...“Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer. However, rather than acknowledging the conceptual faults behind running away from home, McCandless made the conscious decisions to follow through and purse his augmented and simply erratic adventure. McCandless’s decision was inevitably futile because although he had moderately justifiable intentions of going into the wild, his ignorance, arrogance, and lack of preparedness surmounted his intentions and would inevitably cost him his life. One significant conceptual flaw in regards to why McCandless went on such an adventure was his lack of maturity. After Franz had left McCandless on Interstate 70, “McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved---relieved that he had again...
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...destruction we see today are a result of the alienation that people feel from each other and their environment” (Micheal Jackson). Into the Wild, a biography by Jon Krakauer, is based on a true story about a well educated man coming from a good family who turned himself away from everything he had going for him. McCandless travels a great deal during his expedition to many different places, and is eventually found starved to death in a bus near Denali National Park. McCandless documented his expedition through journal entries and pictures. Krakauer puts the pieces of McCandless’s journey together to share his experience with others.Into the Wild...
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...EARNING THE RIGHT Chris McCandless‘s was a mysterious and unique individual. Not many or possibly anyone could say they could live off the Alaskan Bush for three months with what little equipment and supplies he humbly chose to work with. Although some friends warned McCandless “living in the bush ain’t no picnic,” and critics thought he was ill prepared and just out for an adventure he knew nothing about, Jon Krakauer thought differently. After spending an extensive amount of time trying to back track everywhere McCandless had been within the last couple of years of his life Krakauer showed great devotion and dedication to letting the world know McCandless’s story. Krakauer primarily uses McCandless’s journal entries, photographs, and books to try to gain a deeper understanding of the young man. I find it amazing Krakauer being a journalist in Alaska would not go directly to the site where McCandless died but, traveled all over the country to find out who this individual was and his purpose or meaning for going to Alaska. Krakauer found McCandless to be a riveting and intellectual human being. However misunderstood McCandless was Krakauer, wanted to prove that McCandless was important and not crazy. In Krakauer’s book there are some chapters dedicated to men with similar stories to McCandless such as Everett Ruess, an artist and wanderer who went missing in Utah, who did similar things and had a similar background as McCandless. Krakauer defends McCandless by comparing...
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...November 14, 2013 Into The Wild “Christopher McCandless's Influences, Relationships, and Preparation forAlaskas survival.” The influences from the authors and books chris read, shows us all how he related himself from the quotes that are in this book. Chris carved in to a piece of wood that was discovered on the bus at the scene of chris' death, that Jack London is KING, and also used a passage from White Fang (9). The passage chris read says, Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness-a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen- hearted Northland Wild (JACK LONDON, White Fang) (9). Chris related to this passage because it described what his present surroundings were exactually like. The passage from Leo Tolstoy tittled “Family Happiness” was also found with Chris McCandless's remains (15). Chris related...
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...person, however, he may have been incompetent in the sense that he was unprepared and rash in his decision making. Throughout the novel, the author, Jon Karakauer, explained the life of Chris McCandless and his last journey in the American west. Krakauer describes McCandless’s journey with so much detail and information provided by his loved ones that it’s clear to suggest McCandless was intelligent, stubborn, and unprepared during his lifelong adventure. Throughout the novel, Krakauer pieces together the puzzle that was Christopher McCandless’s life. While most of Chris’s family was in utter confusion and grief as to why Chris would leave without a trace, Krakauer discovered why and...
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...Into The Wild Chapter One In the beginning of the chapter the reader observes a postcard. Analyze the effect this postcard is intended to have on the reader of the book. this postcard is intended to give the reader insight on how chris changed his name and changed from a middle class family to hitch hiking all the way to alaska. it shows that he doesn't want any contact with the outside world. It shows that Chris is thinking that he may not make it back. “proves fatal” (Krakauer,3) How does McCandless’s attitude about government parallel that of Thoreau’s. they both believe that the government is has now power over them. amd they don't answer to it. they both ignore the laws set by the government. “How I feed myself is none of the government’s...
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...Character traits define who we are as a person. It gives people a sense of who they are, what they want, and what their motivations are. These traits sets people apart from everyone else. In the novel, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, there was a young man who started his life over to venture out into the wild to find himself and his purpose. He was able to do so because of the qualities he had. Chris McCandless had many different traits which makes readers think differently of him and what his motivations were. McCandless had qualities such as self-reliance, courage, and passion to motivate him for his adventure and life philosophy. Self-reliance was one of the many attributes McCandless had. He portrayed how he was self-reliant as a child and growing up. According to Krakauer, Carine, McCandless’s little sister, stated “He needed his solitude at times, but he wasn’t a...
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...Into the wild essay Who is Chris McCandless? If you read the book into the wild, then you would probably think he is a young, go getter who went on an Alaskan adventure that went horribly wrong. According to some of the locals in Alaska, there were some obvious key mistakes that he had made that any normal person could have made that would have saved McCandless's life. Could it be that McCandless was just your average idiot? If you were a local is Alaska then your answer would probably have been a strong yes. The book starts off with McCandless dying, which is never a good thing to have in your soul searching adventure. The book then goes back to tell the story about how he make it up to Alaska. A Lot of the things just go against common sense and may even show signs of mental illness. He starts off by leaving his family with nothing, not even a note saying goodbye. He then goes on a long journey to get to Alaska so that he can finally be at peace in the wild. On this journey he meets a band of hippies that take him in and help him get part of the way up to Alaska, on the rough they stopped at a place called slab city where he meets a girl who falls in love with him and wants him to stay...
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...McCandless decided to abandon his family and social network to begin an adventure across North America that lasted two years and culminated in Alaska. You’re probably thinking, “Well, what’s so idiotic about that?” Well, perhaps it is his outcome that appears so mindlessly stupid, for McCandless' story of self-discovery ended tragically with the discovery of his remains in a derelict school bus by three hunters in September 1992. In “Selections from Into the Wild,” Jon Krakauer, a travel writer and biographer, attempts to piece together what happened to McCandless, trying to determine what drove him to leave his old life behind, what prompted him to travel the continent, and ultimately what caused his early demise. In my essay, I will analyze Krakauer’s argument about Christopher McCandless. Specifically, the essay will analyze claims Krakauer makes about McCandless, different types of support he uses to strengthen his main point, and how Krakauer structures his argument. What Krakauer is truly trying to grasp is why did McCandless decide to make such a decision to embark on a journey that he was not really prepared for that eventually ended up in tragedy? He is so curious as to the events that took place before McCanless’s death, Krakauer ventures out to find the truth for himself. Krakauer definitely presents McCandless as being a dynamic character due to the fact that he changes throughout the Alaska trip. McCandless’s flaws truly shine through and his best qualities seemed to fail...
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...and I agree one-hundred percent with them. As it comes to the end of the chapter where Krakauer reaches the summit, I get the feeling of accomplishment. I start to understand the feeling of reaching a goal so difficult, yet life changing. Jon Krakauer then changes back to focusing on Chris and his journey. After a few days of being stuck in the Hot Springs of the Yukon Territory he can not find a ride. He finally catches a ride from a man by the name of Gaylord Stuckey. I find it kind of weird that Chris discusses his father’s bigamy with Stuckey because people do not usually discuss personal stuff like that with strangers. I wish that Chris would have took Stuckey’s advice and waited till plants started growing for him to go out into the wild. Chris is very stubborn and will not listen to anybody because he has the mentality that he is right about everything. Arriving at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, McCandless makes a smart choice by finding out what he can and cannot...
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...experiencing the soul of America, by traveling the land that holds the purpose of life. During his journey, he discovered what life really meant to him and was capable of exploring America free from rules and some human contacts .During Campbell’s travel, his writing became influential to his supporters, some of his greatest pieces were created along with his travels. Campbell once said,”A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” That is how many Campbell as, a hero. A man who stepped outside boundaries and gave his full potential to something he believed in. Campbell's story relates to biography Into The Wild By author Jon Krakauer....
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...civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become Lost In The Wild." (163). The author uses diction in this quote to emphasize McCandless's vehement hatred for conforming to societal behaviors, since he felt poisoned. The author also uses pathos to show how toxic society can be. Before he entered the Alaskan brush, Chris burned and donated all his money, abandoned his belongings, and left his steady life for an adventure not knowing what would happen next. "'He wasn't carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you'd expect a guy to be carrying for that kind of trip'" (4). Krakauer uses the literary device, characterization to show that although Chris had been planning this trip, wasn't exactly prepared for any complications to arise. This quote also expresses ethos of Gallien since he was an experienced hunter and woodsman, and noticed Chris's level of unpreparedness. "Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten pound bag of rice." (5). Krakauer uses this quote to emphasize his level of unpreparedness because he would need to ration ten pounds of rice for him to survive off of for several months. In this quote, pathos was used to convey a feeling of concern since that would be his primary source of food when he could not hunt or gather. During his final days, Chris had discovered the truth he was searching for, happiness. "'HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED.'" (189). His adventure consisted of meeting people who shared the same qualities he possessed...
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...Christopher McCandless can be considered one of the most controversial figures of time. As one can see Into The Wild, some thought he was a fool, that he was incompetent, while some thought he was a hero, an idealistic, intelligent man. A critic of Chris's, as the one stated in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild novel, claims "Not only did Chris McCandless die because he was stupid, one Alaska correspondent observed, 'but the scope of his self-styled adventure was so small as to ring pathetic-squatting in a wrecked bus a few miles out of Healy, potting jays and squirrels, mistaking a caribou for a moose (pretty hard to do)...Only one word for the guy:incompetent". Meanwhile there are many who fall in between the distinct line that separates the average critic or supporter of Chris McCandless. This small select group of people would disagree with this critic for multiple reasons. First, the "caribou" was in fact a moose, secondly McCandless's would have survived if it weren't for a miniscule fatal mistake. Thirdly,...
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...To the human mind, the vast frontier is alluring. This void offers new possibilities rather they be dangerous or promising. For some, escape to the unknown can lead to a new life. For others, it brings death. Still others are running to discover something exciting and new. Chris McCandless did both. The biography of Chris McCandless, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, recounts McCandless’s journey from Atlanta to discover America’s last frontier- Alaska- and perhaps to discover something about himself too. McCandless was a well educated 22 year old who left everything behind to escape 20th century civilization and find a new frontier of possibilities. The American Frontier best symbolizes what happened to McCandless. Like explorers and immigrants...
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...Attitude Toward a Flawed Society: 1. This tells me that McCandless has always been obsessed with living life in a primeval way and hasn’t really been satisfied with living in modern American society. It doesn’t surprise me that he took off to live in the wild because, from what I’ve experienced in my life, when people think about something for as long as McCandless thought about leaving society, they become infatuated with their dreams, and start to become determined to make their dreams a reality. 2. The fact that he got angry whenever he talked about his parents or politicians shows me just how dissatisfied he was with his whole life. He didn’t see his parents in a positive way, didn’t trust the government and he ridiculed the “American dream”. If I felt as negatively as he did about the modern United States, I probably would have done the same as he did. 3. McCandless felt very passionately that here, in a westernized country, nobody should be starving. This shows me that he had a good heart and cared about the well being of others. Maybe he went into the wild to experience what it was like to be starving because of his...
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