Comparing Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer And Henry David Thoreau

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.

The second epigraph included in this chapter was from” Solitude: A Return to the Self” by Anthony Storr. In the paragraph, it explains how people choose live different lives and the various reasons why people might want to live an isolated life, “It is true that many creative people fail to make mature personal relationships, and some are extremely isolated”. McCandless had a rocky relationship with his parents and felt as if his parents never understood what he wanted and judged his choices, “Shortly before he disappeared, Chris complained to Carine that their parents’ behavior was so irrational, so oppressive, disrespectful and insulting that I finally passed my breaking point”. Due to this, he felt that leaving his family and being isolated behind was the only solution to his troubles at home. This led to him to be separated from others and be more dependent on himself. This epigraph connects with

McCandless sought out on his journey because of his love and passion for nature. He set out to experience life on life’s term, not the terms he felt that were being hypocritically dictated for him.

facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to

To Henry David Thoreau, nature serves as a reminder to take a break from the fast paced style of life. Thoreau is a transcendentalist writer who isolated himself from society to live a life at his own pace. The title of his work, Where I Lived and What I Lived For, presents the purpose of his writing. Thoreau expresses where he resided and his reasoning for living there. He successfully achieves his purpose through the use of aphorisms and paradox. He begins his essay with direct and simple vocabulary that clearly states his purpose. He “went to the woods” in order “to front only the essential facts of life”. His destination and intentions are clear. His diction represent his way of thought where details are not needed. His use of aphorisms

He has deeper thoughts. Like Emerson, Thoreau also wanted to live a simple life, in order to find deeper meaning in life.

The first key value of transcendentalism is individualism. Which is the idea of free-thought and self-reliance. It inspires followers to have free thought and live their life based on their own values and not society’s. McCandless exhibits the trait of individualism by creating a whole new

When McCandless was at the bus in the middle of the Alaskan bush he was unprepared. He didn’t bring a map, sufficient clothing, or enough food to sustain him. He wanted to live off the land and be dependent only on himself, but would not compromise the land to protect himself. This ended up costing him his life, because he made ignorant decisions. After years of traveling he should have known better. He gave up and made strangely little effort. His predicament was strange because there were so many resources around him that could have saved his life, but didn’t find them or take advantage of them.

This quote is significant is because it shines some light on why McCandless sought after a new life. His main goal was to find peace and meaning in life. He sought a life where he only has himself to worry after and he is not fond with the idea that his life is a burden to anyone. Like several other individuals in real life, he longs for a search that can answer his questions about life so that he could be at peace with himself.

As the reader begins to understand McCandless’s state of mind more and get to know his character more, they find him to be a very spiritual, in the sense of his soul, and intelligent, for the most part, young man on an adventure. The author of Into The Wild, knowing that Chris McCandless had the same values, quoted Thoreau when he said “All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them” (Krakauer 47). Thoreau believed that nature was unappreciated and people did not know what they truly had. This mindset was very similar to Chris McCandless mindset and the themes within the book. Chris retreated to the wild and wanted to escape the confines of not only his parents but society as well. Furthermore, Into the Wild is very similar to Thoreau’s teachings because it focuses on knowing ones true self and giving up the other parts of life for it. The author, Jon Krakauer, again quotes Thoreau when he says ”I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth” (Krakauer 142). Instead of having love, human connection, money, and popularity, the author focuses on only needing the truths of the world and of one’s own mind and soul. Therefore, Thoreau’s teachings and values are very similar to the themes and values found in Into The

Henry David Thoreau was a “strange, gentle, fanatic, selfish, [dreaming], [stubborn individualist],” as well as a Harvard graduate at the top of his class ("26f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy”). After trying out several different

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Jon Krakauer, and Michael Donovan all share transcendental beliefs. One mutual theme displayed by the four authors is self-reliance. Self-reliance is a theme central to the heart of the transcendentalist movement. Whether it be Self-Reliance by Emerson, Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Into the Wild by Krakauer, or “It’s All-On-Me” by Donovan the theme of self-reliance is abundant throughout the text and is evident in the foundation of their beliefs.

Thoreau wished to open the minds of many revealing the importance of nature “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls on the rails” (Thoreau II). In the quote, Thoreau discusses how he learned to live deliberately in nature encouraging other members of society to do the same. He has learned that it can lead to harmonization with oneself, to

“I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, when I came to die, and discover that I had not live.” Thoreau’s mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, inspired Thoreau to experiment living in the woods. He went to live in the woods temporarily at Walden Pond to meditate. He needed the opportunity to illustrate all the privileges of less complex living. He compares a farmer on the farm to a prisoner in chains. He calls it working harder than necessary for subsistence that shackles people. Thoreau believes in lessening one’s needs. Thoreau suggests that living in the woods is less work, and it is less expensive. Thoreau identifies this type of living as freedom and uncommitted. He felt so free that he decided not to pay his taxes and went to jail for a day.

Thoreau went to the woods to live pleasantly and simply, he welcomed visitors, and he had many. While Thoreau did find himself to be much wiser than anyone else he had encountered, he was not conceited about it, and did not give up on the world because of it, as Des Esseintes did. Thoreau was intrigued by people, whether they were intelligent, ignorant, wise, or foolish; and spoke to them so that he may gather their thoughts and apply them to his