Emily
Ms. A
Pre AP English II
7th Period
Into the Wild There are some people among us that are different; they don’t seem to fit in the normal standards that our society is based on. The non-fiction novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer describes in detail the epic but tragic journey of Chris McCandless, a young man who didn’t seem – or want to conform to the conventional ways of modern life. Some critics argue that he was simply ignorant; he walked out of a potentially great life that he had created for himself. McCandless was spontaneous with his decisions and he was an independent person who didn’t need other human beings around him to be satisfied with life. McCandless repeatedly proved throughout his life and journey that he is extremely spontaneous when it comes to making decisions. Shortly after graduating college, he abruptly cut off communication with his family and loaded his belongings into his yellow Datsun and headed west. “Shortly thereafter, he donated the balance of his bank account to OXFAM, loaded up his car, and vanished from their lives.” (Krakauer 125) McCandless didn’t seem to think of the outcomes that could result from his decisions when he made them. After visiting Alaska once following the end of his college spring classes, he immediately fell in love with the atmosphere there and he knew he would return. His spontaneous decision to “live off the land” in Alaska in his next journey there would cost him his life. McCandless was in all an independent soul who didn’t need other human presences to be fulfilled in life. He could be alone for long periods of time at ease. Human contact was not an essential need for him to survive. Relationships with the people he met along the way in his life were unrestrained; he formed them in a way that could be let go of easily. “- relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it.”