Expository Essay On Into The Wild

Throughout his adolescent to young adult years it was very clear that Chris had an attachment to the wild. In chapter 11, as Walt reminisces about Chris and their family camp trips he reflects, “‘Chris loved those trips, the longer the better . . .’”(108). Even at a very young age, Chris had a fascination about living within

The Short story, ‘To Build a Fire’ by Jack London, published in 1908, is an archetypal naturalist tale regarding a man who travels alone through the unforgiving Yukon in Winter, before ultimately falling victim to the harsh environment. The story portrays the issues in being unaware of the power of nature and portrays a strong naturalist, In the very beginning of the story, his indifference to the forces of nature is evident through London’s vivid imagery of the uninhabited environment and the man’s nonchalant tone imitated through the neutral diction present. Furthermore, the quote “The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances,” explicitly foreshadows that an issue will come of his indifference

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.

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

Not only did Chris McCandless sacrifice so much for the future that he wanted, but he remained focus on his goal and he never ever regretted a minute of it. Even close to his death he was always smiling in the pictures he took and he never looked for a way out. He came into the wild and learned to be one with it. He respected it and learned from it all while staying at his peak of happiness. Chris McCandless’ did not necessarily have a bad life, but it was clear that he was not always happy. When he was truly happiest, he was alone. His disapproval of modern day society is evident throughout the book; “I told him ‘Man, you gotta have money to get along in this world’ but he wouldn’t take it” (46). He realized he needed to be separated from these people and live on his own. He decided to change his course for the future into an isolated lifestyle all without notice to the people that loved him. He was set up for a great life, but he ended it all to follow his dreams and fulfill his purpose. Not

Nature is truth at its purest form of life: cruel, ruthless and impartial. Dubious about the utopian society we live in, Mccandless vies to find the world’s underlying truth in his Odyssey. Some of us want to be as courageous as Mccandless and leave behind everything for the sole purpose of finding the truth, but can not bring ourselves to do so because of our attachment to material things. Mccandless wants to understand human nature and nature itself, to do that, he rids himself of all attachments and travels to the places where he knows nature would be at its peak. In the book Walden mentioned throughout the story, Thoreau reveals: “Nature was here something savage and awful, though beautiful. I looked with awe at the ground I trod on, to see what the Powers had made there… Night” (Thoreau 172).

To start off, Chris McCandless followed the writings of “Jack London”. Chris read the book “To build a Fire” from Jack London (Pg.51). The book Chris McCandless read was about a man that went to a cold and snowy area. Much like McCandless did but instead the man in the book “To build a Fire” lived through the experience and the cold did not bother him.

One reason I believe Chris’s adventure was ludicrous is because he left originally in part to get away from his family due to ongoing conflicts. Conflicts between family members is a natural process within a family and certainly is resolvable with attention and problem-solving the issue. In McCandless’s situation specifically, he developed anger most directly related to his father’s adultery from his past. As Krakauer writes, “Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his

Chris went into the wild because he wanted to escape his past and because of his general hatred towards prejudice against society, while Thoreau was more positively motivated to go to the wilderness. His motivation to go to the woods was negative because he was running away from something. Although his friends and family described him as very independent and motivated to go against everything he was taught, his real motivation was because of his family struggles. Chris’s father, Walt, never fully divorced his ex-wife, Marcia, and he still had relations with her despite being married to Billie. When Billie found out, she was very hurt, and so were Walt and Marcia. However, to make amends, Walt finalized the divorce with Marcia. They resolved the problem and moved on. When Chris unearthed this truth, he was unbelievably upset, but he didn’t address it directly. Instead, he waited years to talk about it, occasionally shunning his parents and judging them behind their backs. Chris was very self righteous, and he took every opportunity to denounce his father even though the issue of the divorce had been resolved. He expressed his anger in a very passive way, and because he never found real closure, his anger accumulated. He decided to release his anger indirectly. This is why he took classes on racial inequality, and why he was so mad about poverty in the United States. His outrage

McCandless went into the wild to get the feeling of being away from modern society and because he didn’t like how he received things from other people. He felt his family was just buying him in and that he needed to get out before it got worse. When he was riding a letter to his sister Carine, he stated that, “I’m going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them in the future because they will think they have bought my respect” (21). This is because he feels that his parents try to hard to control his life and giving him something that would benefit him in the future is them trying to get his respect. Although, accepting the things gifted to him would probably be the best thing possible for him because he can use those or sell them if he is in need of money, but he already gave away most of his things that would've helped him out in the bush; such as a gun or money to buy gear. Furthermore, in chapter three, it explains when Chris ran away stating, “By the beginning of August 1990, Chris’s parents had heard nothing from their son since they’d received his grades in the mail, so they decided to drive down to Atlanta for a visit. When they arrived at his apartment, it was empty and a “for rent” sign was taped to the window” (22). With no warning, no note, and no word of telling anyone, Chris left everything behind. He didn’t want his parents to

Buck was now one with the wild. His reminiscence of John Thornton rushed through his mind when he fixed his gaze upon the brilliance of the Yeehats’ crackling fire. The thirst for vengeance bubbled in the pits of his stomach when he grimaced at the natives through the trees. He had very few sentiments left for John Thornton, but the fire always managed to flood his thoughts with the remembrance of John’s affectionate visage.

Chris McCandless, from Into the Wild, is a brave man who left his past life behind and set out on an adventure across the United states of America (the states). To understand Chris, an individual has to realize “the grip wilderness has on the American imagination,” and “the allure high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mind,” like Chris’s. Kirsten, from Station Eleven, is similar to Chris in that she too is brave and has left her past behind, although moving on had been forced upon her by the Georgian Flu. Both Kirsten and Chris are self sufficient, independent individuals who fend for themselves to survive. These two characters also appreciate the beauty of the nature around them. For Chris this is easy because he’s surrounded

The dogs are taken to a camp, where Hal's sister and Charles' wife, Mercedes load up the sled with pots, pans, clothes, and tents. The sled is so heavy that the dogs cannot pull it. Though town's folk warn against carrying such weight, Hal proceeds, attempting to spur the dogs forward with his whip. Mercedes pleads with the dogs to run. One onlooker recommends that they break their sled's runners out of the ice. This works, but when the sled slides down a steep slope half the load tumbles off into the snow. Buck leads his team onward, running away from the scene.

Nothing touches Into The Wild... but this was pretty damn great and I'm just happy to see more stories told like this, no matter how similar. It's important. Our society is aching for release and sometimes the only escapism for me (and many) is witnessing these brave souls. The fear in us all keeps us from acting upon instinct as these beautiful creatures have broken free from the "false security" that binds us, the monotony, the cloistered sadness of four walls and media obsession which is just blinding and mind-numbing. Anyway I'll end my rant I'm just speaking into the void here, but maybe someone's listening and nodding to these words. Just to note, another film coming out called "Tracks" about a young woman who trekked across the Australian

Throughout our lives, we experience different situations,some that can be positive or negative, but consequently help build who we are. Sometimes it's harder for others to find themselves, which leads them to go out of their comfort zone and discover new things that will truly make them happy,this is reflected on the life of Christopher McCandless in the film Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn and the book written by Jon Krakauer. As Chris McCandless way of finding himself, he embarked on a journey into the Alaskan wilderness. Jon Krakauer refers to Chris McCandless as being some sort of pilgrim and I agree with his statement because Chris was rebellious, ambitious and an intelligent person.