Separation In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

Superior Essays
Man has never been a lone wolf, but a nomad, always traveling in packs because without others Man cannot survive. Without cooperation, Man cannot live because life is not self-sustainable. For those who attempt to live on their own, they realize the hardships of being lonesome the hard way. A man who believes that one can be self-sufficient is a man with a distorted vision of reality. Therefore, McCandless’ distorted vision of reality forces him to abandon civilization and seek self-fulfillment which leads to his inevitable downfall.
People often resort to isolation to run away from their problems. They seek answers but fail to realize that others can provide a solution. Christopher J. McCandless is one the type of person to abandon companionship for isolation. Separation from civilization only harms the person who leaves it. Hence from the very beginning, McCandless' call for help goes unnoticed, "S.O.S. I NEED YOUR HELP. I AM INJURED, NEAR DEATH, AND TOO WEAK TO HIKE OUT OF HERE. I AM ALL ALONE, THIS IS NO JOKE. IN THE NAME OF GOD, PLEASE REMAIN TO SAVE ME..." (Krakauer 12). His S.O.S note elucidates the impression that isolation is fatal and that the need for companions is crucial. However, McCandless has had a few friendships on his journey, but he decided to keep them at a
…show more content…
That him cutting off all connection to society is brave because everyone else fears the abandonment of civilization and complete solitude. McCandless does somethings that others wish they could do. However, McCandless did not abandon everything because he is courageous; he abandons everything because he seeks self-fulfillment. Moreover, he leaves out of anger, not nobility. As for self-fulfillment, he discovers that happiness is only real when shared, so his idea that there is no need for others for one to be happy proves false. Overall, McCandless is a reckless Narcissist that pursues a distorted

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    On McCandless’s journey, he comes into contact with a few unique individuals, but in that small time he connects and reaches all of them in a very passionate way because of his natural communication…

    • 1021 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Identity is something all human beings search for throughout their lives. Who a person is defines not only who they are but what their life will be like. When a person knows who they are it can give them a sense of power and confidence. Although, sometimes the components of a person’s identity can amount to a less than desirable being. Within the narratives of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, “Survivor Type” by Stephen King, and “To Build A Fire” by Jack London the identities of each protagonist is evident in several ways.…

    • 1373 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    McCandless wasn't some feckless slacker, adrift, and confused, racked by existential despair. To the contrary: His life hummed with meaning and purpose." (187). Krakauer emphasizes the good within McCandless, stating that all of his actions were deliberate and meaningful. By using extreme wording such as “even a modicum” and “feckless slacker”, Krakauer clearly distinguishes Chris from the regular man.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He doesn’t care about what other people think, just as long as he achieves what he is after. For example he left his parents house to go live in the Alaskan wilderness. “McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme. He has a need to test himself in ways, as he was fond of saying, “that mattered”. He possessed grand – some would say grandiose – spiritual ambitions” (Krakauer 182).…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    McCandless was different from the rest of his peers and many other people. McCandless didn't really believe in having relationships with people, in fact he had a bad relationship with his parents and all he really wanted was to get away from everything in his life, his parents, school, and society. He gave up his savings to charity and burned his social security number before he head out to his journey. This comes to show that no matter how much of s good life you could have doesn't mean you're always happy. If I wasn't happy at all in the environment that I live in I would take actions to try and make the situation i'm in, a better one but not drastic actions like McCandless decided to take when he set out for the wilderness in Alaska to get away from his problems.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He wanted to be free from the mundane circumstances of his current life, so he cut off all ties with his family and friends to minimize association with mainstream civilization. McCandless is quoted saying, “ ‘I think I’m going to disappear for a while’ ” (Krakauer 21.) After saying this, he sent a brief letter to his parents which “was the last anyone in Chris’s family would ever hear from him” (Krakauer 22.) By doing this, McCandless began his streak of self-reliance.…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the book “ Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer, he tells a story about how Chris McCandless lived and what he went through. Chris McCandless is a man who went on travels to get away from his family, there are so many back stories as to why Chris had left but in the book, it describes in detail that it was the divorce and the fact that his father tried to his the other women. Chris McCandless does make an unusual decision vacate the life that is expected of him from a valid reason that will be clearly explained in this essay. In the beginning of the story, Krakauer explains how Chris had lied to about who he was because he didn't want anyone to find out who he really was so he tried to keep his real identity a secret.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He tries to reason with his readers and show that there is more to see beyond your first impression, instead of a rebellious teenager who wants to go against social norms Krakauer shows this by a logos strategy. “On weekends, when his high school pals were attending ‘keggers’ and trying to sneak into Georgetown bars, McCandless would wander the seedier quarters of Washington, chatting with prostitutes and homeless people, buying them meals, earnestly suggesting way they might improve their lives” (113). This quote suggests that McCandless is selfless and non judgemental. As well as being caring, McCandless was a free spirit. “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.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    You're Missing Something Christopher McCandless is a man who had everything and gave it up because he was annoyed with the world and he wanted to escape. The drastic decision he made captivated many, especially the author Jon Krakauer because he had a similar experience and he could relate to McCandless's disappointments. Jan's review is based on the Outside Magazine article that was written by Krakauer describing McCandless's journey. To some McCandless' story is just a tale of nature's harsh reality, but for others they view him as a heroic figure. Many criticize him for venturing unprepared into the Alaskan wilderness and for inspiring others to do the same.…

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    That is, their relationship, or Chris's rejection of it, is central in prompting Chris's angry behavior in the few years he had between graduating from college and dying in Alaska. Ultimately leading to the notion that his inability to forgive arises from what he perceives as his parents’ greed and materialism. Which, in turn affects his entire life, contributing to his decision to isolate himself. Krakauer’s dedication to the research of McCandless’s journey conveys it was his life to live and no one else’s. Nonetheless, Christopher McCandless’s brave quest portrays an amazing young man with many talents and a gift to live life the way he always dreamed of.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When one thinks of an adolescent becoming an adult in America, one may think of graduating high school and then college, and later starting a career. Chris McCandless, however, mainly refused this concept, and sought a different idea all together, one that primarily included living in the wilderness. Although his journey concluded in death, Chris McCandless, through rejecting the norms of American society, succeeded in his version of a fulfilling life. McCandless did so by persuading the people that he came across to acclimate to his ideals, being self reliant, and idealistic in his approach of an enriching and experienced-filled life. Chris McCandless’s view of a fulfilling was definitely not in accord with the classical version of being…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Analysis Of Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited

    He determined that he would travel to Alaska, get further away from it all, and face nature at its finest. He traveled exceptionally light. He didn?t take much, a parka, a small rifle, some boots, a few clothes, a ten pound bag of rice, books, and little else. ? The heaviest item in McCandless?s half-full backpack was his library: nine or ten paperbound books.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    McCandless often roams alone on the beaten path across his North American travels, but he maintains a few relationships among the good-hearted people he meets along the way. He becomes quite eager in situations when it involves new people. McCandless takes it upon himself to take advantage of times like these, “‘He needed his solitude at times, but he wasn’t a hermit. He did a lot of socializing. Sometimes I think it was like he was storing up company for the times when he knew nobody would be around’”…

    • 1291 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness to a man.” ~Thomas Carlyle. As Carlyle put it, isolation causes tremendous suffering in individuals. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the setbacks isolation brings. Crooks, a key character in the story, becomes a morose man because of the constant isolation he faces due to his ethnicity.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Path To Deterioration American author, Cassia Leo, once wrote, “The quickest path to self-destruction is to push away the people around you” (Leo). Leo is claiming that loneliness easily causes the destruction of a human. In Jon Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild, he showcases a similar opinion on solitude through the story of Chris McCandless. Chris McCandless runs away from his family and former life to start one of his own, by himself, in the Alaskan wilderness. Similarly, in Ray Bradbury’s novel The Illustrated Man, the idea that solitude plays a huge role in the self destruction of man is shown through a mans magic tattoos that have been haunting him with their stories ever since they were first drawn.…

    • 2029 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays