Christopher Mccandless: A Tragic Hero

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According to Aristotle, “Tragedy...is an imitation of an action of high importance... in language enhanced by distinct and varying beauties...by means of pity and fear effectuating its purgation of these emotions” (Potts 24). The movie, Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn is a tragic story about an adventurer, Christopher McCandless, who wanders seeking solitude and serenity until he ultimately dies due to his headstrong persona. Christopher McCandless’s story tragically explores the importance of tolerance and sensibility. Sean Penn explores tragedy through the elements of a sense of catharsis, hamartia, and a reversal of fortune.
An important characteristic of a tragedy is catharsis, the purging of emotion through pity and fear. Aristotle believes catharsis brings ‘intellectual clarification’; it helps to establish the plot and understand the motives of the characters.. The audience recognizes the actions taken by Chris to make him into a tragic hero because the emotional …show more content…
Aristotle claims a tragic hero must have a major flaw to explore the character’s morals. McCandless’s arrogance arising out of pride causes his downfall and the disastrous outcome. He is very prideful and he refuses the help of …show more content…
He creates highly emotional moments leaving the audience reenergized, he explains how the protagonist’s pride causes his demise, and he explores how the protagonist’s fall from glory catalyzes the descent of the character; all of which are necessary for a successful tragedy. The movie, Into the Wild, follows a character’s decline into a tragic hero and the adversity faced as a result of his actions. Tragedy is a key component of everyday life and it is important to examine tragedies to change one’s perspective and to regenerate oneself through

Christopher Mccandless: A Tragic Hero

Christopher McCandless was born on February 12, 1968, and he died on August 1992. He attended Emory University, he grew up with a good family who had a high economic status. After graduating from college Christopher decide to go into the wilderness he wanted to live off the land. McCandless walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Christopher spent two years of his life traveling around the country, he made this decision for the reason that he wanted to be free from the expectations…

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In the non-fiction work Into the Wild, the author, Jon Krakauer exudes a tone and perspective particularly in his viewpoint towards Christopher McCandless through writing in such a way to convey the story of a tragic hero. In the author’s note, Krakauer admits he cannot be an impartial biographer and recounts the moments before McCandless’ death as “one or two seemingly insignificant blunders” and “honest mistakes”, thus revealing a sympathetic attitude towards him. Subsequently, he believes “it…

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