Into the Wild Essay

Submitted By cristal023
Words: 1737
Pages: 7

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer is a nonfiction story. A significant theme I found in Into the Wild is Chris’s desire for exploration, and explanation of true happiness, freedom, and beauty. Christopher also wanted to travel, because he wanted to find out about mankind and get away from society. The main character Christopher did some unusual things many that led others to believe that Christopher was crazy, insane, or mentality ill. Despite what he did he was well educated, and highly respected by everyone who knew him. Christopher came from a rich suburb of Washington D.C. He excelled in school and had been an outstanding athlete. He graduated with honors from Emory University, and soon after he dropped out. He changed his name from Christopher to Alex, gave his twenty-four-thousand dollar savings account to charity, abandoned his car, and burned all of the cash in his wallet. He desired to live off of the land and traveled across North America. Christopher was stubborn he did things his way, and didn't listen to the preparations he was told to undertake. There were several ways that Christopher wasn’t prepared for what he was getting himself into. Christopher was emotionally prepared when he headed out into the wilderness, but he was not prepared in what he needed to survive. He was a smart young guy who believed in the idea that he could live off from the wild. When he was ready to go back to civilization the river he came across that was once shallow was now way too high and dangerous to cross. For example, “Alex’s cheap leather hiking boots were neither waterproof nor well insulated… he had no ax, no bug dope, no snow shoes, and no compass. The only navigational aid in his possession was a tattered state road map he’d scrounged at a gas station”( Krakauer 4). This certain text is what indicated to me how un prepared he was. It was also part of the Boy Scout rule to be prepared right? When Christopher began traveling he went by the name “Alexander”. I felt that Chris took pride in surviving with a minimum of gear, funds and of his little preparation. I discovered that Chris had a problem taking advice, either from the experts or his friends or family. He wanted to prove to himself that he could, and also he was opposed to a lot of societies "routines and values". Another example,” I can’t believe they’d try and buy me a car” (Krakauer 21). Chris complained in a letter to his sister Carine. His father wanted to buy him a new car, but he didn't see the necessity in it when his car worked just fine. He felt that he could function without the help of standard society, and he went "into the wild" for the adventure, to leave society behind, to prove to himself he could. Chris had a strong view by the constructs of modern society. He did not want to squander his life in menial job in pursuit of material wealth. Instead he wanted the freedom, and true happiness found only in simpler life in true nature is what he believed. Chris was tired of the routine life that most people live in America. He thought titles, careers, and money amounted to nothing but theater, and he hated the materialism that money brought. He believed money was "shameful, corrupting, and inherently evil." I think for most of all Chris wanted to prove to himself that he could go live into the wild and survive. At one point Christopher had gotten a job at a fast food place, and he wanted to know what hard work felt like since he was used to the fact that everything was handed to him easily. He left the job, because he wasn’t allowed to work without socks and he took that quiet offensively. One of the ways Christopher had many to respect him, was his adherence to principles. He didn’t simply talk about how his parents were too materialistic, or stated that he won’t be as greedy as he believes them to be. Instead, he lives by his anti-materialism, like giving away all of his life savings to charity, only making the bare minimum of money that he