Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, published in 1996, discusses the life and death of young adult and adventurer, Christopher McCandless. Krakauer, a journalistic writer from the Pacific Northwest, was quite fond of adventure as well, having a passion for climbing. His infatuation for risk and adventure gave him great interest in McCandless’s story of leaving the comfort of his home in Virginia and wandering across the country, ultimately landing himself to the brush of Alaska, where his journies came to a close and he died. Into the Wild goes through events from 1990 to 1992, going through McCandless’s trips and the people he met, to his family life and investigations of his death, to other adventurers that can he can be compared to. Krakauer outlines the story through use of different sources including McCandless’s family and the people he met, along with his own story and that of other similar people such as Everett Ruess. The controversy over McCandless’s life choices and the story of his life bring about numerous concepts that are universal to human experience. Into the Wild makes important remarks about courage, isolation, and passion, which can be looked into further when compared to the works “In Praise of Failure”, “Embracing a Life of Solitude”, and “The Wild Truth”, respectively.
Award winning journalist and author, Jon Krakauer, in his book, Into the Wild, analyzes the life of Chris McCandless as well as the events that ensued his death. Krakauer’s purpose is to inform the reader about how and why Chris McCandless decided to embark on a journey into the wilderness of Alaska. He adopts an empathetic tone in order to impart to his readers that Chris McCandless was a very misunderstood young adult.
London’s novella Call of the Wild tells the story of Buck’s transformation from a domesticated pet on a vast Santa Clara Valley estate to the primal beast he becomes in the bitter regions of the Klondike wilderness. London delivers Buck’s journey in several key plot events and uses various settings and narration styles to tell the story in a way that allows a reader to easily become invested in Buck’s character and well-being from the viewpoint of a loyal and lovable pet, as well as, that of a creature returning to its primal roots and ancestry. Settings in Call of the Wild consist of generally harsh and vicious locations, situations previously unknown to Buck, and various hostile persons and dogs. As well as a variety of settings, London
At times of strife with oneself and during periods in one’s life, people tend to find answers or peace by disassociating from their immediate surroundings and replacing it with the natural world. Although Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer share the same word in their titles, the two are completely different stories with separate narrative purposes. Wild is about the author’s journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance through hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and Into the Wild is the author’s discovery of Chris Mccandless’s natural journey, which ultimately led him to his death. Even though the ending of Wild leads to Strayed’s renewal of life, and the ending of Into the Wild leads to the insight on the ending of
Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway portrays the individualized experiences of a dog sledder named Abraham Okimasis. Throughout the course of this passage Okimasis is running a race that he is determined to win for the sake of his marriage. Once the end of the race draws near however, we see him become desperate and hopeless when he realizes that he is not going to win. These emotion and ultimately the experience in general are heavily expressed through specific literary devices: diction, metaphor, and repetition.
For example, a theme of survival of the fittest is presented when Buck first joins the sledding team, as there is a constant power struggle between characters, particularly Buck and Spitz. On the other hand, incidents such as Buck’s initial beating at the hand of his master symbolize Buck’s departure from his pampered life at the estate to his survival-based situation as a sled dog. These literary devices add a crucial element to the book and enhance the story for the reader.
Do you think you could survive the Yukon trail, a mile wide and three feet of ice, and just as many feet of snow, in weather colder than fifty below? The story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, is about a man who tried to take the Yukon trail and get to his friends with just a dog to guide him. He was told that no one has ever made the journey alone, yet he chose to take on the journey. Through the story the man faces many conflicts not only through himself in having too much pride, but also with the physical ones such as the cold which lead to his death. The main theme in the book is the man’s perseverance to try and survive. The man on the Yukon Trail has to show perseverance through the story even with the harsh weather and signs of bad events coming upon him. In his story “To Build a Fire,” Jack London discusses the theme of perseverance through two literary elements, conflict and foreshadowing.
Much of the human race live their lives in accordance to what society sees as acceptable, but Christopher McCandless disregards societal norms in the novel Into the Wild. Within the novel, Jon Krakauer explores the story of Christopher McCandless’s journey to Alaska and investigates the events leading up to his death. Krakauer tells the story concerning McCandless’s life in a fashion that reveals a truth about nonconformity. Krakauer sends a message to common readers that nonconformity is not possible and the only way to survive the world we live in is to conform to our surroundings. Jon Krakauer express’s his ideals on nonconformity within Into the Wild through his non-chronological organizational structure, the use of logical reasoning,
“The suck of the water as it took the beginning of the last steep pitch was frightful, and Thornton knew that the shore was impossible. He scraped furiously over a rock, bruised across a second, and struck the third with a crushing force (London 81). This quote was written by Jack London, the author of The Call of The Wild that he had written a novel about a St. Bernard and a Scotch half breed dog named Buck coming into the Yukon transferring from a master to another. He Becomes loyal and loving to his new master John Thornton they look for gold in the Yukon together, the wild is calling to buck and he has to chose John Thornton or the wild.For the theme Survival of the fittest there are several samples of how Buck has adjusted to his
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, describes the adventure of Christopher McCandless, a young man that ventured into the wilderness of Alaska hoping to find himself and the meaning of life. He undergoes his dangerous journey because he was persuade by of writers like Henry D. Thoreau, who believe it is was best to get farther away from the mainstreams of life. McCandless’ wild adventure was supposed to lead him towards personal growth but instead resulted in his death caused by his unpreparedness towards the atrocity nature.
There are a few reasons why I recommend reading the classic, “The Call Of The Wild” by Jack London. There are very exhilarating action scenes throughout the book. The suspense is well placed and makes you wanting more and more. The story is told through the eyes of a dog, which gives an intriguing perspective to the storyline. These reasons and a few others give this book a lively feel.
Throughout history, people encounter a stage in their lives where they feel the necessity to assert their independence and challenge their abilities and self-worth. In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the author shares his understanding and kinship with the main character, Chris McCandless, a young man who thrusts himself into a life of solitude and a harsh environment during his search for meaning to his life. Krakauer depicts himself and McCandless as modern day transcendentalists with an abundance of competency, resourcefulness and skills as naturalists. Although McCandless chose to experience a life of solitude and face the hazards that nature presents, his lack of preparedness prevented him from completing his endeavor successfully.
Readers of all ages, literature lovers, and book fanatics often find conflicts within their own lives just as the characters of the stories they read do. Some are able to find a way to overcome and conquer, while others get stuck behind or can not find a way to beat them. In Jack London’s short story called “To Build a Fire,” the main character conflicts with mother nature, who keeps tearing him down at every possible point. The main character, who is only referred to as the Man, is battling his way alone through the harsh temperatures of the Yukon. On this journey he runs into many obstacles and challenges. The Man does not listen to the advice he is given, leading to his inevitable death at the end. The most notable theme London builds
During the Antebellum period, our young slave girl, in Harriet Jacobs’s novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, seeks release from the horrors of a “cruel, sadistic white plantation owner” (vii) in a cruel, sadistic world that sees her as nothing more than property. The psychological tribulation Harriet Jacobs endures makes her a sympathetic character for the abolitionist movement spearheaded by the north. She is faced and burdened with the issues of self-identity, self-preservation, and freedom, yet she is unrelenting in her determination to secure a life in which she has sole control. The outdoors gave the young protagonist, Chris McCandless, in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, room to explore and find himself before his untimely death. His qualities make him an admirable character (though he was sometimes naïve in his actions), and his death makes him a martyr to the cause
In the novels Brave New World and Animal Farm, the common aspect is the idea of a totalitarian dystopian society. While Animal Farm started out as an attempt to achieve a perfect utopia, and then drifted into a totalitarian dystopia, Brave New World pretends to be a utopia, while hiding the fact that it is actually a totalitarian dystopia the whole time. There is a fine line between a utopia and a totalitarian dystopia.