knotheadusc's Full Review: Jon Krakauer - Into the Wild
I guess I missed the boat about Jon Krakauer's book, Into The Wild, originally published in 1996. Apparently, this book about an idealistic young man who gives up his worldly possessions, changes his name, and goes into the Alaskan wilderness has been made into a movie. When I saw it advertised at our local post exchange, I had never heard of the book or the movie. I just thought Into The Wild looked like an interesting story, and having read a couple of Krakauer's other books, I figured I'd enjoy reading it. It turns out I was right.
For those who, like me, had no idea that Into The Wild is also a movie, here's a basic rundown of the story. In April 1992, Christopher J. McCandless, a 1990 honors graduate of Emory University, decided to head for the unknown frontiers of Alaska and try to live off of the land. But McCandless was not your everyday idealistic college graduate and this trip was not to be your everyday wilderness expedition.
Chris McCandless seemed hell bent on rejecting his identity and divorcing himself from his life. First, he stopped using his given name, Christopher McCandless, in favor of a new one, Alexander Supertramp. Next, he donated the $25,000 in his savings account to OxFam and burned all of the cash in his wallet. He abandoned his car and most of his possessions and started living among the homeless. This was in spite of the fact that he had a family who loved him and many friends who cared about him. The fact that he had a college degree from an excellent university with the option to go on to law school also evidently meant nothing to Chris McCandless. He gave it all away for the adventure of a lifetime.
On his way to Alaska, Chris McCandless met and befriended many people who regarded him as a special and extremely smart young man. Some of the people gave him rides after he had to abandon his ancient Datsun. Some of them gave him work and sheltered him when the weather got bad. It seemed that all of them were left with memories of someone brilliant. Like the Lone Ranger, McCandless, whom they all knew as Alex, would spend a few precious moments with them and then suddenly depart, occasionally dropping cryptic postcards and signing off by telling his friends to "take care".
To his great detriment, Chris McCandless believed in traveling light. He arrived in Alaska with few supplies and, apparently, even fewer survival skills. He made his hike out into the wild in April 1992 and survived until sometime in August 1992, when he succumbed to starvation. He left a note near his camp, letting would be rescuers that he was injured and sick and needed help. When no help came, he seemed to resign himself to his death and left a goodbye note. His decomposed body was found by some Alaskan moose hunters about three weeks after he died. All the while, his family knew nothing about his whereabouts until his remains turned up.
Chris McCandless left a tersely worded journal and about five rolls of undeveloped film, which documented his time in the wild. Jon Krakauer wrote an article about the bizarre case for the January 1993 issue of Outside magazine. Still fascinated by the case after he wrote the article, Krakauer decided to do more investigation by tracing the chain of events that led McCandless into the wild. Krakauer explains that he felt some kind of connection with the boy and his story. Though Into The Wild is mostly about Chris McCandless, Krakauer also includes a narrative about an adventure he took in his own youth that demonstrates that unique kinship. But Krakauer survived his adventure, while Chris McCandless did not.
Personally, I really enjoyed reading Into The Wild. I found Chris McCandless's story very compelling. He really seemed to have a special effect on the people who came into his life, as well as an interesting viewpoint on the way people should live. Chris McCandless thought it was a travesty that people should go hungry in today's world and he rejected the idea that anyone should be happy working as a corporate slave, and yet he was no liberal. In fact, Krakauer writes that the young man greatly admired Ronald Reagan and considered himself a Republican. Chris McCandless seemed to have everything he would need to make a good living and enjoy a comfortable life, yet he rejected that in favor of living among derelicts and vagabonds.
Krakauer's writing is very clean and dry. By dry, I mean that he presents the story in a way that doesn't seem emotional or sentimental, at least not from his perspective. He does, however, effectively present the anguish that those who knew Chris McCandless felt when they heard he had died. It was clear to me that McCandless's family was especially heartbroken. Chris McCandless was angry at his father when he embarked on his trip. They'd never had a chance to mend fences before the young man perished. And Chris had been very close to his sister, Carine, but he never wrote to her because he knew that if he did, their parents would find him and try to bring him home.
It seems that a lot of people McCandless met as Alex Supertramp were also worried about him. Many of those people rooted for his success in Alaska, but thought he was foolish for going there alone with so little gear. Some of the people who knew the young man talked to Krakauer as he was writing this book. It seemed to me that a lot of those peoples' lives were changed just by knowing Chris McCandless for a short time. There was something about him that touched people in a profound way.
When Krakauer wrote his article for Outside magazine, it generated a lot of commentary from readers. Some people seemed to look at Chris McCandless as a kind of hero. Others thought what he did was incredibly stupid and selfish. It seemed that few had a neutral opinion about Chris McCandless and his disastrous trip into the wild. Again, the young man seemed to touch people in a profound way. Maybe that's why Krakauer decided to share McCandless's story with the world, thankfully with his family's full cooperation.
Into The Wild was a quick read, not because it wasn't substantial, but because I found it difficult to put down. Last night, I read late into the night because I was really captivated by the story. Having read Into Thin Air and Under The Banner of Heaven, I knew I could expect complex, eloquent writing from Jon Krakauer. Somehow, I found Into The Wild easier to digest, yet still challenging. To me, Into The Wild is eloquently written and extremely engrossing.
I would recommend Into The Wild to anyone who enjoys books about adventures and surviving the elements, even though Chris McCandless ultimately did not survive his adventure. I would also recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about inspirational people who want to change the world. It's sad that Chris McCandless died at such a young age, because I believe that had he lived, he truly could have done his part to change the world. For now, all we have is his legacy, which also happens to be one hell of a story.
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Chris...More at HotBookSale
In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhikes to Alaska and walks alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later,...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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