Into the Wild

In Jon Krakuer's novel Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandless, seeks nature so that he can find a sense of belonging and the true meaning of who he is. However, it is the essence of nature that eventually takes his life away from him. At the end of his life, he is discovers his purpose and need of other people. After Chris McCandless death in Alaska, Krakuer wrote Into the Wild to reflect on the journey that McCandless makes. Krakuer protrays McCandless as a young man who is reckless, selfish, and arrogant, but at the same time, intelligent, determined, independent, and charismatic. Along with the irony that occurs in nature, these characteristics are the several factors that contribute to McCandless death. Chris McCandless is a young man who chooses to alienate himself from society. After graduating college, Chris embarks on several journeys in the outdoors. Chris buys a car and departs to the West, eventually hoping to make a trip to Alaska. Modeling himself after Tolstoy ( a transcendentalist writer), Chris looks to be one with nature, yet neglects to see its danger. Naively, Chris seeks nature as a place of belonging and a site of adventure. Just as Chris is trying to overcome the dangers of nature, he is overcoming the doubts that he has within himself, which include his fears of developing close and personal relationships and his fear of being judged. The trip to Alaska pushes Chris to his limits and in the end he finally comes to identify with himself, comes to grips with his personality, and be driven all by himself, rather than by the needs or responsibilities of society or others. In addition to using nature as a way to find himself, Chris also uses nature as a method of avoiding his own realities, such as his relationship troubles with his parents. Chris refuses to confront his parents with the troubles of their relationship. In a letter to his sister Carine, Chris