Looking for Alaska by John Green

There are an infinite amount of unique responses to the question “What is the meaning of life?”. However, the majority of people will agree that the true meaning of life is to find happiness and what is really important to one’s self. In Jon Krakauer’s, Into The Wild, Chris McCandless conveys this idealism through his life’s journey as he bravely defies all limitations. Chris McCandless isolates himself from society in his Alaskan Odyssey as a way to defy accepted expectations and to begin discovering the meanings of life without any corrupted influences.

In April of 1992, a young man of the age of twenty-four, later determined to be Chris McCandless ' body, was discovered in an old Fairbanks bus in the Alaskan bush. Four years after his death, Jon Krakauer wrote a novel titled Into The Wild, the book traced McCandless 's journey around much of the United States, across the West side of Canada, and even down to the boarder of Mexico. Over the many years since his death, speculations have arisen about how death was brought upon him. Most believe starvation was the only reason, but with extensive research Jon Krakauer discovered another theory, that a substance in the seeds that Chris McCandless was ingesting was a contributing factor to his death. Even with this conclusion many around the world despise Chris for his being naive and unprepared when walking into the wild. While others believe he was brave for following his dreams and never letting anyone talk him out of his plans. Chris McCandless was an adventurer who was brave enough to never back down, but in the end his luck turned for the worst and was misfortunate enough to have ate the wrong type of food. McCandless was an inspiration and a lesson to people of all ages, that dreams aren 't meant to be taken lightly and even with possible risks they should be followed. Jon Krakauer 's book tells a marvelous story of a young man who left behind the outside world to do what he loved the most.

Chapter ten flashes forward to McCandless death, and it was published in the New York Time and Anchorage Daily News. The media wrote of how foolish and ignorant McCandless was for going into the wilderness so unprepared. Once the death is being investigated by the police the police begin to question Sam, McCandless’s half-brother. To identify him he shows them a picture with long hair and a beard. This made me question who was the man in the picture, was it really McCandless? He wasn’t reported as having long hair, ever. As the half-brother informs his parents of McCandless death the parents respond in devastation. I find it weird that the police contacted his half-brother first and not the parents. Oddly enough I find myself agreeing with the media more than I do with the author. I cannot seem to grasp the thought of going into the wilderness, and not being overly prepared. While I understand that it is a brave action, it is also foolish and somewhat stupid on his part. I also find him to be very selfish. In chapter eleven the author starts to interview McCandless parents, and starts to question the family’s dynamics. The father is very similar to McCandless in the aspect that he is very intense and highly intelligent. Chapter twelve is a continued exploration of McCandless’s character. The author wants to know what made McCandless, McCandless. He finds that he took a road trip to the desert the summer before his freshman year of college, and nearly died of dehydration. I

Have you ever ran a stop sign on purpose? Have you ever ran a red light when no one was around? People break society's rules all the time on purpose, but why do they break them?

Some people would never consider leaving behind everything and everyone they care about to live in the wild. In the movie Into the Wild, a man does just that. Into the Wild is a movie where a man named, Chris McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) ventures out into the world to go to the Alaskan Wilderness. For two years he has been building relationships with people, goes through different jobs, while also hiding from the authorities and his family. He left behind his home, family, friends, and society to explore the wildlife. Despite Chris McCandless 's adventurous, confidence, and fearlessness, he should not have left because he was unprepared, naïve, selfish, and he could have made better choices.

The storyline follows two different parts of his life, including flashbacks to his childhood and adolescence, intertwined with the deep disdain he has for his parents. The first timeline represents his journey to Alaska, the preparation that went into it and, most importantly, the motives behind it. The second timeline starts when he is already in Alaska and he finds the “magic bus” far away from civilization and people.

I made it. All these years of working and gaining experience of living as a leather tramp have paid off. I’ve made it to Alaska. I found a bus here about two miles into the main road and it's where I plan to reside for the remainder of my time here in the wild. My Alaskan Odyssey is in motion, all of the tramping around and hitchhiking has helped bring me here. I got a place to stay and with everyday hunting, it is easier to find food than the day before. My biggest score yet was a

Gaines moved to San Francisco at the age of fifteen and was introduced to new things and new experiences that he had never seen before as a child on the quarters. The new experience transformed him into the man he is today much as the experiences his character, James, faces in “The Sky Is Gray” shape him to mature into manhood at a young age. In the short story James is faced with many difficult scenarios related to thing Gaines faced in his own life, like growing up without a father figure and having a strong powerful woman in their lives. James goes with his mother to town and experiences things he has never witnessed before which give him new opinions of the world. as the story goes it is obvious to James that his mother desires him to grow into a man, and he starts to act more like a man should, even at such a young age. He also encounters racism that drives him to more understanding and becoming more mature and responsible. This is much related to

Chip is a smoker and he drinks a lot too. Which is of course not good. He is really close with Alaska from freshman years. The Colonel helps and gives ideas to Miles, to keep him

Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development of identity versus role confusion explains the position that Charlie is in. In the beginning of the movie, Charlie is this shy, introverted boy, but as he meet new friends, he starts to open up to them and becoming more comfortable in social situations, he has developed a change of who he is. Charlie even stood up for Patrick by punching the two boys, which is something that is very out of the ordinary, and not like what the old Charlie would do. Charlie has been terrified ever since the cafeteria incident, and wonders what kind of person he is. As Charlie turn to Sam for comfort, he develops a sense of connectedness and intimacy with her--intimacy versus isolation. Charlie confides with Sam and asks her if what he did was wrong, and Sam told Charlie that he is a hero for saving Patrick, but Charlie still feels somewhat disrupted from his blackout

But the use presence of alcohol in these teens life docent just happen for fun, and in its most innocent use, alcohol is connected to breaking the rules and getting away with such events. For each character drinking highlights an escape to a certain dilemma. For Miles drinking begins as a way into expectants from his peers, as for the Colonel alcohol is used to celebrate and mourn, but for Alaska its used to cope and numen the pain and guilt directed towards her mothers death. Many may not realize the roots of the alcohol abuse, they use it for a purpose that stems from their desires. Miles reveals the lack of control he has with Alaska , when comparing his relationship with Alaska to his relationship with

The novel is told in first person by Ethan Wate. Ethan is a typical 16 year-old boy growing up in Gatlin with his parents until his mom passed away the previous summer. His dad had gone mad and was sent to a mental hospital in town. He lives with Amarie Treadeau, nicknamed and better known

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there are a multitude of circumstances that create different themes throughout the adventure. The novel describes a journey between a young boy and his partner, a freed slave named Jim. This cooperative companionship helps the two grow throughout the novel, showing a theme of coming of age. This coming of age idea is thoroughly supported throughout by the author of the book, Mark Twain. Samuel L. Clemens, the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, mostly known as Mark Twain was born in the “Show Me State” of Missouri, in the small town of Florida.

Upon reading the title to the reading “Camping for Their Lives” by Scott Bransford, A lot of images come to mind as they do for many people. Whether it be family outings, military experience or just plain adventure. Scott Bransford takes a good long look at camping in a different way. The author’s topic is about tent cities and their homeless populations. He argues the struggles that they have with little or no help from the government and highlights a location in Central Valley California. The author structures the article well starting off with an example of a married couple that does not have enough money to sign a lease or take out a mortgage. He then goes into the day to day life and difficulties that are accustomed with living as a homeless person. He mentions statistics and the government’s temporary remedies to deal with the homeless population and the complications when imposing restrictions. The author goes into depth about the lack of jobs within the areas but does not go deep into the addictions, the crime networks that operate out of the areas nor the filth associated with enabling these tent cities to pop up.

John Michael Green was born on the 24th of August, 1977 in Indianapolis. He attended Indian Springs School outside Birmingham, Alabama the latter he used to set the scene of his first novel, Looking for Alaska. John graduated from Kenyon College in 2000, with a double major of Religious Studies and English. After graduating from college, Green worked at the National Children's college where his experiences with children with life-threatening diseases inspired him to write the book The Fault in Our Stars.