Into The Wild Essay

Into the Wild Essay In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer we get a first person view of Christopher Johnson McCandless life and this allows us to see what may have influenced him to take the actions he took. McCandless was an intelligent, educated and prideful individual. The book often stated that he would often get A’s with little effort. So was his adventure to Alaska a sheer act of stupidity and ignorance? I believe not, McCandless didn’t go Into the Wild due to a lackluster relationship with his parents nor was it due to the the recklessness of the teenage brain it was due to the the influences by literary heroes such as Leo Tolstoy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Jack London. The influence that Leo Tolstoy was evident throughout the book Into the Wild. Leo Tolstoy was a religious individual who believed we should finding a meaning in a meaningless world and Tolstoy advocated for a life in poverty. McCandless actions manifested many of Tolstoy's philosophical views, Tolstoy philosophies were probably one of the reasons for which McCandless left his
Ralph Emerson believed in a moderate balance between individual nonconformity and broader societal concerns. McCandless would often connect with his literature such as his book Nature since he mentions the quote “To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of he man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.” (Emerson 29) In this quote McCandless helps us understand that he was tired of modern society and that he was truly happy in the wilderness and that person who implanted that idea was most indeed Emerson. McCandless wasn’t simply a fool exposing himself to unnecessary danger, McCandless was actually a individual trying to discover