In some ways, Chris McCandless of Krakauer’s Into the Wild, acts as the epitome of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideals within his essay “Self-Reliance.” McCandless, who has grown into quite a celebrity, abandoned his family’s bourgeois values and sought to discover the terrain of his soul through an Alaskan Odyssey. Only months later, a moose hunter stumbled upon his corpse within a bus. Critics often chalk his death up as a warning to young adolescents looking for adventure, while the aforementioned adolescents idolize his journey. Despite the harsh denunciations and hero-worship, McCandless acted simply as his own person by disregarding society’s views and looking for his own thoughts in solitude, thus embodying Emerson’s “Self-Reliance.” McCandless, like most young people, had the unfortunate affliction of immortality. Rather, he believed he was invincible as evidenced from his reckless actions. Throughout the novel, he acted single-minded and idealistic …show more content…
He does not condone the idea of being eremitic, rather he believes that solitude allows people to discover their own principles and virtues. Thus, McCandless seemed to serve as the manifestation of Emerson’s self-reliance. He subjected himself to solitude, not because of his distaste of people, but to be entirely focused on his search for himself without the distraction of others. He acted in a completely selfish manner, abandoning his family to worry so that he could find himself and the virtues he wanted to represent. Despite this, there is something admirable in his determination to fulfill his goals and to push his limits. Therefore, McCandless does not fit into the role of either a hero or a tragic hero. Instead, Chris McCandless was simply his own person, a human being, on a search to find his identity apart from society’s typical
“Actions speak louder than words” is a centuries-old idea that, in recent times, has been famously said by both Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain, and I think this idea should be the core of any look into the life and actions of Chris McCandless. However, I believe that this idea was hardly considered in Jon Krakauer’s interpretation of Chris McCandless in his book Into The Wild. Into The Wild is taken by many as the complete truth of Chris McCandless’ story, but many people seem to forget that Krakauer tells us in his author’s note at the beginning of the book that “[he] won’t claim to be an impartial biographer.” This means that any judgment of Chris that only uses this book is inherently flawed by Krakauer’s own views.
‘I’ll climb a tree’ is all he said. He had an answer for everything I threw at him” (Krakauer 6). McCandless would not let anyone change his ideals even though they propose reasonable opinions which puts him in all kinds of trouble, including his death, throughout his journey. If McCandless weren’t so protective and close-minded of his ideals and beliefs, he would’ve made less mistakes and his death would’ve been easily
Chris McCandless was a lot of things. Some say that he was an idiot for wanting to go to Alaska with no supplies, some say that he was fun and very friendly to others. Everyone has their own opinion on his life story. Chris McCandless was admired for his many talents and bravery which led him to go into to the wild in order to carry out his own happiness.
Chris McCandless was a man who made his own destiny, who seeked the challenges and thrill of adventure life had to offer. He was morally driven, and was not tied down by the dogma of society. McCandless’s hubris, his ultimate downfall in his quest to shake off the clashing ideals of materialistic culture, allowed him to live a life without regrets. Brought up in a home where his parents pushed their ideals onto their children, McCandless developed morals quite differently than that of his parents. His ideals clashed between that of a libertarian and a transcendentalist.
McCandless was a young man who lived a normal life. Well to everyone seems normal, but to himself he was suffering, struggling to He suffer watching his mom get abused and facing unhappiness constantly. Because of this he lived what could've been a normal life, he graduated college,
A large amount of young people will hear McCandless’s story and become inspired. They become inspired to leave their homes, families, jobs, and money to go out and experience the world with just the clothes on their back. They do this to attempt a journey of self discovery. He inspires people to do things just as he did. The results were death and yet his story still encourages people to do as he did.
Jon Krakauer wrote, “Into the Wild” about a young man named Chris McCandless. The book follows Chris McCandless, on his independent voyages in the wild. Chris was a young man with a venturesome personality, who died in a profound way. Chris was a figure both admired and criticized in the years following his death. Author Jon Krakauer states, “Nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.
Into the wild In history, there is a reoccurring theme of people criticizing the accomplishments and failures of others, which is based on their past causing the reader to form bias. Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild, illustrates how Christopher Johnson McCandless, the protagonist, is criticized for his failures and accomplishments. Krakauer’s bias and writing style influences the reader’s opinion of the protagonist and elucidates the grip wilderness had on American imagination, relationship between father and son, and the allure of high-risk activities for young men of certain mind. The way these themes are presented is what causes the development of the reader’s opinions throughout the narrative and drive the reader. John Krakauer is bias;
Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild investigates the life and adventures of Chris McCandless. The author provides information about Chris’ life to illuminate his journey. Krakauer also uses rhetorical appeals to defend Chris’ rationale for his journey. Through Krakauer’s use of pathos, ethos, and logos, he persuades the audience that Chris is not foolish; however, Krakauer’s intimacy with Chris and his adventures inhibits his objectivity.
Chris McCandless was a peculiar young man who explored the wilderness of Alaska. Many people would consider him courageous as he died doing what he loved, on the other hand some feel he was foolish and unprepared. Inspired by literature and seeking escape from his rocky relationship with his family, Chris wanted to live off the land in the cold Alaskan winter. Jon Krakauer explores what led to McCandless’s death and explains the actions that led him into the wild. In my opinion, Chris seemed more foolish than courageous, since he was escaping his problems back home and was highly unprepared for what he was tackling.
Into the Wild Essay Most people go into the wilderness to go camping for a week or less than a week, then leave. Some stay for more than a week. Chris McCandless was in the wild for at least one hundred days. “ I’ve decided to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and the beauty of it is too good to pass up.”(pg.92)
Romanticism was a movement during the late 18th century that encouraged imagination, exploration, individualism, and emotion. From it derived Transcendentalism, one of the first movements to originate from America and which bore the first American philosophers. These movements are often present in many pieces of American literature and this is no exception in Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild. The historic account retells the story of a young man named Chris McCandless, who adopts the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp and takes to the road, only to die of starvation in Alaska. On the surface it appears to be cautionary tale, but Krakauer literally retraces McCandless’ steps, talking to the people who Chris spoke with and even traveling to Chris’ final resting place.
What really drove Chris McCandless into the wild? I believe the top three of the countless reasons that drove McCandless into the wild was the emotional damage from his parents, rebellion of the youth & risk taking tendencies, and his hubris and detestation against authority and/or someone telling him what to do. Some may believe that Chris McCandless went into the wild because of his literary heroes Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau , and Jack London but the real reason he left everything was because of those reasons. In this essay I will elaborate on why I believe those are the reasons that drove McCandless into the wild.
For this, McCandless should be admired for his views for allowing him to live his best life. In conclusion, McCandless is not a reckless individual who perishes due to arrogance. Instead, he is admirable because his ideals have allowed him to live with true happiness. He waits long years and even breaks his values temporarily in order to achieve his goals.
The wild: A location considered to absent of man and abundant in nature. Many dream of escaping to the wild in order to escape the chaos of societal life and enlighten themselves. Of course, many view the wild as a dangerous realm that is to be left untouched unless one has extensive knowledge in everything regarding it. Chris McCandless was an idealist who did not hesitate to journey into the Alaskan wild and find the answers to life. Unfortunately, he was met with unforeseen circumstances and died from starvation.