Into The Wild Theme Essay

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is the story of Christopher McCandless, a determined young man who chose to embark on an “Alaskan Odyssey” in order to live in nature on his own terms. Into the Wild conveys the nature of the relationship between self and society by examining McCandless’s reflections on self, society, and nature. In connection with these themes, “Survivor Type” by Stephen King and “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson add relevant analysis of the complex relationship between one’s natural self and society. These works all present similar themes: that one’s actions and character change drastically in nature, and there is a distinct difference between one’s natural self and the self that one presents in society. Into the Wild provides valuable insight into the question of the relationship between self and society. Throughout the book,
He is distant, ambitious, and cold, denouncing his family while remaining close to people who can help him achieve his goals. He is ruthless in his pursuit of success, and extremely smart. The tactics he uses in the world of society are effective, but seem to stem from the part of him that is the “self,” or the part of him that is more nature-oriented. He is the type of unattached, adventurous person that McCandless describes in his letter, and because of this he survives much longer on the island than an ordinary person would, just as McCandless uses his philosophy on life and nature to survive in the wild. The opinion that self and society are detached from one another is not a new one; in fact, it is an opinion that has been expounded on in the essay “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson shares McCandless’s reverence for the transformative power of nature. He discusses in great detail how the presence of nature can transform people into a purer, more enlightened