Argumentative Essay Into The Wild

Since the beginning of time, achieving success has always been a group effort. Whether it be building the Pyramids or the White House, nothing over the course of history has ever been completed by one person alone. There is always help, whether it be in the form of someone acting on another individual's behalf or supporting someone by sharing advice or lending an encouraging word. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer is a work that reveals the tendency of people to fail at helping and supporting unique or unordinary individuals find a way to fit into a materialistic society that seemingly contradicts everything they stand for. It is through analyzing the reasons why Chris McCandless goes into the wild that we see the importance of having a support group and finding people to hold yourself accountable to. In the novel Into The Wild, Chris McCandless is placed under pressure by his parents to attend …show more content…
“In the third grade, after receiving a high score on a standardized achievement test, Chris was placed in an accelerated program for gifted students” (Krakauer 106). His mother, Billie, stated he was not happy about this “because it meant he had to do extra schoolwork. So he spent a week trying to get out of the program” (Krakauer 107). According to his sister Carine, even at this age “he was very to himself” (Krakauer 107). She states that “he wasn't antisocial-- he always had friends, and everybody liked him” (Krakauer 107) but “he could be alone without being alone” (Krakauer 107). The information Carine shares about Chris is very important in understanding his behavior through and after college. Considering her insight, it can be very strange to think a boy like him would become so cold simply because he was upset about attending college and losing a few friends. That is because these aren’t the only things that were bothering Chris during his time in