Will German

AP Language

19 April, 2017

Grubb

Development of Imagery in Into The Wild

Throughout Into The Wild Jon Krakauer consistently implements imagery to

develop the plot and enrich his writing. Krakauer eloquently illustrates the vastly

differing landscapes and people McCandless encounters during his expedition by

utilizing colorful and descriptive words that visualizes the environment for the reader.

This development of imagery also helps Krakauer fabricate a connection between the

reader, Chris McCandless, and himself because it establishes in the audience an

appreciation of nature of which Krakauer and McCandless already possess. Additionally,

Krakauers use of imagery develops the understanding of the health, both mental and

physical, of Chris McCandless and other characters in the book through vivid

descriptions of of their expressions and body language.

Into The Wild contains many examples of imagery that elaborate on the lure of

both barren deserts and the Alaskan wilderness. In chapter nine, as Krakauer tells the

story of Everett Ruesss lethal adventure into the desert, he describes Davis Gulch in a

way that makes it seem equally intimidating and alluring, saying that for most of its

short length, Davis Gulch exist as a deep, twisting gash in the slickrock, narrow enough

in places to spit across, lined by overhanging sandstone walls that bar access to the

canyon floor. Later in the story when Krakauer adds in his own anecdote about

attempting to climb the Devils Thumb he describes it as [looking] particularly sinister: a

huge fin of exfoliated stone, dark and smeared with ice. The purpose of these pictorial

and vivid descriptions is to demonstrate to the reader that there is a reason that young

adventurers take such extreme risk; it is not because they are overly reckless, but instead

because natures beauty holds a lure to many people. By elaborating on the lure of the

wilderness through imagery, Krakauer aids the audience in connecting with Chris

McCandless and his obsession with nature. McCandlesss monomania with the Alaskan

frontier is also somewhat justified by Krakauer as he consistently embellishes the

Alaskan wilderness.

Krakauer implements imagery in Into The Wild not only to describe the United

States wilderness but also to illustrate how McCandless affected the lives of those he met.

When recalling a conversation that he had with Ronald Franz, Krakauer utilizes auditory

imagery to express the pain felt by those who McCandless had affected with his

ideologies. God he was such a smart kid, the old man rasp barely audible voice His

ancient bones crack loudly in the awkward silence. The imagery used to describe

characters emotions throughout Into The Wild helps to develop more complex and

relatable characters as well as contributing to the details and flow of the story.

Jon Krakauers novel Into The Wild relies heavily on the development of imagery

in order to connect the readers to the characters and to add detail and flow to the story.

Krakauer utilizes vivid descriptions of the wilderness to make it seem intimidating, yet

intriguing to the readers, and to help them understand the characters attraction to these

places. Imagery is also used in order to describe the physical and mental attributes of the

people McCandless encounters on his journey.