The Into the Wild Book by Jon Krakauer

Table of Contents

Introduction
Surviving Without His Parents
Surviving Without Material Possessions
Surviving Alone in the Alaskan Wilderness
Conclusion
Reference

Introduction

The protagonist appears before the readers as standing in the snow beside the road, thumb raised high, shivering in the gray Alaska dawn; he is already a survivalist for the audience (Krakauer, 1997, p. 1). One of the most important themes that Into the Wild represent is survival. After all, many young individuals are trying to survive independently without anybodys support or assistance. By going into the wilderness alone and leaving his ordinary life, Christopher McCandless wanted to challenge his life by surviving without his parents and material possessions alone in the Alaskan wilderness.

Surviving Without His Parents

McCandless cuts off all communication with his family and attempts to survive without the help of his parents. To seek freedom and to disassociate himself from his family, Christopher McCandless takes the name Alexander Supertramp. He was obstinate and found it difficult to accept how his family lived. For example, the quote, Walts need to exert control and Chriss extravagantly independent nature, polarization was inevitable, demonstrates how Christopher viewed his father (Krakauer, 1997, p. 46). It seemed like Christophers only choice was to vanish into the wilderness. Chris fought very hard to get to Alaska and endured a great deal, but his stubbornness eventually caught up with him. Krakauer (1997) describes his condition, malnutrition and the road have taken their toll on the body & over 25 pounds lost & But his spirit is soaring (p. 24). Ironically, Chris McCandless maintained his positive attitude even while he was near death. Throughout all of his escapades, Chris was always upbeat. Even after losing 25 pounds, he kept his positive attitude. It makes him a survivalist as he had a good mood during his harrowing journey.

Surviving Without Material Possessions

McCandless rejects all the comforts of modern-day life and attempts to survive without material possessions. Chris McCandless had very little that would have allowed him to stay in the wild. It is said that he had no axe, no bug dope, no snowshoes. The only navigational aid he had was a tattered state road map hed scrounged at a gas station. (Krakauer, 1997, p. 4). The protagonist brought a weapon, his clothes, and a rucksack with five pounds of rice. He used everything else that was taken from the land to help him live. Chris relied on very little food while he paddled to Mexico. He only had one oar for his canoe, and the environment was harsh. He overcame this and continued on in the woods. McCandless did this only to show that he was capable. Many people offered him clothing, food to take with him, money, and a variety of other items. McCandless said, I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence & I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life (Krakauer, 1997, p. 10). It was a journey meant to illustrate his survival abilities. McCandless could have survived more easily if he had been less resistant and would have taken the offers, but he never did. Most people thought Chris was unprepared and naive, but he was clever, not a typical survivor. He wanted to be as primal and authentic to himself as he could be, using almost no tools, and he wanted to live off the land.

Surviving Alone in the Alaskan Wilderness

McCandless ventures into the Alaskan wilderness and attempts to survive all alone; his readiness makes him a survivalist. He found an abandoned bus while wandering through the bush and made the decision to set up camp inside of it. Ironically, McCandlesss wilderness and unmapped terrain were both mapped and only a short distance away from the nearest roadway, about 15-20 miles. As Gallien had promised him, he struggled to gather and preserve the game and edible plants (Krakauer, 1997). The fungus on the plant seeds he had collected eventually made him very frail, and he passed away. It shows how a modern persons survival is tightly linked to technology and comfort. The survival theme of the book is well represented through the rivers that appear in the book. Rivers symbolize Christopher McCandless ability to survive. These are used to test McCandlesss limits, just like deserts and mountains. In contrast to other natural formations, McCandless is killed by a river after being defeated by it. The reasons for his loss to nature were ignorance of the weather and the specifics of the seasons, but he was sincere to himself when he made critical and life decisions.

Conclusion

McCandlesss decision to live in the wilderness and his overall personal development are excellent manifestations of the faithful and primal spirit of the survivalist and discoverer. It was said that, the trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything, and it was a great test of McCandlesss ability to survive (Krakauer, 1997, p. 15). McCandlesss personal safety is essential to living when foraging for food and relying solely on willpower. His actions repeatedly changed as he missed his family and the lovely civilization but being self-sufficient was a step closer to his achievement of independence. Even though he does not need or want attachments, he develops some relationships with other people along the way and not always with those who share his views. He lived a short life but experienced so much vitality and survival during his journey that few of his peers could.