Book
“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”(57). That sentence seems to capture the mood of Chris McCandless’ life store. But how was his understanding of Adventure linked to his love of nature and literature showed throughout the book? This captivating, exciting, disheartening store of Into to the Wild captured just that, the adventurous spirit and its release. It seemed that Alex wanted nothing more than to be different, to be independent and not be like his father. Lehman expands on Krakauer’s thought that Chris avoided any relationship that had potential for closeness (“The Body Out There,” 2009).He wanted the most from life and to him that meant doing what he wanted. During his life he read about nature and what could be experienced from it all, but it was not until he completed college before his life would start. Adventure is what Alex wanted and the way to get that thrill was in the Yukon. What I found interesting was his link between the books he read and his want to be in nature. Thoreau and Tolstoy write about just that, their love of nature and experiencing it all without the influences of a man’s influence. Alex Supertramp was determined to prove his character against nearly impossible challenges (“The Body Out There,” 2009).
Alex wrote down his reckless account of what happened out there. He wrote for himself, he was alone. His great adventure lead to something that he did not expect, although it seems to be inevitable the way the Krakauer writes and how the other characters interact with Alex. It seems that the only honest humanity connection of Alex’s is through the literature he reads.
References:
Krakauer, J. (1997). Into the Wild. New York: Anchor.
Lehman, D.W. (2008-2009). The Body Out There The Stakes of Jon Krakauer’s Adventure Narratives. River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative, 10 (1-2), 465-477. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/river_teeth/v010/10.1-2.lehman.html
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