Into the Wild Reaction Paper

I have never read any of Jon Krakauer’s books before and this was the first time I have heard of the author. At first, my intentions was to try to read endless amounts of book report and summaries online. After reading the summaries and reviews, I felt that it didn’t do the book justice. I felt an obligation to reading the book, after reading a couple random pages from the book, I started to love it. After examining the book, by reading the summary on the back, a few pages in the beginning of the book, and lastly made a commitment to reading the book.

In the wilderness of Alaska, temperatures can drop down to thirty degrees below zero. Christopher McCandless lived in these conditions for four months after traveling through North America for almost two years. It can be seen in the novel, Into the Wild, that during his journey he had many brushes with death and burned bridges with people who deeply cared for him. For those reasons and many more, people assert Chris McCandless was unprepared, careless, and selfish on his personal journey across the United States, culminating in his death in Alaska.

One thing he said was “But I believe we were similarly affected by the skewed relationships we had with our fathers. And I suspect we had a similar intensity, a similar heedlessness, a similar agitation of the soul.” Him and Chris had similar experiences with their harsh fathers, they also shared the same hatred of conformity and society. Krakauer really does understand McCandless better than anyone else could because of all these things. You may not believe that Chris was courageous or intellectual, but it’s hard to deny the relationship between him and Krakauer.

McCandless went into the Alaskan wild carrying only a .22 caliber rifle, a ten pound pack of rice, some necessary tools and utensils and a pair of boots. He underestimated the Alaskan

Chris McCandless was just a victim of his own obsession. The novel "Into The Wild" written by John Krakauer revealed the life of a young bright man named Chris McCandless who turned up dead in Alaska in summer 1992. In the novel, John Krakauer approached carefully McCandless's life without putting too much authorial judgment to the readers. Although Chris McCandless remained an elusive figure throughout the novel, I can see Chris McCandless as a dreamy young idealist who tries to follow his dream but failed because of his innocent mistake which prove to be fatal and irreversible. Still, Chris McCandless's courage and passion was something that we should all be proud of.

Chris McCandless thought that he was prepared for his Alaskan odyssey. It turned out he was very ill prepared which is what caused his death. He did not pack enough food because he compared the amount of food he would need to his southern adventures. He also didn’t have the

Surviving in Alaska is no simple task. You are constantly putting your life in danger. Living of the and is no vacation. Christopher McCandless was not an exception to these facts. In the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, the protagonist Christopher McCandless dies due to his inexperience surviving in climates like Alaska. What happened to him could have been prevented. First of all, Chris would have had a better chance at survival if he was more prepared to live in Alaska. Secondly, Chris made many mistakes that led to his death that could have be less severe if he knew what to do. Finally, Chris was not the only one that made mistakes that cost them their lives.

In the brighter spectrum of Mr. Chris McCandless, is his deep and intellectual personality, shining through on most every occasion with cynical value or an interesting opinion every now and then. In Chris’s deep scholarly thought he decides to give up many things for his own self righteousness in attemp to make himself free of any evil or distraction as well as anything that may hold him down. As a younger boy in high school he proved his good Samaritan self by spending weekends taking to the the streets, spending nights with prostitutes, the homeless, and the addicts, feeding them and experiencing a little of what they felt. As I mentioned before he gave up what he thought would ruin his dreams and soil his life, he rid his life of luxury and wealth along with long-term relationships with people. As one of the things that he had apparently given up was the desire of sex and all of it’s evils, and proclaimed that his need was much to great for something so petty. Truly I believe traveling as a child with his family engineered a mind set within Chris that made him feel as if familiarity was just a weight holding him down from the flight toward his dreams. He also thought that being lost in such a superficial and trivial society could help no one

In 1992, when Chris McCandless abandoned modern society and fled to Alaska to find himself and, in the long run, lose his life, Americans from all over saw his death as a tragic downfall, and his story as a relatable and moving tale of a young man simply trying to make a difference. On the other hand, others looked at his journey to be an inevitable suicide-trip, considering his lack of supplies and overall experience. However, despite the fact that he was unprepared, McCandless, because of his ideas and motivation for a better world, was justified in shunning society in order to pursue his dream life on the Alaskan frontier.

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

McCandless led what many consider a great life for a student. Matthew Power describes Chris as a “...24-year-old honors graduate, star athlete, and beloved brother and son ... cut all ties with his family, gave his trust fund to charity, and embarked on a two-year odyssey that brought him to Alaska... where he could test the limits of his wits and endurance.” Based off of Power’s quote, McCandless seems like he led the best life that he could have led an almost perfect life. He also gives the impression that McCandless did not have an apparent reason to abandon his life and live in the wild. Peter Christian, an Alaska park ranger, brings another idea into view when he says, “The tragedy is that McCandless more than likely was suffering from mental illness and didn't have to end his life the way he did.” He brings another perspective into the mix because he suggests that Chris actually had a mental disease that caused him to feel drawn to the wild rather than his

In what could have been Chris McCandless’s last contact with humanity he tells his new comrade, Wayne Westerberg, “If this adventure proves fatal and you don’t hear from me again I want you to know you are a great man. I now walk into the wild” (Krakauer 3). For 112 days Chris lived off the harsh Alaskan land. For anyone who is brave enough to travel on the stampede trail and cross the treacherous Teklanika River you will come across the Fairbanks City Transit System Bus 142. Once a backcountry shelter for hunters, trappers, ranger patrols, and for a short time Chris McCandless, Bus 142 now serves as a memorial for Chris McCandless. Travelers will make the trip to witness the basic resources Chris had at hand and the courage it took to

In the book Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer writes about Christopher McCandless, a young man who drops everything in his life to go travel throughout the states and end up in Alaska to find the truth to his questions. But did Chris find the truth he desperately desired? Some would say that McCandless did, other would say that he has wasted his time and was being ignorant and stupid. I agree with the author, Jon Krakauer, that Christopher McCandless was not a crazy lunatic, a sociopath, or an outcast because he had made lots of friends while traveling, but there were times when Chris was incompetent, even though he managed to stay alive for quite awhile. Christopher McCandless had a pretty normal childhood.

Even though Chris was not prepared for his epic battle with nature, he did enter the wilderness with many realistic expectations. He unfortunately did not bring much to Alaska other than his determination, as all he brought with him was, “… a ten-pound bag of rice. His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions” (5). It is very understandable why Callarman called Chris crazy because, at times, his goals and philosophies began to affect his priorities and view of reality, “I don’t want to know what day it is or where I am. None of that matters” (7). Living off the land in the Alaskan wilderness in the dead of winter is a very debatable idea. It is realistic to say that Chris McCandless was a young man with extreme goals who often lost sight of reality, but he had reasons for everything he did. He also had goals and went above and beyond to reach them. Someone who did not understand why McCandless made the choices he did would call him foolish and crazy without a second thought. People should realize that not everyone has the same priorities in life, and being different is not an offense. McCandless was very grateful for his adventure and learned a lot about himself as well as nature. “I am reborn. This is my down. Real life has just begun…Circumstance has not value. It is ow one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon, what it means to you. Positivism, the Insurpassable Joy of the Life Aesthetic. Absolute Truth and Honesty. Reality. Independence. Finality-Stability-Consistency” (168). Chris had found the meaning of happiness in the truest form and had come to peace with

Chris McCandless died doing what he loved, but was it worth all of the pain and uncertainty he caused his family? Chris embarked on a journey through the Alaskan wilderness, which resulted in his demise. He cut ties with his family due to personal differences in opinion and travelled all around the country living off of the land for the most part. People have formed many different opinions of Chris McCandless, but its up to you to decide whether his actions were selfish or purposeful. In this Journal, I will be questioning the motives of McCandless, connecting with him, as well as evaluating the author.