Into the Wild by Krakauer Info free essay sample

Krakauer, Jon. â€Å"Into the Wild. We will write a custom essay sample on Into the Wild by Krakauer Info or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † February 1997. 207. New York : Villard, 1996. b) â€Å"Into the Wild† represents the entire book, Christopher McCandless’ journey all over the western United States and Alaska in escape with rebellion and anger of his parents living off the land, on foot, and completely intact in the wilderness. c) Jon Krakauer was born on April 12, 1954, in Brookline, Massachusetts, and grew up in Oregon, where he began mountain-climbing at eight years old. He was the son of a doctor and amateur mountaineer and was American. After graduating from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1976, Krakauer worked as a carpenter and a commercial fisherman in Colorado, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska, devoting most of his free time to climbing. In 1977 he pioneered a new route up the Devils Thumb in southeast Alaska, and in 1996 he reached the top of Mt. Everest. He is portrayed much in the character he creates in â€Å"Into the Wild. † d) Genre: Travel literature,  Biography,  Speculative fiction,  Travel,  Non-fiction,  Autobiography e) Number of pages: 207 II. ) Careerism, money, and materialism only embolden the blindness of Christopher’s parents. When Chris was born his dad had another son with his wife Martia, this fact redefined Chris and his sister as bastard children. Dad’s ignorance along with the fighting and abuse of Chris’s birth mother made him conveniently obliviant to the pain he caused. The denial of the previous marriage and son, for Chris was mur der of everyday truths. His whole life turned like a river going up a mountain. These revelations struck the core of his sense of identity; they made his entire childhood seem like fiction. III. a) Chris vs. Parents; Chris vs. Nature; Chris vs. Himself. His idealistic search for independence forces Chris to separate himself from his family and the world, taking refuge in nature. He wanders into Alaska’s interior looking for compassion to fill the emptiness between him and his parents, but what he really finds is a cold, lonely place. The chain of conflicts was all set in motion because of his differences with his parents and the constant torture from their actions. When McCandless secludes himself from his parents and society, he attempts to replace them with the wilderness. But the wilderness brings him more trouble with the cold winter and small shares of food and help he is assisted with, the constant struggle to stay alive and danger he faces being out in the wilderness alone. Chris was brought to his death by his arrogance but he was fighting for his soul to be free from the pain caused by his family, expectations, stress, and childhood trauma. b) The main resolution is Chris’s attempt to live life to the fullest even if it meant meeting his destiny, even death. He left earth at peace with nature as well as with his parents. This idealistic young man even with the parental conflicts had come to peace with them in his final moments of life. Chris’s death was a tragic consequence to his rebellious spirit towards his parents and society but that is how he solved his conflicts with himself that were caused by his parents which caused his conflicts with nature. c) Jon Krakauer presents the events of Into the Wild out of chronological order, giving flash backs. He writes in third person through some of the book, he also gives McCandlesss journal and quotes creating a first person point of view as well as third person throughout the book. IV. a) Characters: 1. Christopher Johnson McCandless, an intelligent, idealistic young man who believes that life is best lived alone, in nature. The main character on the book that lets his past effect the future and his rebellious ways. He spends two years testing his theory throughout the western United States before entering the wilds of Alaska unprepared and starving to death. He calls himself â€Å"Alexander Supertramp. † 2. Walt and Wilhelmina Billie McCandless, Chriss mother and second wife of his father. Walt who works at NASA and works on various business ventures with his wife involving his radar systems. Wilhelmina is emotionally and physically abused by Walt going along with what he says to stay out of trouble. They are blinded by careerism, money, and materialism to ever see how much they’re harming their children. 3. Carine McCandless, Chriss younger sister and the only one he could turn to in his life. She was the only one who understood him even when he left and never wrote, she knew what he was doing and why, she felt the same as he did. Through the hardships they leaned on each other for support and both promised to never tell their parents what they knew about Walt’s previous son from another woman. 4. Wayne Westerberg, grain elevator operator who befriends McCandless in north-central Montana in the fall of 1990. This is the second friend he makes and the one he tells his theories to. Westerberg offers him a ride, a place to stay, and then a job also assisting him in direction to Alaska. V. Rhetorical Strategies 1. Simile- using like or as to make a direct comparison between two essentially different objects. The hospitality was as cold as the ices† (117). Chris McCandless assumed he would find truth and purpose in nature, but instead he discovered problems from within the wild. He found that the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests was at a low in the wild as well as in man. This was a part of Chris’s journal entry. 2. Logos-the logic used to support a claim. â€Å"In Ma y 1990, Chris graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, where he’d been s columnist for, and editor of, the student newspaper, The Emory Wheel, and had distinguished himself as a history and anthropology major with a 3. 2 grade-point average† (20). This presents a side of Chris that appeals to people’s logos and makes them think. The main question that people have is â€Å"how could such a smart kid make such a dumb mistake? † This intrigue keeps the reader interested in the book even though the beginning reveals what happens to Chris in the end, and therefore continues to hold their attention. 3. Metaphor- when one thing is referred to as another. â€Å"Over 25 pounds lost. But his spirit is souring† (37). The author uses this to show the spirit of Chris in the wilderness pioneering. It is free, happy, with nature as he loves and prefers. He is taken high by the beauty and is in bliss even though his weight is declining. The adventurous, free, and rebellious physic has completely taken over. VI. Theme a) The past has a great influence on a person’s future. It has the ability to drive us to destruction, complete rebellion, harm, or a new beginning if it is unfortunate; it is that potent. b) â€Å"Driving west out of Atlanta, he intended to invent an utterly new life for himself, one in which he could be free to wallow in unfiltered experience. To symbolize the complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny† (23). c) Chris McCandless shows how his emotionally abusive past reflects entirely on his future. He adopts a new name and starts a new beginning setting out to create his own destiny, and not be living by the one his parents create for him. He is proof if a person is pushed to his limits, he will rebel until destruction.