In the writing Into the Wild, the author Jon Krakauer argues and discusses that a person should be self-reliant and should focus on oneself and the individual things in life.
Krakauer believes that he shouldn’t be around people because they would try to convince him into civilization. His main argument is to “stay away” from people that would make you second guess your own instincts. He writes, “I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God’s place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.”. Krakauer is stating that there are more things in life than just living in a city and doing what everybody else does.
It’s not just about what the people think is right but the things in life you as a person can experience, establish, and the morals in life you can conquer. Look at life as what is your purpose and your reason not others. Krakauer notes that, “If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.” saying that the way society is built up we do things because of reason and because of what someone else thinks which stops you from truly living life and completely seeing what we can really quell and do as an individual. The book truly shows how one person might think going out into the wild knowing that they are probably going to die but feels they have something to actually conquer. Chris felt as if there was more to life than just living normal and being rich.
McCandless wanted to change everything and have a fresh start which is why he chose to change his name and leave without telling anybody. Krakauer stated, “I will miss you too, but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God’s place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things.
” As an individual i personally agree that you shouldn’t look for others when it comes to joy. There will be times in life when you have no one but yourself or at least you feel that way, what will you do then? Nowadays everyone is letting people around them or society i should say reflect on how they do things. We are so focused on how others live and how they want things that we can never go out and find our true self. I was reading an excerpt on how society can change us and it said, “Every person is born into a socio-cultural setting. He has his own family, community, culture, and groups that help build his identity. “. This quote is saying how the things around us can really affect us individually. Chris knew that as well which is why he went on his journey.
When you leave everything behind and even change your identity and set out on a trip without even telling your family it shows it is something that he really wanted. He didn’t do it for attention, he did it because he didn’t like the way the people interacted with had shaped him. This was about more than just leaving the people you love behind it was about morals.
Who are we to tell a person how to live their life especially when they believe in it. We are all humans and have to choose what we think is right and what we think is wrong. When he decided to leave without telling his family, i would then disagree.
As a person you can go out and live and do what you believe is right, but i would tell my family. Chris shouldn’t have just left without at least telling his sister the one he loved most. Thats my personal opinion but at the end of the day we still don’t have the right to tell someone else how to live their life. There’s a small selection of literature where it focuses on a young characters quest for identity. Chris was 19 and had many disbeliefs than his parents. Chris wanted to be apart from them so bad that he separated himself from them in a physical and emotional way trying to find himself. He will do anything in his power to be different than his parents; his way of doing that is through morals. Mccandless states, “And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong.
To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head”. Being independent will help you find yourself and it will also show some true colors. When you have others you can rely on it really changes a lot of things because you know you’re not alone. Chris going out on this trip by himself knowing there is a big chance of him dying shows how much mental toughness he has. He went out there alone with no one to help him but himself.
If chris gets sick or he misses a meal or he feels as if he’s dying there is no one there but him. Chris knew this would take some physical strength but a lot more mental strength. A normal human would think living a strong brave normal life would be going to school, getting a job, taking care of a family etc….
That’s one part that also did really stand out to me. Yes chris had the education and he was also rich but its not what he wanted so how can we judge? He was what most would consider a successful person. Chris did not only throw his education and family away he burned most of his money and gave 24,000 dollars away. It takes a brave person to give away being rich and their education and life to go out and hitch hike basically knowing you’re going to die. It takes a lot of courage and bravery and difference in an individual. To wrap it up Chris McCandless shows how he lived a meaningful o himself.
Chris knew by doing this he would hurt his friends and family. You would think someone like chris with such a big heart would at least think about the feelings that his family and friends would have and would have a regret. Does chris do this because he doesn’t know himself? Yes, that’s why he goes out so that he can be different and find himself as a person.
The people may not always agree with his decision but we all have our own opinions and thoughts on what a meaningful life is. To him it was getting a fresh start, going out into the wild with nothing and living life without a lot supplies. Chris was basically showing how he wanted to just do him and live life without the help of any others. McCandless was trying to seek him true self through nature and his surroundings, seeing if he could conquer all the roadblocks that he would come across in society on his own without much.
Even though Chris died he still lived his endings of life how he wanted to and what he thought was correct which is why to him life was meaningful.
