Not many people will experience living in the wilderness, but for those who have will have memories to treasure forever. Among those people who would choose this way of living is Chris McCandless. Jon Krakauer’s novel “Into The Wild,” Krakauer attempts to recreate and tell the story of Chris McCandless’s journey to Alaska. Unfortunately, because of McCandless’s untimely death in the Alaskan wilderness, there are many mysteries that will be left unanswered such as his decision to go there. There are many speculations regarding the causes for McCandless’s journey because there is no valid proof.
Even the author Krakauer forms his own theory. He accurately hypothesizes “youthful derring-do” (182) as a motive for McCandless’s “Alaskan odyssey” (157); in addition, the transcendentalist ideas—escapism, simplicitism, nonconformity, and spiritual connection—McCandless internalized from the literature he read fused with his animosity towards his parents compelled him to venture “into the wild” (134).
Krakauer correctly attributes McCandless’s youth and risk-taking personality as one of the driving forces in his journey. Since he was young, he enjoyed a life of adventure and action.
According to the article “This Is Your Brain on Adventure” by Florence Williams, risk takers have “three major emotional ingredients: desire for adventure, relative disregard for harm, [and] impulsivity. ” These assertions are persuasive because McCandless possess all these characteristics and he demonstrates them throughout the book. In “Detrital Wash,” Krakauer describes McCandless’s adventure throughout the United States and Mexico. While he was in Arizona, he impulsively buys a secondhand aluminum canoe so that he can paddle “down the Colorado River to the Gulf of California” (Krakauer 32).
The Essay on Journey 3
Journeys are often undertaken by the need to escape the tensions of our realities. Either the physical or metaphysical challenges one experiences on a journey evoke self-reflection and internal realisation, assisting the individual to resolve previous tensions and gather new outlook on life. This is evident in Tim Winton’s novel “A Big World,” Phillip Hodgin’s poem “Dirt Roads” and the film “Into ...
Later, McCandless was “strirred by the austerity” of Colorado’s landscape and he ignored warning signs that he was about to enter the “U. S. Army’s highly restricted Yuma Proving Ground” (Krakauer 33).
Williams’s statement proves Krakauer’s idea that “youth derring-do” was the reason for McCandless’s journey. McCandless read many works of literature including those written by Leo Tolstoy, Henry David Thoreau, and Jack London. As a result, he adopted their beliefs as his own, especially the transcendentalist ideas of Henry David Thoreau.
Chris McCandless’s journey is largely driven by the transcendentalist ideas: escapism, nonconformity, simplicitism, and spiritual connection. It was proven by Krakauer that he does not like to get too close to people and he always wants to get away from them. As Krakauer points out: McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well–relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it. he had fled the claustrophobic confines of his family.
He’d successfully kept Jan Burress and Wayne Westerberg at arm’s length, flitting out of their lives before anything was expected of him. And now he’d slipped painlessly out of Ron Franz’s life as well. (Krakauer 55).
This statement implies that McCandless has problems with intimacy. During his long and fatal adventure he does not contact his closest family and friend, his sister Carine. Although he met many people along the way, he always kept a certain distance. He feared the responsibilities that comes along with human relationships. It was evident in the story that he was againstmany things, such as authority.
One time, Krakauer reports that he drove his Datsun off-road even though it is forbidden. His refusal to abide by the law suggests that he does not want to live by the rules and expectations set for him. McCandless had the transcendentalist view of simplicity. He wanted to live with as few belongings and help as possible. Krakauer reports that he burned “one hundred twenty-three dollars” and he tried to give away “his watch, his comb, and what he said was all his money” (28, 7).
The Term Paper on Support Individuals in Their Relationships
1. Understand factors affecting the capacity of individuals to develop and/or maintain relationships 1.1 Analyse reasons why individuals may find it difficult to establish or maintain relationships There are several factors that come into play here. There may be an issue with the individuals communication needs, it can be difficult to establish a relationship and maintain it if your communication ...
This information suggests that McCandless wanted to live without the lavish pleasures of civilization.
He preferred to survive with the bare necessities and the only thing he had was a few materials and a ten pound bag. Wallace Stegner points out in his essay “Coda: Wilderness Letter,” that the wilderness is important because “for the spiritual renewal, the recognition of identity, [and] the birth of awe” Stegner’s statement suggests the allure of the wilderness that McCandless saw. He viewed the wilderness as a place for self-discovery, a place where he can live by his own rules and be completely free, and a sanctuary that is free from the ideas he opposed.
He also wanted to test himself by trying to survive with little materials. (Stegner).
He was seeking nonconformity, refuge, self-discovery and simplicity in the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless’s contempt for his parents and his desire to punish them help trigger his journey to Alaska. His relationship with his parents was strained and problematic. He hated them because he viewed them as materialistic, manipulative, and tyrannical rulers. However, his relationship with his father Walt is much worse. Just like his father, McCandless was strong-willed and determined.
Krakauer reports McCandless’s stubbornness, along with their contrasting beliefs, caused them to constantly clash with each other. McCandless always tried to live up to the high expectations set by Walt. According to Krakauer, when McCandless discovered that his father continued the relationship with his ex-wife, he felt betrayed and wronged by the hypocrisy of his father’s expectations. During his junior year at Emory, his animosity towards his parents intensified because, according to McCandless, they symbolized the “injustice in the world at large” (123).
The Essay on Father-Son Relationships In ''The Kite Runner'' By Khaled Hosseini
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a touching tale of an Afghani boy’s upbringing. Despite having a protagonist brought up in a culture unfamiliar to most North Americans, the book has found widespread readership. One of the many reasons for the book’s popularity is the development and believability of the father-son relationships that we are introduced to right at the ...
