...Christopher McCandless was an avid reader in college and based much of his philosophical beliefs on what he read. Please research which two authors have the most profound effect on him and discuss the similarities and differences between their lives and works. Utilizing both the novel and various other supports, research the grip the wilderness has on the American imagination. “Alaska has long been a magnet for dreamers and misfits, people who think the unsullied enormity of the last frontier will patch all of the holes in their lives” (4). What are the holes people are trying to fill? Why do we believe the frontier will save us? What appeal does the “wild” still have on modern American society? Research and discuss the allure that high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mindset. Research outstanding examples of popular risky social behaviors, thrill sports and other self-destructive trends among youth in America. Christopher McCandless has a complicated relationship with his father. Many of McCandless’ personal decisions are directly or indirectly affected by this relationship and he even appears to have found a replacement “father figure” for himself in the form of Westerberg (as described in Chapter 3 of the novel). Research and discuss the highly charged bond that often exists between fathers and sons. Please research the origins of the purpose behind the “Burning Man” spectacle and its continued popularity with non-conformists. From the...
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...Chris McCandless, the subject of Jon Krakauer in Into the Wild, was not ignorant or unprepared, but he was going out into the wilderness to find the true meaning of life and to see what it was like to live out in the wild on his own. Chris was a great role model for kids all across the country; because he was trying to live out his dream and do what he thought was right in the wild and would not listen to what anyone told him to do. Chris McCandless was a loving and caring person who cherished for all creation and wanted to get away from the society and live free to find the meaning of life. I feel that Chris McCandless was a person in the world who didn’t like society and wanted to get away from people to become free in the wild. Chris never liked being in society with people and wanted to get away from them as much as he could. When the book opens, we see Chris hitchhiking into the wilderness trying to get away from society when he gets a lift from Jim Gallien. Chris was going to hitchhike to Denali National Park and get away from society and be free. Jim Gallien picked him up and drove him there. When he dropped him off, Chris did not bring much and his only food was a ten pound bag of rice because he wanted to experience the wild and be a part of it. In college at the Emory University, he never had a good social life with people and Krakauer states when people tried to talk to him at parties, “It was hard to get him to open up.” His studies were the only thing he was interested...
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...into the wild 4 Into the Wild is a popular film, based on a non-fiction novel written by Jon Krakauer, detailing the journey of Christopher McCandless, a young Emory university graduate who hailed from Virginia, and who took a hike in solitude, in an attempt at self-actualization by bonding with nature and seeking spiritual nourishment. This essay briefly examines the crux of the film. Having graduated on top of his class in 1991 and having attained repute as an athlete, Christopher McCandless left everything in his possession, donated his lifetime savings to the tune of $24,000 to Oxfam International on charitable grounds and set for his pilgrimage. In April 1992 he departed from his daily well-to-do life, torched his wallet with cash inside, renamed himself “Alexander Supertramp’’ and like a pilgrim, headed to the north of Mt. McKinley on his way to Alaska. While on his way there, he stumbles upon a succession of different people and events which influence his life. Though he was cash-strapped, he was determined to make it to the ‘promised land’. He sojourned in America to experience her as a country and her citizens. Among the activities he was involved in on his way to Alaska included a trip with a canoe on high waters, a sojourns with a couple and old widower. He had to endure the vagaries of a long, unplanned expedition: fatigue, hunger and cold, which nearly worked against him. All this while his family never heard from him nor anything related to his whereabouts...
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...INTO THE WILD, AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW Both The book and film 'Into the Wild' give an account on a genuine story of Christopher J McCandless, a knowledgeable and capable young fellow from a decent family who pursued his fantasies and desire. In the wake of graduation from Emory University, Chris gave the parity of his instruction sparing record to Oxfam and vanished from society to carry on with the life of a loner and endeavor into domains where relatively few have challenged. He ended up giving up obviously, his family and companions in doing as such. The book recounts the story from impeccable outsiders he met, his adolescence, his adventures and disappointments prompting his troublesome passing. The book and film additionally gives you samples of different experiences that have likenesses to Chris and additionally the writer who can identify with Chris' enthusiasm forever. It is an extraordinary story and surely one that inspires. I just cannot get enough of this story, the movie is epic, but it’s the novel that is the topping in the dessert. The moral lessons are immensely impactful, not only that, they are very relevant in the contemporary society. I have chosen to review this work of art due to the extensive applicability in real life and the lives of the majority of us in the contemporary society. I love the movie more since it brings the characters to live, in a manner that very few Hollywood blockbusters have achieved. This allows the audience to connect and identify...
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...Michelle B. Snyder Mrs. Rum DRE 098 13 February 2014 Into the Wild “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakaur traces the footsteps of Chris McCandless, after graduating from Emory College on May 12th, 1990. In search of a personal meaning of truth, while avoiding society and more importantly, relationships, Chris McCandless makes his quest for ultimate freedom into the Alaskan wilderness. Chris sets out on a two year journey to find a deeper meaning to life, without the demands of society. Chris adopts the name “Alexander Supertramp” as he makes his way across the western states. After leaving his Datsun in Nevada, Ales begins to hitchhike towards his destination. Along this phase of his journey, Alex meets Wayne Westerberg, Jan Burres and Ronald Franz. These new encounters with Alex, develop lasting impression on each and in the end will change what Chris learns from the entire experience. Wayne Westerberg was a grain operator in South Dakota when he stumbles upon Alex in Cut Bank. Wayne offered Alex more than a ride to his destination in Saco Hot Springs. He also offered him a warm place to stay, along with a job. Wayne states “I’ve given jobs to lots of hitchhikers over the years, most of them weren’t much good, but it was a different story with Alex.” (pg.17-18) Wayne’s relationship with his own father lead him to a deeper understanding of why Alex was head strong in completing his goal to set off into the wilderness of Alaska with just the things on his back. Along with his employees...
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...In May 1992, Christopher McCandless arrives in an area just north of the Denali National Park in Alaska and sets up a campsite in an abandoned, which he calls The Magic Bus. At first, Christopher is satisfied with the isolation, the beauty and quietness of nature around him, and the thrill of living off the land. He hunts wild animals, reads books, and keeps a journal of his thoughts as he prepares himself for a new life in the wild. Two years earlier in May 1990, Christopher graduates from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Afterwards, McCandless rejects his conservative life by destroying all of credit cards and identification documents. However, McCandless does not tell his parents Walt and Billie McCandless or his sister Carine what he is doing or where he is going, and refuses to keep in touch with them after his departure, leaving them to become increasingly anxious and eventually very desperate. At Lake Mead, Arizona Christopher’s car is caught in a flood, which is causing him to abandon it and begin hitchhiking instead. He burns what remains of his cash supply and decides to go by a new name: "Alexander Supertramp." He chooses to go by “Supertramp” because Supertramp means a person or an animal that is the first living to arrive in newly available habitats, and that is exactly what he does. He wants to discover the unknown areas in Alaska and then explore the wilderness as no man has ever done. In North California McCandless meets a hippie couple named Jan Burres...
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...once was he branched off. McCandless didn’t have the idle childhood, he wanted his own personal experiences. His parents were always busy, and he grew to be very stubborn and independent minded. He reinvented himself, he wanted the good life, completely letting go by changing and burning all of his money. Making a new beginning, took a chance on what he wanted to do. So he became something for himself, “McCandless walks south through the desert, arriving in the Topock, Arizona, where he buys a second hand canoe. 2. Krakauer titles his book Into The Wild which echoes Jack London’s work, The Call of the Wild. McCandless’s experience demonstrates the “grip wilderness has on the American imagination, the allure high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mind…” How do you define “the call of the wild?” Does the call still exists in the same form it existed in previous periods in American history? How is the “wild” or the wilderness important to us as a people? What about to you as an individual? The appeal of the nature the wilderness gives people the ability to be free from society. To be able to escape from reality for a little while, to do something you wouldn’t normally do. Naturally need for the wilderness it’s a challenge you want to concur. See like the character was forced into his structured life style...
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...Christopher Johnson McCandless, also know as “Alexander Supertramp” to those he connected with while on the lam, was a hiker that that went into the wilderness with little food and equipment hoping to find a life of solitude. On this thrilling journey in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Chris displays himself to be a hero of authenticity and transcendentalism, and at times even a fool. Towards the end of his life, he truly morphed himself from a college graduate, to a man that lives and strives off the land known as “Supertramp.” Christopher was a genuine boy throughout the course of his life and always saw the positive in negative situations. His bubbly personality was contagious as he mesmerized everyone with his charm and sincereness. His authenticity is show throughout the entirety of the book, but a single quote represents his mentalities and philosophies, “The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun” (Krakauer 57). He lived and died by this mind set, which exemplified his heroism. Christopher knew there was a intense physical challenge ahead of him in order to achieve the emotional enlightenment he set out searching for; this is another prime example that shows the true hero of authenticity. Most people would be deterred from this expedition because they deem...
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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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...Wenjie Hu, TJ Puckett, English 102, 09/19/2013 A Pilgrims of Ultimate Freedom Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer is the true story of Chris Johnson McCandless, a young man who is found dead in the Alaska wilderness, McCandless raised in a wealthy family from Virginia, and he is born talented and smart, who from an early age shows deep intensity, passion, and a strict moral behavior. After graduating from high school, McCandless spent the summer alone on a road trip, during which he discovered his father secretly had a second family. McCandless returns home and starts as a freshman in college, but his anger over this betrayal and his parents’ keeping this secret away from him grows worse and worse over time. By the time that McCandless graduated from college, he drives away without telling anyone where he is going, abandoning the use of his real name along the way. He never contacts his family. Not too long after McCandless abandoned his car in the desert and he begins to hitch hikes around the Northwest, getting jobs everywhere but not staying at a location for long, During this time, he gets to know a few people. In 1992, McCandless hiked into the wilderness, he spent the next sixteen weeks in the magic bus, not seeing a single human being the entire time. He has success for the most parts. However, McCandless probably have eaten some moldy seeds, and the mold contains a poison that caused him to starve to death. He realized that he is going to die, he...
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...Christopher McCandless In August of 1992, at the Stampede Trail of Alaska, several groups of hikers and hunters discovered the dead body of a young man, shriveled up in an old abandoned bus. That corpse was later identified as Christopher McCandless, an adventure-seeking, young man that had passed due to starvation and poisoning. In the summer of 1990, Christopher had left behind his family and friends, to venture off and experience life for what it actually was. He traversed all across the nation, met many new people along the way, and managed to live off of the land. He kept detailed records of his travels and various encounters in his personal journal. Into the Wild is a book written by Jon Krakauer in attempt to shed light on Chris’s journey to Alaska. Christopher McCandless was running away from a pathway that had been strategically paved for him, by his affluent parents, a pathway which would lead Chris to great heights of materialistic success, and power. Although Christopher’s intentions were ambiguous in the beginning, towards the end of his journey, it had become evident that he wanted to attain a sense of self-fulfillment, without any type of interference or assistance. Walt McCandless and Billie Johnson, Christopher’s parents, contributed to Chris’s departure in a number of ways. Although there were many misunderstandings, and differences of opinion between Chris and Walt, Chris always carried a sense of respect for his father. As Carine, Chris’s sister, told...
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...Into the Wild Summary Into the Wild is a film adaptation of the book by the same name by Jon Krakauer based on a true story. Christopher McCandless is a young man, who does not believe in the need of material goods. After graduating from high school with high grades, he refuses to live his normal everyday life. He donates all of his savings and leaves his home and family without telling anybody. He leaves with his old car and burns his remaining money. He goes by the name Alexander Supertramp and starts his primitive life on the road heading for Alaska. During his travel he works different places and encounters hippies, Danes and the retired Ron, who helps him reaching his destination. His family is desperate to hear from him, though he does not care. When he is living in Alaska he has all the skills and experiences to live on his own. Review Into the Wild is a movie that leaves you pensive and reflective by the deeper meaning behind Chris’ choice of living. You become emotional by his believe in nature and God, and his conviction of no need of material goods. The question throughout the story is: is he just stupid or is he brave? He seems to be the perfect ideal by not following the norms in the society and his way of remaining unaffected of the society is very inspiring. Chris wants to be happy, but his parents’ impact on him is leading him to this way of living, because they are unhappy. Their happiness is shallow and that is what he does not want to end up with. He is...
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...A Hopeful Prodigy Led Astray Chris McCandless was a well-rounded student and athlete who lived in a wealthy neighborhood in Washington D.C. His father, Walt, already had another family and kids when Chris was born. Chris found out about his father’s secret family when he visited his hometown after graduating from high school. Discovering this at such a delicate age, Chris became furious with his parents, especially his father. He abandoned his career in law and decided to travel to the Alaskan mountains and camp there alone. Being part of a secret, hidden family led Chris to shift his focus from his parents and career in law and seek replacements for them in the form of nature, Francis and Westburg. The similarity between Chris's personality and that of his father was one of the problems; similar people tend to grate on each other, especially when one is in direct authority. Chris felt that his parents, while meaning well, didn't understand the ideals that he had learned from Tolstoy or Thoreau, and that they were addicted to the pursuit of material wealth just like everyone else in society. Instead of speaking with them and finding common ground, he rebelled in a passive-aggressive manner. When he finally started his journey, he resolved to never contact them; sadly, he held to this resolution until it was too late. McCandless "talks the talk" in a way that alienates fewer listeners than one would predict, but he "walks the walk," too — which may account for the fact that...
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...Into the Wild In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, a moose hunter found his decomposed body. Christopher McCandless was born in California. He had 6 half-siblings from his father’s earlier marriage. His parents fought a lot and always wanted to divorce. His father had not actually divorced from his first wife. Eventually Chris found this out, and it could have been a factor about his views of society. He envisioned separating from the organized society to go on the road and just live. He dreamed of an “Alaskan Odyssey” where he would live off the land in the Alaskan Wilderness. Christopher graduated from Emory in Atlanta Georgia on May 12, 1990. At school, his teachers noticed him as unusually strong willed. He was always a devoted Christian. He was an athlete, captain of the cross-country team. In 1990, he donated $25,000 given to him for his law degree to a charity to prevent hunger. Near the end of June he burned all the cash in his wallet, ripped his I.D. in half, sold his apartment, and went on the road. His parents sent him many letters, and he told the post office to hold them back. Since he had no phone, his parents did not know what was going...
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...Anchorage couple Pair who stumbles upon an abandoned bus along Alaska's Sushana River in August 1992. They read McCandless's S.O.S. note on the rear door and perceive a rotting smell emanating from the bus. Jan Burres and Bob Itinerant couple who meets McCandless in the summer of 1990 when he is searching for edible berries alongside U.S. Highway 101. Estranged from her own son, Jan takes a special interest in McCandless. She states “She would want someone to look after her son, wherever he is, like she is looking after McCandless. Charlie Old man who lives outside Bullhead City, Arizona, and suggests that McCandless live in an empty RV of which Charlie is a caretaker. Gave him money and a pack of Cigarettes. Ronald Franz Eighty-year-old man who gives McCandless a ride from Salton City, California, to Grand Junction, Colorado. After McCandless's death, Franz heeds the young man's advice to "hit the road" and live off the grid. No doubt was the most influenced by Chris and even gave up his religion because of Chris’s death. Was probably more drawn to Chris than anyone else, arguably, due to the loss of his son and wife. Jim Gallien Last person to see McCandless alive. In April 1992, he drops off the young man on Alaska's Stampede Trail, giving McCandless his boots and advising him to reconsider his plan to live off the land. Thought he was insane for going in with nothing but a ten pound bag of rice and little supplies. Jon Krakauer The author. Describes his own...
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