In order for a person to be at peace with oneself, human contact is a necessity; however, human contact with destructive people can cause turmoil within a person. If the turmoil becomes unbearable, that person will come to the conclusion that humans are unnecessary for joy in life, rather, seeking new experiences while being isolated is the answer. Jon Krakauer challenges and dispels this idea while describing his and Chris McCandless’ attempt and failure at finding joy through isolation in Into the Wild. Jon Krakauer emphasizes how it is integral for people to have contact with one another by expressing the turmoil that he and Chris McCandless’ endured in their stories of isolation.
The toxic relationships that Jon and Chris endured while …show more content…
While being invited into a home of a girl he met while walking down the street, Jon expresses, “I had convinced myself for many months that I didn't really mind the absence of intimacy in my life, the lack of real human connection, but the pleasure I’d felt in this woman’s company-the ring of her laughter, the innocent touch of a hand on my arm-exposed my self deceit and left me hollow and aching” (137). With him being isolated for so long, he became disconnected with his human self and became primitive which allowed him to be content with being alone for so long; however, the reconnection he felt with this woman made him have a revelation about what he needed. He abandoned society to find what will fill his void, but by isolating himself, it exponentially increased his emptiness. Jon expressed this emptiness when he would “lay down to sleep, [He] was overcome by a wrenching loneliness. [He’d] never felt so alone, ever” (152). Being engulfed by loneliness made him realize that what he was looking for was what he had abandoned, human connection. Similarly, two days before Chris died, he noted that “HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED” (189). Throughout his journey, Chris was a proponent for living life in isolation. He was an advocate of this because of the disingenuous relationship he felt he had with his father. He then disregarded the importance of developing meaningful relationships with people, and eventually, entirely disregarded having people in his life. During the days he was alone in the wild, the absence of human contact began to take a toll on him. Similarly to how Jon had an epiphany, Chris realized that he had abandoned the happiness that he was looking for. He also realized that the only way to experience true happiness is to share it with
The toxic relationships that Jon and Chris endured while …show more content…
While being invited into a home of a girl he met while walking down the street, Jon expresses, “I had convinced myself for many months that I didn't really mind the absence of intimacy in my life, the lack of real human connection, but the pleasure I’d felt in this woman’s company-the ring of her laughter, the innocent touch of a hand on my arm-exposed my self deceit and left me hollow and aching” (137). With him being isolated for so long, he became disconnected with his human self and became primitive which allowed him to be content with being alone for so long; however, the reconnection he felt with this woman made him have a revelation about what he needed. He abandoned society to find what will fill his void, but by isolating himself, it exponentially increased his emptiness. Jon expressed this emptiness when he would “lay down to sleep, [He] was overcome by a wrenching loneliness. [He’d] never felt so alone, ever” (152). Being engulfed by loneliness made him realize that what he was looking for was what he had abandoned, human connection. Similarly, two days before Chris died, he noted that “HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED” (189). Throughout his journey, Chris was a proponent for living life in isolation. He was an advocate of this because of the disingenuous relationship he felt he had with his father. He then disregarded the importance of developing meaningful relationships with people, and eventually, entirely disregarded having people in his life. During the days he was alone in the wild, the absence of human contact began to take a toll on him. Similarly to how Jon had an epiphany, Chris realized that he had abandoned the happiness that he was looking for. He also realized that the only way to experience true happiness is to share it with