Character Analysis: Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

Throughout the novel, Krakauer gives the audience an inside perspective to Chris's personality. He does this to prove that Chris is an individual that is determined and adventurous, yet still kind and generous. As he sheds this light on his character, it’s demonstrated that Chris had more to him than the side of criticizing authority, disrespecting his family, and defining societal rules. Chris had a compassionate soul, even from his early years in high school. Krakauer learned from classmate and teammate Eric Hathaway that when his high school pals were attending keggers and sneaking into Georgetown bars, “Mccandless would wander the seedier quarters, chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals and suggesting ways to improve their lives.”(113) This memory revealed that Mccandless truly was kindhearted and …show more content…
These insights put to rest the popular opinions of those who obtain a negative opinion of Chris’s journey, whom Krakauer so often references. It is easy to make first hand judgements when you do not know the entire story, which is what that select group of people did. However, when one sees an individual doing kind things, often they wish they could be more like them. These examples are there to touch people’s heart and bring Chris to a higher standard. Not only that, Krakauer wants his audience to understand just how diligent and hardworking Chris was, and how that could tie into his persistence to spend some time in the Alaskan bush. By providing insight to Mccandless's character, Krakauer proves that Chris did possess these “normal” qualities, including kindness, generosity, and diligence. How could McCandless be a suicidal madman if he possessed the same normal qualities as everyone else? He can’t, and Krakauer proves that to be through analyzation of his character in the