Into the Wild By Jon Krakauer
The book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer tells the true story of a young man named Chris McCandless who decides to leave society behind in exchange for the refreshing rawness of the Alaskan wilderness. Just out of college and a member of a well-off family, Chris decides to completely renounce the lifestyle of materialism he grew up surrounded by and welcome simplicity and solidarity as his new best friends. Society’s shallow and meaningless values had finally been enough for Chris and he was ready to discover how to truly live. After traveling the country under a fake name and leaving half-formed friendships and random jobs behind him, Chris abandons almost all material possessions including a $24,000 trust fund, and retreats to the Alaskan wilderness where society can’t touch him. There he struggles to survive with only his rifle and 10 lb bag of rice to sustain him until he dies around August 18, 1992.
Chris had everything a person could wish for: financial security, athletic talent, intelligence, etc., yet he chose to abandon all of this for a simple lifestyle of loneliness in the wilderness that eventually results in his death. Obviously the security and materialism of society just wasn’t doing it for him. Chris was the type of guy who understood that the point of life isn’t to acquire money and things, then just leisurely watch life fly by like society dictates. In a letter to a friend from his travels named Ron, Chris says, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” He knew the only way to truly break free of the restricting rules and material distractions of the life thrust upon him was to completely isolate himself within the uncertainty of nature. To truly experience his full potential, Chris knew he had to shed the smothering layers of society and strip himself down to a primitive existence. So, he took action and did by escaping to Alaska. From Chris McCandless’ journey into the wild, we can learn that living by society’s rules, slaving away at a job and accumulating stuff is not any way to live. Experiencing life to it’s fullest potential is about simplicity and allowing time to step away from the distractions and conformity that society brings with it. The best way to do this is to allow yourself to controlled by nothing but the wild.
From the way Chris was willing to risk his life to escape civilization, we can see that society has developed some extremely negative aspects that can cast a very dark shadow over our lives, sometimes even driving people away all together.
Chris had everything a person could wish for: financial security, athletic talent, intelligence, etc., yet he chose to abandon all of this for a simple lifestyle of loneliness in the wilderness that eventually results in his death. Obviously the security and materialism of society just wasn’t doing it for him. Chris was the type of guy who understood that the point of life isn’t to acquire money and things, then just leisurely watch life fly by like society dictates. In a letter to a friend from his travels named Ron, Chris says, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” He knew the only way to truly break free of the restricting rules and material distractions of the life thrust upon him was to completely isolate himself within the uncertainty of nature. To truly experience his full potential, Chris knew he had to shed the smothering layers of society and strip himself down to a primitive existence. So, he took action and did by escaping to Alaska. From Chris McCandless’ journey into the wild, we can learn that living by society’s rules, slaving away at a job and accumulating stuff is not any way to live. Experiencing life to it’s fullest potential is about simplicity and allowing time to step away from the distractions and conformity that society brings with it. The best way to do this is to allow yourself to controlled by nothing but the wild.
From the way Chris was willing to risk his life to escape civilization, we can see that society has developed some extremely negative aspects that can cast a very dark shadow over our lives, sometimes even driving people away all together.