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Into The Wild Chris Mccandless Comparison

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The description of Chris Mccandless, according to some, is that of a mad lunatic because of his outlandish actions displayed in Jon Krakauer’s “Into The Wild”. However, there are a few people who understand and show sympathy for McCandless’s view. An example of an individual that shares the same thrill as McCandless is the author himself. Similarities between Krakauer and McCandless mirror in their parental situations as well as their love for exploration into the unknown. These two individuals will demonstrate the struggle with family and identity that society has a hard time accepting.

Family and society take a toll on both McCandless and Krakauer, because their fathers demand so much from them, wanting them to exceed the legacy that they have established. While investigating into McCandless’s odyssey, Krakauer starts to reflect on his own personal life,“But i believe we were similarly affected by the skewed relationships we had with our fathers. …show more content…
As Krakauer tries to find a concrete identity to describe McCandless unique individual being, Krakauer states that, “he wasn't a nutcase, he wasn't a sociopath, he wasn't an outcast. McCandless was something else- although precisely what is hard to say. A pilgrim, perhaps" (90). Krakauer defends McCandless, as having no defining character, that he is an individual, single and distinctly separate from others. Krakauer even states that he views McCandless as everything but an explorer because of his passion. After Krakauer publishes the novel, he receives many letters stating that McCandless had a death wish for going out into the Alaskan frontier without any experience. However, it is this hunger for the wild and its dangers that tightens the bond for Krakauer, seeing so much of himself in

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