Krakauer And Mccandless Comparison

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“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun” (Krakauer, 57). These are the insightful words of Christopher McCandless, which can be found in Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, a biography about a man who never seemed to fit in with society, instead turning to nature, compelled by his favorite adventure novels to embark on a true storybook odyssey. After giving away nearly all his worldly possessions, McCandless created a new life for himself by hitchhiking to Alaska and venturing into the wilderness with barely any supplies, only to be found dead four months later. Consequently, Jon Krakauer's book Into …show more content…
The author seems to see a little of himself in McCandless, a young man with admiration for the wilderness, paralleling the author's own experiences with exploration, which causes him to relate to his story several times throughout the reading. Likewise, these similarities influenced Krakauer to include aspects of his own life to further the theme of the book while supplementing McCandless's story. Towards the beginning of the book, Krakauer states in his Author’s Note, “I was haunted by the particulars of the boy’s starvation and by vague, unsettling parallels between events in his life and those in my own” (Krakauer, 2). This shows Krakauer’s intrigue in the compelling story of Chris McCandless, wanting to research him more as he finds similarities in their lives and …show more content…
Krakauer demonstrates that no matter how much a person wishes to live a secluded life in the wilderness, the need for human contact is unavoidable, serving as a compelling force, whether in the form of a desire for social comfort and a sense of belonging or as a means of meeting basic needs. The lesson that can be learned from Into the Wild is that one should strive for their dreams and seek happiness, but true joy is shared with others, and those who pursue their ideals must always be prepared for the future and the hardships that come. The book also contains a useful lesson that determination and perseverance have immense value regardless of whether it results in success, leaving a lasting impact which compels readers to reflect on their own lives. In conclusion, Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild successfully leaves an impression on readers through the author's explanation of McCandless’s character, his inclusion of details from McCandless’s interactions with others, and the thought-provoking lessons that can be gained from analyzing the compelling
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