A common thought among adolescents is the dream to finally leave home and discover who they are; I certainly share this dream. Though the concept is common, the reasons are unique; The differences in character and circumstances define who a person is. What may appear reasonable to some could very well be completely irrational to another. The story of Chris McCandless as reported by Jon Krakauer in the biographic novel Into the Wild is no exception. From the events in his childhood to the conflict with his father, we can see that Chris McCandless, a young man still discovering himself, became disillusioned with the structure of society and desired nothing more than to “no longer be poisoned by civilization” (163). Although McCandless had an adventurous, independent nature, it was his darker past, the conflict with his family, that influenced him to seek refuge in the wild. …show more content…
When Krakauer discloses the family narrative, the first member discussed is Walt McCandless, who is introduced as a figure of authority "When Walt talks, people listen. If something or someone displeases him, his eyes narrow and his speech becomes clipped" (105). This is carefully constructed chronology as, the reader can generalize McCandless as being the type of character who does not follow the established prescient; Chris broke convention. A former teacher of McCandless commented that "Chris marches to a different drummer" (pg 107). However, Walt McCandless is however, the authority, the head of the family, and the rule maker. The highly polarized characters were bound to clash, the question now is what would precipitate the
I disappointed my father in the usual ways. Like McCandless, male figures of authority aroused in me a confusing medley of corked fury and a hunger to please. [...] If something captured my undisciplined imagination, I pursued it with a zeal bordering on obsession” (Krakauer 134). To Krakauer, Chris McCandless was a personality he held close to him, felt a connection with. Therefore, the romantic, idealized concept of McCandless is what Krakauer became enamoured with, not the story of inept almost-but-not-quite survival.
In the novel “Into The Wild” written by Jon Krakauer, a man named Christopher McCandless ventures into Alaska’s unknown territory in search of his spirit. McCandless begins this journey immediately following his graduation from Emory University; similar to a nationwide road trip taken right after his high school graduation. Growing up, McCandless lived a very privileged life. Many would say he was ungrateful, selfish and stupid for his actions and motives. Others would gaze upon him as a hero and wish they could have the courage he did to chase his dream and be so passionate until his death.
Chris McCandless was a man who went beyond social norms, by going back to nature to prove he could pave his own way. Jon Krakauer later following Chris’ death explains in his novel, Into the Wild, how Chris’ personal experiences affected his personality and thoughts. Jon then characterizes Chris McCandless as a self-reliant, and inspiring person with many stories of the times he had interacted with people as well as how people had personally felt about him once he had passed. McCandless’ self-reliance is proved by his character and his will to do his best no matter where he is. This is shown by examining his anger over how, “[his parents] think that [Chris would] actually let them pay for [his] law school.”
Walt tried to teach Chris how to play golf as a kid, but he was a natural the only thing wrong were minor techniques upon which Chris could improve, “ He resisted instruction of any kind” (Krakauer 111). Chris’s resistance against any help offered showed how individual he was and relied on only himself. Chris knew he could manage on his own once he left his family, but little did he know the help he rejected along his journey could have saved his
Chris McCandless was your typical college student, very fortunate family had the eligibility of going to many very great schools. The movie Into the Wild follows the life of McCandless, giving a better understanding of his life and his decisions,as well his rise to becoming Alexander Supertramp, but everyone ask why did he venture out into the wild?, even though he wasn't very bush like, he also had many opportunities to have profitable career so why did he decide to leave society, why did he leave all of his opportunities?. McCandless decided to hit life head first, he left everything burned his money, also gave it to charity,cut all of his credit cards and only had the check his parents had written out to him, also McCandless decided to
Into The Wild is a story, by Jon Krakauer, about a man named Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp, and his journey to the Alaskan frontier and the people he had met on the way over there. Chris was a very well educated and simple man, however, due to his troubled relationships with his parents and the lifestyle that he was given growing up, he had decided to take matters into his own hands begin a treacherous journey all the way to the Alaskan frontier. McCandless dropped everything, left his apartment, no note, nothing. Some may think, good for McCandless, he is carrying out his own happiness, or he is man enough to do things on his own. Me personally, I believe that it was very idiotic of him to just leave.
The distinction between whether an individual is to be considered an admirable person or a arrogant/ignorant person lies on their death. The difference is the impact, and the impact differs for an admirable person than a arrogant person. When a admirable man/women dies, the magnitude of the impact on society is greater as society reflects on all the positive achievements that have been accomplished. However, an arrogant person dies many times before their actual death. Throughout the novel of Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, is thought to be a admirable person.
Going into the wild isn't as simple as it seems, you need a desire, or drive, to venture off like Chris McCandless had. Chris McCandless is the main character of the non-fictional book Into The Wild. He went off on an adventure out to Alaska to discover himself, although his journey leads to his death he finds who he really is. Most of his life, he was subjected to seeing his parents fight and argue. He had always wanted to get away from this, as depicted in the movie.
In the biography, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless takes on many dangerous journeys to break from social norm, but also put his life
Into the Wild Some may believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild to escape the toxic relationship with his parents, but the real reason he left everything was to escape from the people that were trying to give him everything. Chris was a person that did not believe in the materialistic things. He believed in humanity and freedom. Chris McCandless reminds me of the younger sister in his book How Much Land Does a Man Need. The younger sister believed in earning from working.
Leo Tolstoy once said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” This adage holds true for Chris McCandless, a hypocritical adventurer featured in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild. Chris easily points out flaws in other people, yet fails to realize that his own lack of judgment causes relationship issues. For example, Chris claims that his father never has time for him. However, an interview with Walt McCandless reveals that Walt “spent a lot of time with Chris, perhaps more than any of my other kids.”
After reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, I wondered to myself why I should even care about Chris McCandless. I can see how some think Chris McCandless was an idiot and he was trying to kill himself. After I dove deeper into this question, I learned that Chris McCandless story teaches us important life lessons. Chris McCandless teaches us to get out of our comfort zone. Ronald Franz was an older man who encountered Chris McCandless and gave him a ride from Salton City California to Grand Junction Colorado In Chris’s last letter to Ronald Franz, he says “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation…
Into The Wild: Justifying Chris McCandless “Chris was fearless… He didn’t think the odds applied to him. We were always trying to pull him back from the edge,” was how Walt McCandless described his ambiguous son before he abandoned everything his father had given him and left for a fresh nomadic life (qtd. in Krakauer 109). In 1990, a young man by the name of Chris McCandless graduated, with honors, from Emory University.
St. Francis of Assisi was a man who sought peace from the world and tried to bring people together. He gave to the poor and even made a new order in the church, called the Third Order. He believed animals to be his siblings and would always preach to those willing to listen. However, he was not accepted by society when he preached that animals were his brothers and sisters.
Risk and self reinvention is a key principle in this novel, Chis McCandless was an intelligent soul, who wanted to forget all the issues with his past life and start anew. Krakauer Establishes this role by strategically placing emphasis on key instances throughout the book. As the author he provides the reading audience with Chris' story, hoping to grab the attention of the reader. "Chris was hungry to learn about things. Unlike most of us, he was the sort of person who insisted on living out his beliefs."