Introduction
McCandless’s journey and his death in Alaska created the basis for vigorous debates about the reasons for this trip, its relevance, and the man’s death. The unusual character of these events resulted in the creation of the book Into the Wild by Krakauer, who tried to repeat the same way and explain the main causes of the main character’s actions. Responding to this work, Alaskans described the whole journey as unwise and unreasonable because of the low preparedness level of McCandless. However, one can disagree with them, as being an educated person from a rich family, he just wanted to obtain freedom and avoid stereotypes of society that imprisoned him.
Main body
In fact, McCandless’s journey was unique and attracted the attention of various groups of people. Initially, Alaska was not his prior destination point, on the contrary, he moved to the Western United States and spent much time there. However, his trip ended in a severe area where unprepared people have few chances to survive. There are multiple debates about the motifs for this decision as his family matters, relations with other people, and community was not depressing or extremely complex.
However, he apparently wanted freedom and emancipation from the chains of social stereotypes that limited him in his attempts to cognize the world (Krakauer 34). Moreover, being an unusual person, McCandless wanted to escape from the safe environment of the modern world and understand real feelings that might affect people in stressful situations. The desire to escape the mainstream became one of the central motifs for venturing into the wilderness.
In his journey, McCandless seems rebellious against the ways of thinking that are stereotypically strong in contemporary society. Instead of enjoining the benefits of the wealthy family and good education, he leaves everything behind and moves into the wilderness to find some unusual experiences. Both the movie and the book emphasize this fact and show other individuals that in his attempt to escape, McCandless remains brutally honest and does not want to make compromises (Krakauer 56). Instead, he ends his days in a severe area, completely exhausted, but devoted to his ideas and views.
Conclusion
Because of the unusual character of this story, Krakauer manages to attract readers by using both logical and emotional appeals. He shows motifs that made McCandless move and underlines the complexity of the trip, appealing to the feelings of individuals (Krakauer 34). The movie uses a similar approach as viewers start to understand the main character’s reasons and sympathize with him because of the hard challenges he has to overcome (Into the Wild).
Krakauer parallels this story with some other disappearances of young people who escaped society and started to travel to show that McCandless is not alone in his attempts to find some new ways (Krakauer 56). In such a way, the original story, book, and movie show that the man had his own motifs for accepting this decision and going into the wilderness, and they can justify his intention and desire to live his life in another way.
Annotated Bibliography
Into the Wild. Directed by Sean Penn, performance by Emile Hirsh, Paramount Vantage, 2007.
The movie depicts McCandless’s arrival in Alaska, his previous journeys, and factors that preconditioned the appearance of the desire to escape the stereotypes of society and move across the USA, looking from unique emotions and unusual experiences.
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. Anchor Books, 1997.
The book describes the life of Christopher Johnson McCandless, a young graduate from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Being a son of wealthy parents, he decides to leave everything and start traveling to find answers to questions important to him. The text makes readers think about the leading motifs of the main character, the relevance of this journey, and McCandless’s death.
Works Cited
Into the Wild. Directed by Sean Penn, performance by Emile Hirsh, Paramount Vantage, 2007.
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. Anchor Books, 1997.