...adventure and putting yourself in risky situations is a common desire for those who spend their life trapped in the cog of life and success, people who grew up with expectations set upon them, people like Christopher McCandless. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a book on Chris McCandless, a man who decided he would hitch-hike up north into the Alaskan wilderness. This is considered a non-fiction biography. Chris was only in his twenties when he set out on his wilful journey to Alaska, embarking on a trip of being alone to make his own decisions, being stripped down to his wits, testing his strengths, and ultimately taxing his weaknesses....
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...Jon Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, follows the story of journalist, Jon Krakauer, as he is trying to investigate the death of Christopher McCandless. A boy who traveled into the Alaskan wilderness and never came out. The author follows the clues Chris left to the final resting place of Chris to uncover the truth behind his death. The book is an extension of the nine thousand word article written in the magazine, Outside. Into the Wild follows many of the 10 elements of journalism provided by the American Press Institute, which are based on truth, loyalty to the public, and the equal viewpoints of both journalist and the public. Throughout Into the Wild, the author's main goal is to spread the truth of Chris McCandless's death. Truth...
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...“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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...Into the Wild Character Analysis Essay Chris McCandless, the main character in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, is a man with many problem in his life, in which, sets out to find his true self by surrounding himself with nothing but nature in the Alaskan wilderness. In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer characterizes Christopher Mccandless as foolish and determined. Christopher Mccandless is a guy who sought out nature to find the true meaning of life, but in doing so, it killed him because he was foolish. Chris was going to make the long journey to Alaska by foot, but everyone else knew he would end up needing a ride, but ¨… when they see that [machete]¨(Krakauer, 68), no one's gonna want to. He intended to make his long journey and live off nature...
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...1 May 2015 The Value of Risk-Taking: A Cross Analysis of Krakauer’s Into the Wild When I was younger, I used to play a lot of soccer; I played midfielder. As the midfielder, I had to decide on whether to move onto defense or attack for possession of the ball when the opposing team had it. Each time I decided between the two, I was left open to the fact that my decision may have been the wrong one. Sometimes I would decide to attack in an attempt to gain possession of the ball. Sometimes I would succeed and gain possession back; Sometimes I would fail and the ball would get past me. I eventually grew out of playing soccer and moved onto other sports and hobbies. I occasionally did more dangerous things, like open-face rock climbing. When rock climbing, it always comes back to the same thing: deciding on if doing this thing is worth it or not. Is attempting to jump across worth it? Should I go back down? Or continue up? Each time you ask these things, you have to decide on what to do. Be it rock climbing, playing soccer, or doing anything that involves some sort of decision making, each decision comes with a varying level of risk. In soccer, that risk is minimal and not very life threatening, but when rock climbing (maybe without a belayer), some decisions can come with more serious consequences; these can be anything like small injuries, or they can cause serious injuries or even death. Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild portrays Chris McCandless as someone who takes...
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...Haydn Schoonover American Lit, P6 Westenskow May 9, 2014 Into the Wild, Chris McCandless Analysis In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer tells the story of Chris McCandless, a man born in an affluent family. McCandless allowed his wandering thoughts and moral code guide him in a way that lead to certain death. His parents, Billie and Walt McCandless set him up for an impressive, promising life. Chris took this promising, successful future and spun into a journey filled with idealist literature and danger that skewed his world view. Chris McCandless is often seen as a narcissistic, deeply-misplaced young man that betrayed the emotional trust of his parents. He was not the ideal hero, nor was he a fool. He was rather an idealist, applying his beliefs in order to shift his purpose, unable to be influenced by the forces in his life, such as his collegiate endeavors and his family. “At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence.” (Krakauer, 22). McCandless frees himself, despite being chained to the rabid chaos of the urban, modern world. The story of Into the Wild communicates that it is important to follow your own path, in spite of external opinions. Chris McCandless was a pompous fool taking into consideration the decisions he made throughout his short life. He burned all of the money his wallet...
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...Comparative Analysis Isolation is not Happiness Who would want to be isolated from the world and not have anyone there to experience life’s course? Chris McCandless and the shell collector lived a life of solitude because they didn’t want to face life’s challenges as they were. They were selfish and had no reason to excommunicate themselves from the people who truly loved and cared for them. They soon came to realize that isolating themselves from humanity wasn’t the way to go about in life. But their realization came too late and neither of them got a chance to tell their loved ones how they felt. Jon Krakauer’s national bestselling novel, Into the Wild, and Anthony Doerr’s short story of, “The Shell Collector” have a similar theme in the characterization of the protagonist, in the purpose of isolation, and in the realization of needing people in the end. The protagonist, Chris McCandless, from Into the Wild, never had a stationary lifestyle because he was always moving from place to place. He was a very nomadic person because he loved to explore nature and he did in a way that made him travel to different parts of the United States. Chris didn’t have just one way of getting around, he often hitchhiked, walked, or hopped on a train in hopes of not getting caught (Krakauer, p. 32-37). His way of living consisted of sleeping in the street, making friends at a trailer park, or finding a scenic area where he could settle in for a couple days. He never spent more than a few...
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...Nature’s role in the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer plays a significant part in Chris McCandless’ life. My argument or topic sentence would be that “Nature gives freedom, and man’s ultimate joy can only be found in man’s communion or relationship with nature”. “...there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun” ( p. 79). “You think that I am stubborn, but you are even more stubborn than me. You had a wonderful chance on your drive back to see one of the greatest sights on earth, the Grand Canyon, something every American should see at least once in his life” ( Chapter 6, p. 57). “But in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure” (Chapter 6, p. 57). “...they present to Alex a route which apparently will take him to the ocean. He is overjoyed and hope bursts back into his heart” (Chapter 4, p. 34). “Flying would be cheating . It would wreck the whole trip”( Chapter 7, p. 67). “Hey Guys! This is the last communication you shall receive from me. I now walk out to live amongst the wild. Take care, it was great knowing you” (Chapter , p. 69). ‘This is the last time you shall hear from me Wayne….I want you to know that you’re a great man. I now walk into the wild” (p. 69). Analysis Paragraph In the book “ Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, Nature plays a significant role in...
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...Fear of the Unknown Taking any kind of a risk is a gamble. They have the potential to lead to a harmful or dangerous outcome, yet can still provide the opportunity for an outcome that can perceived as positive. The essay, “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer is his account of Chris McCandless’ search for himself through taking a risk and inhabiting the Alaskan wilderness. Through his lack of survival skills, it is evident that McCandless is a person who likes to take part of risky and dangerous behaviors. “Immune to Reality” by Daniel Gilbert is an analytical essay that revolves around the existence of the psychological immune system. This defense system proves to work as a mechanism that can create positive views out of a negative experience thus producing happiness to an individual. Through Gilbert’s analysis he discovers that people are usually not in favor of taking risks out of fear of feeling regret. However he proves how the psychological immune system can turn a negative consequence of taking a risk into a more pleasant and bearable one. The essay “Another Look Back, And A Look Ahead” by Edward Tenner is an insightful discussion about how people often miscalculate the way technologies will work in the future and to what extent they are useful. People may find themselves getting an unexpected outcome of some new technology which can lead to dangerous risks in the future. People take risks because they want to attain happiness however in the process of this, sometimes people’s...
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...Into the Wild Argumentative Essay Into the Wild is a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It is an expansion of Krakauer's 9,000-word article on Christopher McCandless titled "Death of an Innocent", which appeared in the January 1993 issue of Outside. Christopher Johnson McCandless was an intelligent, idealistic young man who believed that life was best lived alone, in nature. He spent two years testing his theory throughout the western United States before he entered the wilds of Alaska unprepared and starved to death. Chris had a very bright, hopeful future and why he left it all behind confuses most people. After analyzing Chris's personality traits, it helps things make sense. This makes many people ask the question, what was Christopher McCandless's temperament type? The theory of temperament type was introduced in the 1920s by Carl G. Jung. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment. Based on evidence from the story, Chris McCandless was most likely an INTP (introverted, intuitive, thinking, and perceiving) temperament type. This means he was focused internally, where he dealt with things rationally and logically. Some people would diagree wiht this position and would argue that Chris McCandless leaned towards the preference of sensing and feeling. There is some evidence provided...
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