived as a bigamist for years and the yearning for truth to explain all the lies he had been

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