Paper Summary:

This paper examines the fateful expedition of young adult Chris McCandless in Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild." The paper's author considers the themes and characters presented in the book. The paper compares Krakauer's experiences as a youth to those of McCandless, and argues they both had a need for adventure. The author further contends that this is the reason for Krakauer's non-judgemental portrayal of McCandless.

From the Paper:

"Chris was intensely curious and hungry for experience, and apparently Krakauer was, too, at that age. Chris wanted to roam free and sample nature's offerings, to test himself on a journey alone in Alaska, to live off the land, and be completely self-reliant. Krakauer devotes two full chapters to telling the story his own "quest," in which he climbed the Stikine Ice Cap (which was considered impossibly dangerous to climb). He states, "I interrupt McCandless's story with fragments of a narrative drawn from my own youth." Like Chris, nature was his noble adversary when he went off alone to test himself, his endurance, and ability to survive in harsh, harsh conditions. Although he was fortunate to come down out of the mountain alive, he does not see his obsession with getting to the top, or doing the impossible, as abnormal in any way and cites many examples of men through history who tested themselves similarly. Plus, to give up might imply failure. "In truth my escapade on the north face had rattled me, and I didn't want to go up on the Thumb again at all. But the thought of returning to Boulder in defeat wasn't very appealing, either." "

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