Theme Of Isolation In Into The Wild

Have you ever felt so distant, so isolated from everything and everyone around you? Isolation can be both physical and emotional. Physical isolation can be defined as antisocial or not socially contacting with people. Emotional isolation comes from the inside of a person. They could have issues going on with themselves or in their lives and they feel as if there is no one to turn to, so they choose to keep to themselves. Isolation is a common theme experienced in “Into The Wild” by the main character, Christopher McCandless. From the beginning Chris McCandless had his mind set on going off into the wild, but other factors influenced his decision to do so. He didn’t have the healthiest relationship with his family, especially not with his father. When Chris grew older he discovered that his father was still married to his
However, Chris chose not to develop close relationships with those people, because he believed that those relationships would be an obstacle to his freedom. A man named Wayne Westerburg was one of the many people Chris hitched a ride from. Wayne noticed that Chris wanted to keep his distance and not get attached as he mentioned in the book, “Chris McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as well—relieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it.” (55). This passage illuminates Chris’s problems with intimacy. Jim Gallien a man, who saw Chris hitchhiking and picked him up, also picked up on Chris trying his best to remain unattached. Jim noticed that Chris’s pack was unusually small for his long journey and offered to take him to a place called Anchorage to get better gear. Chris knew that he could use the gear, but he also knew that he could not afford to develop a close relationship with