Into the Wild features the true story of a young man known as Christopher Johnson McCandless, who hails from a rich family. After graduating in May 1990 he leaves his home on an adventure into the wilderness in Mt. McKinley, but before he departs he abandons everything that belongs to him. Some of his savings, amounting to $25,000, were given to charity, some other money he burnt because he wanted to begin a new life in the wild. On September 6th 1992, his body was found decomposing inside an abandoned bus in Alaska.
One year later, Jon Krakauer, the author of this book, retraced McCandless' steps during the two years between college graduation and his demise in Alaska. Krakauer originally published a 9,000-word article on Christopher McCandless titled "Death of an Innocent", which appeared in the American magazine Outside. This was then expanded into the 1996 book Into The Wild. Apart from this bestseller, Krakauer has written eight more books. He has an investigative skill that has won him an Academy Award in Literature, and he is to be credited for developing a heart-wrenching story that details how McCandless met his death.
Many institutions have adopted the use of Into The Wild to teach literature, and the book is widely used as high school and college reading curriculum. Tutors often give assignments to students where they require them to write an essay about Into the Wild, because the author has enlisted several ideas that relate to real-life situations. When you enroll as a student, a tutor may ask you to provide Into the Wild essay examples to establish whether you understand the concepts in the book. Krakauer is quite skilled and narrates the story by observing the little details. The beauty of literature is to give the reader a reason to think critically, and that is exactly what Jon Krakauer has done.
The material values and their importance in the book will be discussed below:
Rejection of money and material objects
The book documents that before Chris McCandless left his home, he reinvented himself and denounced money and other material items. The author notes that Chris donated much of his wealth to charity and burnt the rest of his savings. This implies that he denied his upbringing in a rich background. He also drives to the desert and abandons his car there because he preferred to walk on foot. These actions indicate that Chris was against the capitalistic tendencies that defined the society where he was brought up.
The importance of this materialism is that the author has used it to inform the readers that one needs to have enough resources to sustain themselves but not to amass too much wealth that is not useful. More importantly, it is essential to give to the needy if you have more than enough.
Failure to carry an I.D Card to the US
Chris McCandless is willing to get into conflict with society over what he believed to be right. In fact, his opposition to material culture becomes too strong to be sustained. At some point, while crossing the border from Mexico into the USA, he is apprehended for not carrying any I.D. He is hesitant to carry the I.D because he does not want to be recognized and be offered a formal job. Instead, he prefers to stay in the country by doing simple tasks and sometimes rely on charity for his sustainability. Again, this is a show of humility, and the author has capitalized on the character to communicate the need to serve humanity in the lowest of ranks.
Rebelliousness against burger in Mcdonald's
While staying in the US, Chris is offered burgers from eateries like McDonald's, but he turns them down. Instead, he enrolls as a manual laborer in South Dakota. Here, Chris is comfortable eating cheap meals as he provides cleaning services in a grain elevator. He donates his little salary to people in need. If help comes his way, he rejects it. His form of transportation is simple, and he does not need a lot of money to hitchhike. However, his downfall comes after he completely cuts his contact with humans in the pursuit of righteousness through nature.
Out of this trait, the author can point out Chris's idealism in the world. Normally, individuals stand for values that govern their stay on earth. Your conduct will inform the world about what you believe and why you believe it. Nonetheless, human problems have human solutions, and the moment Chris went out of his way to ignore this fact, he lost it. In short, one must observe limits.
Final Word
Jon Krakauer must be credited for this perfect piece of work. The narration featured throughout Into The Wild is both informative and critical at the same time, as we follow Chris McCandless in his quest for peace of mind in a new land.
Learners have a chance to explore this story by writing an essay about Into the Wild as it is full of rich literary material. Chris denounced everything to begin a new chapter, going beyond idealistic limits until finally he met his death.
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