Into the Wild Essay - 1386 Words

In April of 1992 a young man named Chris McCandless, from a prosperous and loving family, hitchhiked across the country to Alaska. He gave $25,000 of his savings to charity, left his car and nearly all of his possessions. He burned all the cash he had in his wallet, and created a new life. Four months later, his body was found in an abandoned bus. Jon Krakauer constructed a journalistic account of McCandless’s story. Bordering on obsession, Krakauer looks for the clues to the mystery that is Chris McCandless. What he finds is the intense pull of the wilderness on our imagination, the appeal of high-risk activities to young men. When McCandlesss mistakes turn out to be fatal he is dismissed for his naivetà ©. He was said by some to have a†¦show more content†¦So in this way Jon and Chris were alike even though their goals were different. Another way the two were similar was the fact that they both had family problems. Though his parents and sister loved him Chris secretly despised his parents for covering up the fact that his father had been raising two separate families. Just like Chris’s father Lewis Krakauer had already begun to prepare him for a career that he didn’t want to be any part of. I think both sons were consumed by a sort of blind rage when they found out that their fathers were less than perfect. This anger fueled them to rebel and go against their fathers wishes to make their own futures. The biggest (and most obvious) difference between Jon and Chris is that one died living out his dream and the other lived to walk away from it. Most people would say that Chris failed because his goal was to survive in the wilderness. Others would say that Jon succeeded because he made it too the top and lived to tell his tale. However were the incidents really that different? Chris lived in the Alaskan wilderness almost a hundred days before his fateful mistake that cost him his life. Jon also had a few fateful mistakes that could have cost him his life but didn’t, like the time he caught his tent on fire or when his supply plane couldn’t come because of bad weather. Most people wouldn’t even dream of doing either of these feats. When the risks are as high as either of these menShow MoreRelatedInto the Wild1043 Words   |  5 PagesIn Jon Krakuers novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging an d the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakuer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakuer protrays McCandless as a young man who is recklessRead MoreExistentialism : Wild ( 2014 ) And Into The Wild1739 Words   |  7 Pages Existentialism: Wild(2014) and Into the Wild(2007) For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they knowRead MoreExistentialism : Wild ( 2014 ) And Into The Wild1779 Words   |  8 Pages Existentialism: Wild(2014) and Into the Wild (2007) For this paper, both movies used to explain Existentialism are adapted from real stories. The first film is Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed and the second is into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless. In Sartre’s definition of existentialism, human existence precedes essence, therefore leading to meaning, purpose and identity. When Chris and Cheryl leave their family, friends and everything else they knowRead MoreInto the Wild2374 Words   |  10 PagesRhett Jackson English 12B: American Literature 15 March 2012 Into the Wild Temperament Type Analysis The novel Into the Wild is a nonfiction novel published by Jon Krakauer who investigated the life and death of a free spirited individual named Christopher McCandless. McCandless was a recent Emory University graduate who sought to suck the marrow out of life through an independent experience in nature and purposely sought to this experience in the rawest form of supplies. 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Chris McCandless leaves all his possessions and begins a trek across the Western United States, which eventually brings him to the place of his demise-Alaska. Jon Krakauer makes you feel like you are with Chris on his journey and uses exerts from various authors such as ThoreauRead MoreThe Call Of The Wild1092 Words   |  5 Pages The book ‘The Call of the Wild’ uses the characters, storyline and subject matter to explore ideas that almost all of us experience. This lesson will fill you in on these themes, help with understanding the storyline, and offer a few questions to test your comprehension. !!!’’The Call of the Wild’’ - The Basics Author __Jack London__ wasn t your typical storyteller. Born in 1876, he drew inspiration for his work as a novelist and journalist from his early life experiences in poverty, as a sailorRead MoreEssay about The Call of the Wild Versus Into the Wild1246 Words   |  5 PagesChris McCandless and Buck serve as examples of the archetype of the wild through their experiences of leaving where they feel most comfortable and answering the call of the wild. They show that each experience is inimitable because the wild is unique to every individual. For Buck, the wild is a place outside of civilization and his dependence on man, where the external threats of nature exist and he must prove himself as a true animal with instincts for survival. In McCandless case, the placeRead MoreThe Call Of The Wild754 Words   |  4 Pagesauthors in history, wrote a book called The Call of the Wild and a short story called To Build a Fire. These two writing pieces share similar attitudes and setting. In addition, their endings and travel style are much different. The Call of the Wild and To Build a Fire have these two similarities and two differences that add a lot of meaning to each story. The four parts of setting in these stories are very similar. On page 15 in The Call of the Wild it says â€Å"Buck’s feet sank into white mushy somethingRead MoreThe Wild, And Its Effects1556 Words   |  7 PagesInbreeding in the wild, and its effects, has been a largely contested subject over time. Not only has the occurrence of inbreeding depression in nature been questioned, but also the strength of it, that if it did occur if it was even worth noting. This has recently been explored within the literature both through field experiments as well as laboratory observations and model constructions. Not only has it been confirmed to occur in nature, but it has also been deemed of greater strength than previously