Into The Wild Research Paper
Period 3
Honors English 12A Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer was in the search for great ideas for his next best seller after Into Thin Air, a personal experience were he almost died and escaped the grasp of death itself. As Krakauer was known as a best selling author, Outsiders Magazine offered him the opportunity to write about a young man who died in Alaska by unknown circumstances. As Krakauer wrote the reported death of this unknown young man, he became obsessed with the mans death. Later on in the investigation the young mans identity was known as Christopher Johnson McCandless and Krakauer found many things about himself in Chris, deciding to do extensive research …show more content…
on him, his background, and his “great Alaskan adventure.” Deciding to write a biography on Chris and show the public some light on the life of Chris and what led him into walking into the wild. Later, convincing the McCandlessess to allow a film to be made on their son. “By the end of 1996 the deal was all but done. Penn was going to fly to meet Chris 's parents, Walt and Billie, for one last meeting to clinch the agreement. The director remembers what happened next: ‘I got up at five o 'clock in the morning in Los Angeles to head to the airport. I 'd just gotten out of the shower when the phone rang at 5:30. It was Billie. She said she 'd had a dream that night. Chris didn 't want a movie made.’” (Roberts) Stating that there were some difficulties in making the film due to the mothers denial that Chris was dead, but later then allowed that the movie be made and showed in theaters. As a reader, I do not agree with Krakauer. Nor do I agree with his goal of letting the readers make up their own minds about Christopher Johnson McCandless. His initial goal may have been to let the reader come up with their own conclusions and thoughts of Chris, but Krakauer promotes his own interpretation and image of Chris throughout the book, Into the Wild. Pushing the readers, with his words, to influence his own ideals of Chris. Krakauer omits some of the possible disorders and some peculiar characteristics of Chris to fit his own ideals of Chris. Especially since Krakauer relates himself to Chris, seeing that, some characteristics of Chris aren’t like his own, he omits them completely. He does this to make himself and Chris much more compatible to each other, and make Chris seem more realistic, sane, and just like any other young man his age. Krakauer even pushes Chris’s character to be more likable towards the reader, to plant an idea that Chris is, was, and forever will be an honorable young man, just like many young men his age. Krakauer stops presenting the reader with a nonfiction account of Chris’s life when he starts to impose his own ideals of Chris and omits certain characteristics of Chris. Krakauer insinuates that Chris has been a victim of the brutality of life, “forcing” him into “the wild.” Even though the wild was much more cruel than his prior suffering. He does this to cause some pity or sympathy towards Chris and force the reader to expose some emotion to like Chris and be more compassionate towards him and his “righteous” actions. Causing some of Krakauer’s presence and thoughts to be imposed onto the minds of the readers. “...I interrupt McCandless’s story with fragments of...my own youth.” (Authors Note, Into the Wild) Krakauer, himself, states that he will compare his own youth to McCandless’s own life and youth. This proves my point, stating that Jon Krakauer imposes and forces his own, very own ideas of Chris onto the reader. Krakauer ignores these other possible characteristics of Chris because he doesn 't want to “ruin” his views of Chris and he also doesn 't want to say that he, himself, has these problems as well. Since, Krakauer sees himself as Chris. Meanwhile other criticizers, like Medred, state that Chris may have been schizophrenic. Many things point towards this, the development of “Alexander Supertramp,” wanting to be isolated, and the entries to his journals, where he expresses himself in third person. “...McCandless took on a different persona, in taking the name Alexander Supertramp, and references notes that were left behind in McCandless ' journals as evidence that he was suffering from schizophrenia.” (Medred) Who knows if Chris was or was not mentally ill, but if that would have been a possibility, then Krakauer has a responsibility as a writer to include that in his writing. Chris came from a “powerful” family, a rich family, and a broken family. A family that contains dark secrets capable of breaking down this weak family. And when these secrets rose to the surface they broke down the family and ravaged with many hidden feelings. Chris, most of all, was the most affected by this secret. The secret of being bastard children. “In 1972 both families still lived in California.” (Stacy McCandless) Chris’s father, Walter McCandless, was a very cruel man. Not letting his first and “legal” family go, with Marcia, and not letting go of his other “illegal” family either, with Billie. Walter never wanted to let go of his family with Marcia, even though she was trying desperately to leave Walter. And Walter wanted to be with his second family as well, even though Billie was scared, more terrified, of letting the neighbors know that Christopher and Carine were “bastard” children. Chris and Carine experienced domestic violence, first hand, because of Walter. Walter and Bille McCandless never really knew how much damage they where causing their children. “I want to go up to them and say Stop, don’t do it—she’s the wrong woman, he’s the wrong man, you are going to do things you cannot imagine you would ever do, you are going to do bad things to children, you are going to suffer in ways you have not heard of, you are going to want to die.” (Sharon Olds) Chris and Carine were forced to learn, at a young age, that they would have to rely on each other and only each other, even though they were known as the bastard children of Walter and his infidelity with Billie. Chris had always known that his parents were protected, protected with their money. He thought that their philosophy was incorrect. That they couldn 't always hide behind their money. That they couldn 't always buy people off with their money. Because of this ideology of Chris, he decided to start an adventure. That he, Christopher Johnson McCandless, would prove them wrong. Jon Krakauer, a man of words and of ways to impose his thoughts onto the minds of his readers, born in 1954, grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. Before Krakauer became a writer, he was a climber. His father had lured him into the mountain climbing world when Krakauer was barely eight years old. After graduating form Hampshire College in 1976, he worked as a carpenter and salmon fisherman to survive. Krakauer has been capable do relating himself to Christopher McCandless because of his near death experiences. Once when he was climbing the Devils Thumb, creating a path of “his own” to get to the summit, and almost dying in the mere attempt of doing so. He felt, as a young man, the allure the “wilderness” had. The way the mountain called him and made him want to climb it, alone. Later in 1996, Krakauer went climbing once again, this time in Mount Everest. A deadly mountain that should be respected. In this expedition of 5 members that reached the summit, four of whom died, Krakauer escaped the grasp of death once more. His true writing career started after this experience, making him know and respect the “true” force of nature., having written a best seller, Into Thin Air. The offer of writing about a young man who died in Alaska, reached him through the Outsider Magazine. He found something about the young man, later identified as Christopher Johnson McCandless, very similar to himself. A piece, a shard, of himself in the young man who died in the wilderness. After writing about Chris in the Outside Magazine, he found out that he wanted to know more about Chris, that he was obsessed with his story and wanted to know the cause of him going into Alaska. Wanting to know more about Chris and what led him “Into the Wild,” his future best selling book. Even though Krakauer may have tried to hide certain things from occurring, certain sources have shown that Krakauer has been lying.
Some sources show that Christopher McCandless had money, identification, and a map. Krakauer himself doesn’t make a straight answer when asked “Why didn’t Chris have a map with him?” His answer changes, in the interview he had with Rose he states that Chris didn’t have a map because “Chris felt it would make the challenge of going into Alaska less of a challenge.” Later on in the interview he states that when Chris was ready to return to civilization and tried crossing the Teklanika River his map didn’t show the pulley that hunters used to get across nor did it show that the Teklanika River branched out a couple of miles down from where he was. Also in the first publishing of his book, Krakauer later changes a couple of lines. “‘...he left the map in Gallien’s truck, along with his watch, his comb, and all his money, which amounted to 85 cents.’ However, when the book was published, these lines were changed to the following: ‘Alex insisted on giving Gallien his watch, his comb, and what he said was all his money: eighty-five cents in loose change’ (p. 7).” (Lamothe) The Alaska Coroner 's list of belongings returned to McCandless ' family following his autopsy shows that Chris did have a map with him. So which is it, who knows only Krakauer knows, and by the looks of it, he doesn’t have an intention of revealing this information to the public. Furthermore, a man named Will Forsberg found Chris’s backpack after the Alaskan authorities took Chris’s remains for the autopsy. In a secret bag hidden in the backpack, Forsberg found that Chris had identification. “Right there in the bus with him was a wallet that contained his social security card, birth certificate, driver’s license, health card, voter identification, and three library cards. Most significantly, this new evidence seems to indicate that Chris had no “death wish,” as some of
his harshest detractors have claimed, and that in fact he intended to return to society at some point.” (Lamothe) This puts Krakauer into more questioning and makes many readers ponder why he didn’t include this in his book, making it seem that he wanted his version of Chris’s fatal story to be the truth, even though many things point against it. Furthermore, Alex didn’t burn all his money much less did he give it all away. “Alex insisted on giving Gallien...what he said was all his money: eighty-five cents in loose change.” (Page 7) Alex did not give away al his money because Forsberg found 300 dollars in the secret bag hidden in his backpack. Also, Chris didn’t burn all his money for he had saved 300 dollars in his secret bag. “One hundred twenty-three dollars in legal tender was promptly reduced to ash and smoke.” (page 29) Maybe, Krakauer did this to help his side of the story flow more smoothly, create a false sense that Chris really didn’t have money nor identification because of his “free spirit.” But one things is certain. Someone is lying. Another “fishy” thing about Krakauer and his story about Chris McCandless is that he claims a poisonous seed killed Chris. There has been evidence proving Krakauer to be wrong in the concluding of the “poisonous” potato seeds. There could be a possibility that Krakauer made this story about the poisonous seeds so that the reader could feel some pity towards the “poor” young man who was poisoned by these potato seeds that have never poisoned anyone else. There was never any record of anyone being poisoned by the potato seed hedysarum mackenzii. Furthermore, there has been no relation towards toxic compounds in the plant Hedysarum alpinum that was tested for toxic compounding for Krakauer by Dr. Thomas Clausen. Dr. Thomas states after “exhausting testing” that no part, whatsoever, of Hedysarum alpinum is toxic, not the seed itself nor the roots. “As far back as 1997, Dr Thomas Clausen...who examined the wild potato plant...for Jon Krakauer-concluded after exhaustive testing that no part of H. alpinum is toxic.” (Lamothe) Krakauer must have made this story to make the reader feel sympathy over a young man who went into Alaska, ate these wild potato seeds that were poisonous, and died. Krakauer states the following in Into the Wild, According to one theory, McCandless never got around to planting the garden (I saw no evidence of a garden in the vicinity of the bus) and by late July had grown hungry enough to eat the seeds, which poisoned him. Potato seeds are in fact mildly toxic after they’ve begun to sprout. They contain solanine, a poison that occurs in plants of the nightshade family, which causes vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and lethargy in the short term, and adversely affects heart rate and blood pressure when ingested over an extended period. (page 190).
Krakauer says “according to one theory,” and then immediately states “I saw no evidence...” “According to one theory,” could this be his own theory? Seems like it, since Dr. Thomas had dismissed his earlier assumption of the poisonous wild potato plants and Chris’s BMI pointed towards starvation as the “killer.” “Chris McCandless’s Body Mass Index (BMI) was on a downward trajectory from the day he walked “into the wild,” and it continued steadily downward until his death by starvation 113 days later.” (Lamothe) This information came in after the autopsy of Chris was done, and the question of what happened to Chris McCandless was being solved. Because Krakauer wanted his readers to feel sympathy for Chris, he decided to imply that poisonous seeds killed the young man. Who was ill prepared for his own “Alaskan adventure,” didn’t have the right supplies, knowledge, and starved to death. Krakauer didn’t want to make Chris sound like an idiot who walked into the wilderness but a young man who died in the wilderness by a mysterious wild potato seed, that was poisonous and Chris was the first victim it claimed.
[pic]
Statistics of Chris’s death by starvation Christopher McCandless, as I sated before ,was known as the bastard child of Walter McCandless and his infidelity with Billie. Even though both families lived in the same state they where unaware of each other. Well, Chris and Carine didn 't know about being bastard children, but Walter and Billie both knew very well about it and decided to keep this away from both Chris and Carine. Furthermore, Chris was close to Walter, but started separating himself from his father when he realized what kind of man he was. The man that bought everything with money. Parents have a responsibility to teach their children how to gain respect and not jus buy it off of people with their money. Later on when Chris found out that he had seven other brothers and sisters and was devastated. He grew to love all his brothers and sisters, but loved one the most, Carine. “There were eight children in the extended family: a younger sister, Carine, with whom Chris was extremely close, and six half-brothers and sisters from Walt’s first marriage.” (page 20) The one that he had grown up with in the same house and knew to be his only relative for a long time. After he found out that he was a bastard child his relation with his father was torn apart and he grew even more separated from his father than before. After a while of knowing and getting to love his half sisters and brothers, he sustained good relationships with them even though he would always have the status of a bastard child. Moreover, Chris’s relatives knew about his plans of leaving, showing the great connections they had with each other, even though he and Carine were the result of an infidelity. He related to his siblings because they understood how cruel Walter could be and was. “Both families suffered through constant domestic violence, threats, and deception. I believe that to not acknowledge at last these three basic facts is an injustice to Chris and all he endured.” (Carine McCandless) Walt always acted viciously towards them and their mothers, causing in domestic violence and the disruption of peace throughout the household. Krakauer never included this because he was badly informed by Chris’s parents, due to the fact that he used them as his main source of information. Chris was the oldest child Billie had with Walter, even though he was still legally married to Marcia. “I am proud to be a part of an amazing group of siblings; Sam, Stacy, Shawna, Shelly, Shannon, Chris, Quinn, and Carine.” (Stacy McCandless) Billie knew that Walter was a bit violent and still married to Marcia. Even with this known information, Billie decided to create a violent environment for her two children with Walter. For Walter was a violent man whom always fought with Billie about the new corporation they were making. They always argued, shouted, and threatened each other in front of Chris and Carine. Sometimes even forcing them to say with whom they would live with if they separated. Furthermore, Walter was not only violent with his family with Billie, but he was very violent with his first family with Marcia. Marcia was desperate to divorce Walter, and had tried several times with no success. Until 1972 when Marcia was capable of getting divorce from the horrible man, Walter McCandless. Walter, was always a strict man, an infidel, a violent man who caused domestic violence, and a man who got what he wanted. He was violent if he didn 't get what he wanted. For example he didn 't want to divorce from Marcia he wanted to stay with her even though he already had another family. And he wouldn 't get away form the second family because he wanted them as well. He had forced Marcia to stay with him after several tries of unsuccessful divorce. Letting go of something or someone is the best thing you could do, instead of holding them hostage forever. There are many reasons why Chris was incapable of returning for the Teklanika River. One major reason was that he became aware of the strength of the water. Because he almost died in the storm, he became aware of the natures power. Just like I have, not canoeing, but swimming. It was a bad idea to go swimming in an upcoming storm especially since I didn 't know how to swim and there were no lifeguards around. Furthermore, I remember almost drowning because of the strength of the water. I too, like Chris, became aware of the strength of nature, especially when it comes to water. I, unlike Chris, was capable of going back into the water. Even though I almost drowned that day I was capable of swimming again. I used this as an advantage to know the true power of water and learn form it, unlike Chris. He became aware of the strength of water but didn 't use it as a learning experience. I learned that swimming in a storm isn 't smart but if you like adrenaline it sure will give you a rush and that you have to respect the waters you are swimming in. Also, you have to learn to get over your phobia and sometimes that will save you, in which case could have saved McCandless, in crossing the Teklanika River and not just giving up all hope in getting back to civilization.
Works Cited:
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1997. Print.
---. www.carinemccandless.info. October 16, 2010. Web.
Lamothe, Ron. “The Call of the Wild: Into the Wild Debunked.” Terra Incognita Films. September, 2007. Web.
Medred, Craig. “Into the Wild: The False Being Within.” Media Watch. October 13, 2007. Web
McCandless, Carine. Letter to Adam Read. www.christophermccandless.info. Web.
-- www.carinemccandless.info. Web
McCandless, Shawns. Letter to Adam Read. www.christophermcccandless.info. Web.
McCandless, Stacy. Letter to Adam Read. www.christophermccandless.info. Web.
Olds, Sharon. "I Go Back to May 1937." Gold Cell. New York: Knopf, 1987. Print
Roberts, David. “Jon Krakauer + Sean Penn: Back Into the Wild.” National Geographic. Web.
Rose, Charlie. Interview with Jon Krakauer. “The Charlie Rose Show.” Public Broadcasting System. January 30, 1996. Television.
Honors English 12A Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer was in the search for great ideas for his next best seller after Into Thin Air, a personal experience were he almost died and escaped the grasp of death itself. As Krakauer was known as a best selling author, Outsiders Magazine offered him the opportunity to write about a young man who died in Alaska by unknown circumstances. As Krakauer wrote the reported death of this unknown young man, he became obsessed with the mans death. Later on in the investigation the young mans identity was known as Christopher Johnson McCandless and Krakauer found many things about himself in Chris, deciding to do extensive research …show more content…
on him, his background, and his “great Alaskan adventure.” Deciding to write a biography on Chris and show the public some light on the life of Chris and what led him into walking into the wild. Later, convincing the McCandlessess to allow a film to be made on their son. “By the end of 1996 the deal was all but done. Penn was going to fly to meet Chris 's parents, Walt and Billie, for one last meeting to clinch the agreement. The director remembers what happened next: ‘I got up at five o 'clock in the morning in Los Angeles to head to the airport. I 'd just gotten out of the shower when the phone rang at 5:30. It was Billie. She said she 'd had a dream that night. Chris didn 't want a movie made.’” (Roberts) Stating that there were some difficulties in making the film due to the mothers denial that Chris was dead, but later then allowed that the movie be made and showed in theaters. As a reader, I do not agree with Krakauer. Nor do I agree with his goal of letting the readers make up their own minds about Christopher Johnson McCandless. His initial goal may have been to let the reader come up with their own conclusions and thoughts of Chris, but Krakauer promotes his own interpretation and image of Chris throughout the book, Into the Wild. Pushing the readers, with his words, to influence his own ideals of Chris. Krakauer omits some of the possible disorders and some peculiar characteristics of Chris to fit his own ideals of Chris. Especially since Krakauer relates himself to Chris, seeing that, some characteristics of Chris aren’t like his own, he omits them completely. He does this to make himself and Chris much more compatible to each other, and make Chris seem more realistic, sane, and just like any other young man his age. Krakauer even pushes Chris’s character to be more likable towards the reader, to plant an idea that Chris is, was, and forever will be an honorable young man, just like many young men his age. Krakauer stops presenting the reader with a nonfiction account of Chris’s life when he starts to impose his own ideals of Chris and omits certain characteristics of Chris. Krakauer insinuates that Chris has been a victim of the brutality of life, “forcing” him into “the wild.” Even though the wild was much more cruel than his prior suffering. He does this to cause some pity or sympathy towards Chris and force the reader to expose some emotion to like Chris and be more compassionate towards him and his “righteous” actions. Causing some of Krakauer’s presence and thoughts to be imposed onto the minds of the readers. “...I interrupt McCandless’s story with fragments of...my own youth.” (Authors Note, Into the Wild) Krakauer, himself, states that he will compare his own youth to McCandless’s own life and youth. This proves my point, stating that Jon Krakauer imposes and forces his own, very own ideas of Chris onto the reader. Krakauer ignores these other possible characteristics of Chris because he doesn 't want to “ruin” his views of Chris and he also doesn 't want to say that he, himself, has these problems as well. Since, Krakauer sees himself as Chris. Meanwhile other criticizers, like Medred, state that Chris may have been schizophrenic. Many things point towards this, the development of “Alexander Supertramp,” wanting to be isolated, and the entries to his journals, where he expresses himself in third person. “...McCandless took on a different persona, in taking the name Alexander Supertramp, and references notes that were left behind in McCandless ' journals as evidence that he was suffering from schizophrenia.” (Medred) Who knows if Chris was or was not mentally ill, but if that would have been a possibility, then Krakauer has a responsibility as a writer to include that in his writing. Chris came from a “powerful” family, a rich family, and a broken family. A family that contains dark secrets capable of breaking down this weak family. And when these secrets rose to the surface they broke down the family and ravaged with many hidden feelings. Chris, most of all, was the most affected by this secret. The secret of being bastard children. “In 1972 both families still lived in California.” (Stacy McCandless) Chris’s father, Walter McCandless, was a very cruel man. Not letting his first and “legal” family go, with Marcia, and not letting go of his other “illegal” family either, with Billie. Walter never wanted to let go of his family with Marcia, even though she was trying desperately to leave Walter. And Walter wanted to be with his second family as well, even though Billie was scared, more terrified, of letting the neighbors know that Christopher and Carine were “bastard” children. Chris and Carine experienced domestic violence, first hand, because of Walter. Walter and Bille McCandless never really knew how much damage they where causing their children. “I want to go up to them and say Stop, don’t do it—she’s the wrong woman, he’s the wrong man, you are going to do things you cannot imagine you would ever do, you are going to do bad things to children, you are going to suffer in ways you have not heard of, you are going to want to die.” (Sharon Olds) Chris and Carine were forced to learn, at a young age, that they would have to rely on each other and only each other, even though they were known as the bastard children of Walter and his infidelity with Billie. Chris had always known that his parents were protected, protected with their money. He thought that their philosophy was incorrect. That they couldn 't always hide behind their money. That they couldn 't always buy people off with their money. Because of this ideology of Chris, he decided to start an adventure. That he, Christopher Johnson McCandless, would prove them wrong. Jon Krakauer, a man of words and of ways to impose his thoughts onto the minds of his readers, born in 1954, grew up in Corvallis, Oregon. Before Krakauer became a writer, he was a climber. His father had lured him into the mountain climbing world when Krakauer was barely eight years old. After graduating form Hampshire College in 1976, he worked as a carpenter and salmon fisherman to survive. Krakauer has been capable do relating himself to Christopher McCandless because of his near death experiences. Once when he was climbing the Devils Thumb, creating a path of “his own” to get to the summit, and almost dying in the mere attempt of doing so. He felt, as a young man, the allure the “wilderness” had. The way the mountain called him and made him want to climb it, alone. Later in 1996, Krakauer went climbing once again, this time in Mount Everest. A deadly mountain that should be respected. In this expedition of 5 members that reached the summit, four of whom died, Krakauer escaped the grasp of death once more. His true writing career started after this experience, making him know and respect the “true” force of nature., having written a best seller, Into Thin Air. The offer of writing about a young man who died in Alaska, reached him through the Outsider Magazine. He found something about the young man, later identified as Christopher Johnson McCandless, very similar to himself. A piece, a shard, of himself in the young man who died in the wilderness. After writing about Chris in the Outside Magazine, he found out that he wanted to know more about Chris, that he was obsessed with his story and wanted to know the cause of him going into Alaska. Wanting to know more about Chris and what led him “Into the Wild,” his future best selling book. Even though Krakauer may have tried to hide certain things from occurring, certain sources have shown that Krakauer has been lying.
Some sources show that Christopher McCandless had money, identification, and a map. Krakauer himself doesn’t make a straight answer when asked “Why didn’t Chris have a map with him?” His answer changes, in the interview he had with Rose he states that Chris didn’t have a map because “Chris felt it would make the challenge of going into Alaska less of a challenge.” Later on in the interview he states that when Chris was ready to return to civilization and tried crossing the Teklanika River his map didn’t show the pulley that hunters used to get across nor did it show that the Teklanika River branched out a couple of miles down from where he was. Also in the first publishing of his book, Krakauer later changes a couple of lines. “‘...he left the map in Gallien’s truck, along with his watch, his comb, and all his money, which amounted to 85 cents.’ However, when the book was published, these lines were changed to the following: ‘Alex insisted on giving Gallien his watch, his comb, and what he said was all his money: eighty-five cents in loose change’ (p. 7).” (Lamothe) The Alaska Coroner 's list of belongings returned to McCandless ' family following his autopsy shows that Chris did have a map with him. So which is it, who knows only Krakauer knows, and by the looks of it, he doesn’t have an intention of revealing this information to the public. Furthermore, a man named Will Forsberg found Chris’s backpack after the Alaskan authorities took Chris’s remains for the autopsy. In a secret bag hidden in the backpack, Forsberg found that Chris had identification. “Right there in the bus with him was a wallet that contained his social security card, birth certificate, driver’s license, health card, voter identification, and three library cards. Most significantly, this new evidence seems to indicate that Chris had no “death wish,” as some of
his harshest detractors have claimed, and that in fact he intended to return to society at some point.” (Lamothe) This puts Krakauer into more questioning and makes many readers ponder why he didn’t include this in his book, making it seem that he wanted his version of Chris’s fatal story to be the truth, even though many things point against it. Furthermore, Alex didn’t burn all his money much less did he give it all away. “Alex insisted on giving Gallien...what he said was all his money: eighty-five cents in loose change.” (Page 7) Alex did not give away al his money because Forsberg found 300 dollars in the secret bag hidden in his backpack. Also, Chris didn’t burn all his money for he had saved 300 dollars in his secret bag. “One hundred twenty-three dollars in legal tender was promptly reduced to ash and smoke.” (page 29) Maybe, Krakauer did this to help his side of the story flow more smoothly, create a false sense that Chris really didn’t have money nor identification because of his “free spirit.” But one things is certain. Someone is lying. Another “fishy” thing about Krakauer and his story about Chris McCandless is that he claims a poisonous seed killed Chris. There has been evidence proving Krakauer to be wrong in the concluding of the “poisonous” potato seeds. There could be a possibility that Krakauer made this story about the poisonous seeds so that the reader could feel some pity towards the “poor” young man who was poisoned by these potato seeds that have never poisoned anyone else. There was never any record of anyone being poisoned by the potato seed hedysarum mackenzii. Furthermore, there has been no relation towards toxic compounds in the plant Hedysarum alpinum that was tested for toxic compounding for Krakauer by Dr. Thomas Clausen. Dr. Thomas states after “exhausting testing” that no part, whatsoever, of Hedysarum alpinum is toxic, not the seed itself nor the roots. “As far back as 1997, Dr Thomas Clausen...who examined the wild potato plant...for Jon Krakauer-concluded after exhaustive testing that no part of H. alpinum is toxic.” (Lamothe) Krakauer must have made this story to make the reader feel sympathy over a young man who went into Alaska, ate these wild potato seeds that were poisonous, and died. Krakauer states the following in Into the Wild, According to one theory, McCandless never got around to planting the garden (I saw no evidence of a garden in the vicinity of the bus) and by late July had grown hungry enough to eat the seeds, which poisoned him. Potato seeds are in fact mildly toxic after they’ve begun to sprout. They contain solanine, a poison that occurs in plants of the nightshade family, which causes vomiting, diarrhea, headache, and lethargy in the short term, and adversely affects heart rate and blood pressure when ingested over an extended period. (page 190).
Krakauer says “according to one theory,” and then immediately states “I saw no evidence...” “According to one theory,” could this be his own theory? Seems like it, since Dr. Thomas had dismissed his earlier assumption of the poisonous wild potato plants and Chris’s BMI pointed towards starvation as the “killer.” “Chris McCandless’s Body Mass Index (BMI) was on a downward trajectory from the day he walked “into the wild,” and it continued steadily downward until his death by starvation 113 days later.” (Lamothe) This information came in after the autopsy of Chris was done, and the question of what happened to Chris McCandless was being solved. Because Krakauer wanted his readers to feel sympathy for Chris, he decided to imply that poisonous seeds killed the young man. Who was ill prepared for his own “Alaskan adventure,” didn’t have the right supplies, knowledge, and starved to death. Krakauer didn’t want to make Chris sound like an idiot who walked into the wilderness but a young man who died in the wilderness by a mysterious wild potato seed, that was poisonous and Chris was the first victim it claimed.
[pic]
Statistics of Chris’s death by starvation Christopher McCandless, as I sated before ,was known as the bastard child of Walter McCandless and his infidelity with Billie. Even though both families lived in the same state they where unaware of each other. Well, Chris and Carine didn 't know about being bastard children, but Walter and Billie both knew very well about it and decided to keep this away from both Chris and Carine. Furthermore, Chris was close to Walter, but started separating himself from his father when he realized what kind of man he was. The man that bought everything with money. Parents have a responsibility to teach their children how to gain respect and not jus buy it off of people with their money. Later on when Chris found out that he had seven other brothers and sisters and was devastated. He grew to love all his brothers and sisters, but loved one the most, Carine. “There were eight children in the extended family: a younger sister, Carine, with whom Chris was extremely close, and six half-brothers and sisters from Walt’s first marriage.” (page 20) The one that he had grown up with in the same house and knew to be his only relative for a long time. After he found out that he was a bastard child his relation with his father was torn apart and he grew even more separated from his father than before. After a while of knowing and getting to love his half sisters and brothers, he sustained good relationships with them even though he would always have the status of a bastard child. Moreover, Chris’s relatives knew about his plans of leaving, showing the great connections they had with each other, even though he and Carine were the result of an infidelity. He related to his siblings because they understood how cruel Walter could be and was. “Both families suffered through constant domestic violence, threats, and deception. I believe that to not acknowledge at last these three basic facts is an injustice to Chris and all he endured.” (Carine McCandless) Walt always acted viciously towards them and their mothers, causing in domestic violence and the disruption of peace throughout the household. Krakauer never included this because he was badly informed by Chris’s parents, due to the fact that he used them as his main source of information. Chris was the oldest child Billie had with Walter, even though he was still legally married to Marcia. “I am proud to be a part of an amazing group of siblings; Sam, Stacy, Shawna, Shelly, Shannon, Chris, Quinn, and Carine.” (Stacy McCandless) Billie knew that Walter was a bit violent and still married to Marcia. Even with this known information, Billie decided to create a violent environment for her two children with Walter. For Walter was a violent man whom always fought with Billie about the new corporation they were making. They always argued, shouted, and threatened each other in front of Chris and Carine. Sometimes even forcing them to say with whom they would live with if they separated. Furthermore, Walter was not only violent with his family with Billie, but he was very violent with his first family with Marcia. Marcia was desperate to divorce Walter, and had tried several times with no success. Until 1972 when Marcia was capable of getting divorce from the horrible man, Walter McCandless. Walter, was always a strict man, an infidel, a violent man who caused domestic violence, and a man who got what he wanted. He was violent if he didn 't get what he wanted. For example he didn 't want to divorce from Marcia he wanted to stay with her even though he already had another family. And he wouldn 't get away form the second family because he wanted them as well. He had forced Marcia to stay with him after several tries of unsuccessful divorce. Letting go of something or someone is the best thing you could do, instead of holding them hostage forever. There are many reasons why Chris was incapable of returning for the Teklanika River. One major reason was that he became aware of the strength of the water. Because he almost died in the storm, he became aware of the natures power. Just like I have, not canoeing, but swimming. It was a bad idea to go swimming in an upcoming storm especially since I didn 't know how to swim and there were no lifeguards around. Furthermore, I remember almost drowning because of the strength of the water. I too, like Chris, became aware of the strength of nature, especially when it comes to water. I, unlike Chris, was capable of going back into the water. Even though I almost drowned that day I was capable of swimming again. I used this as an advantage to know the true power of water and learn form it, unlike Chris. He became aware of the strength of water but didn 't use it as a learning experience. I learned that swimming in a storm isn 't smart but if you like adrenaline it sure will give you a rush and that you have to respect the waters you are swimming in. Also, you have to learn to get over your phobia and sometimes that will save you, in which case could have saved McCandless, in crossing the Teklanika River and not just giving up all hope in getting back to civilization.
Works Cited:
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1997. Print.
---. www.carinemccandless.info. October 16, 2010. Web.
Lamothe, Ron. “The Call of the Wild: Into the Wild Debunked.” Terra Incognita Films. September, 2007. Web.
Medred, Craig. “Into the Wild: The False Being Within.” Media Watch. October 13, 2007. Web
McCandless, Carine. Letter to Adam Read. www.christophermccandless.info. Web.
-- www.carinemccandless.info. Web
McCandless, Shawns. Letter to Adam Read. www.christophermcccandless.info. Web.
McCandless, Stacy. Letter to Adam Read. www.christophermccandless.info. Web.
Olds, Sharon. "I Go Back to May 1937." Gold Cell. New York: Knopf, 1987. Print
Roberts, David. “Jon Krakauer + Sean Penn: Back Into the Wild.” National Geographic. Web.
Rose, Charlie. Interview with Jon Krakauer. “The Charlie Rose Show.” Public Broadcasting System. January 30, 1996. Television.