Originally published as a nine thousand word article, “Death of an Innocent,” Jon Krakauer went on to expand Chris McCandless’s story in his book “Into the Wild;” retracing every aspect of McCandless’s life from his disappearance to his death. Krakauer obsessively trails this incident to persuade the public that Chris had his reasons for pursuing a dangerous journey to Alaska. In order to give Chris’s story a purpose, Krakauer convinces the readers that Chris only wanted to pursue what he wanted because he is determined to live his life the way he envisioned it. Krakauer’s devotion to tell McCandless’s story began a couple years ago before “Into the Wild” published. As he recalled in the Author’s Note in his book, Krakauer was tasked with
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In his case, Krakauer believes that Chris’s “sugar-coated” expectations for the wild blinded his common sense and perception of reality. He supports this claim by appealing to pathos; pulling reactions from the readers when he lists off examples of Chris’s poor choices. In a prominent example, Krakauer includes Chris’s letter to his sister, Carine, which talks about how he loved his car, the Datsun, and refuses to take any other car offered to him by his parents (Chapter 3, page 21). On the contrary, in chapter 4, Chris ends up abandoning his Datsun in the Mojave Desert when it ends up stuck in the Dentrital Wash; including a note on the windshield addressed to anybody that finds it: “This piece of shit has been abandoned. Whoever can get it out of here can have it.” Krakauer uses this contradiction to prove how the wilderness’s allure can affect somebody’s old mindset; Chris adored his Datsun car in the past, but because he was driven to pursue a life where he survived in nature, he decided to continue his travels on foot rather than figure out how to move his car out of the desert. Krakauer uses this example to provoke readers into feeling baffled or irate; some readers being baffled because they would have never expected Chris to do anything irrational while most readers are irritated that Chris is not using any common sense when he was …show more content…
Krakauer further explores this complex bond between father and son by appealing to ethos; often referring Chris’s sister, Carine, who was the closest to Chris while growing up. Despite being similarly stubborn and high-strung, Chris and Walt constantly clashed with each other due to their differences: Chris was independent and preferred to carry out tasks by himself while Walt, a control freak, wanted his son to follow the path he set for him (Chapter 7, page. 64). Chris’s poor bonds with his not only his father, but his mother as well, is confirmed by Carine. She recalls a conversation where Chris was complaining to her about their parents; quoting that “they never take him seriously” and that their behavior was “so irrational, so oppressive, disrespectful and insulting” that Chris reached his limits (Chapter 7, page 64). At this point, Krakauer is appealing to pathos; using these experiences from Carine to make the reader feel sympathetic towards Chris. However, to support the complexity in the bond between fathers and sons, Krakauer starts telling Walt’s side of the story later in the book. In contrary to the readers’ initial assumption that Walt was a cruel, neglectful father, Walt admits that he spent a lot of time with Chris and enjoyed his company (Chapter 11, page 104). The author does this to make readers reconsider their view of
In his case, Krakauer believes that Chris’s “sugar-coated” expectations for the wild blinded his common sense and perception of reality. He supports this claim by appealing to pathos; pulling reactions from the readers when he lists off examples of Chris’s poor choices. In a prominent example, Krakauer includes Chris’s letter to his sister, Carine, which talks about how he loved his car, the Datsun, and refuses to take any other car offered to him by his parents (Chapter 3, page 21). On the contrary, in chapter 4, Chris ends up abandoning his Datsun in the Mojave Desert when it ends up stuck in the Dentrital Wash; including a note on the windshield addressed to anybody that finds it: “This piece of shit has been abandoned. Whoever can get it out of here can have it.” Krakauer uses this contradiction to prove how the wilderness’s allure can affect somebody’s old mindset; Chris adored his Datsun car in the past, but because he was driven to pursue a life where he survived in nature, he decided to continue his travels on foot rather than figure out how to move his car out of the desert. Krakauer uses this example to provoke readers into feeling baffled or irate; some readers being baffled because they would have never expected Chris to do anything irrational while most readers are irritated that Chris is not using any common sense when he was …show more content…
Krakauer further explores this complex bond between father and son by appealing to ethos; often referring Chris’s sister, Carine, who was the closest to Chris while growing up. Despite being similarly stubborn and high-strung, Chris and Walt constantly clashed with each other due to their differences: Chris was independent and preferred to carry out tasks by himself while Walt, a control freak, wanted his son to follow the path he set for him (Chapter 7, page. 64). Chris’s poor bonds with his not only his father, but his mother as well, is confirmed by Carine. She recalls a conversation where Chris was complaining to her about their parents; quoting that “they never take him seriously” and that their behavior was “so irrational, so oppressive, disrespectful and insulting” that Chris reached his limits (Chapter 7, page 64). At this point, Krakauer is appealing to pathos; using these experiences from Carine to make the reader feel sympathetic towards Chris. However, to support the complexity in the bond between fathers and sons, Krakauer starts telling Walt’s side of the story later in the book. In contrary to the readers’ initial assumption that Walt was a cruel, neglectful father, Walt admits that he spent a lot of time with Chris and enjoyed his company (Chapter 11, page 104). The author does this to make readers reconsider their view of