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Briana Marin

Bowyer

Expos

24 January, 2019

Into The Wild

Do you ever think of adventure or trying new things in your life? The novel ​ Into the

​ ritten by Jon Krakauer, is the story of a young man named Chris McCandless who
Wild, w

changes his identity, and begins a new life. The way he started that new life was by having a

goal, and the goal was to be able to survive in the Alaska wilderness. He came from a wealthy

home and graduated college. Unfortunately, he did not survive in the wilderness in Alaska in

summer of 1992. Chris McCandless believed that he could reach his goals and dreams no matter

how far or dangerous it was. Krakauer interviewed the people who knew Chris and used his

journal entries to recreate his story. Chris McCandless was someone who was brave, his goal

was to clarify his own identity and the meaning of life, and I believed he accomplished the part

of the meaning of life before his death.

To begin with, before he began his journey he needed the courage to explore to reach the

goal to find the meaning of life. He decides to make an adventure to visit Alaska and live in the

wilderness alone. McCandless write this to his friends, “ Hey Guys! This is the last

communication you shall receive from. I now walk out to live amongst the wild. Take care, it

was a great knowing you. Alexander” (Krakauer 6). Krakauer also describes him as a

courageous pearson for what he had done, he had to leave his loved ones and when someone

leaves from your life it gets hard to deal with. “ One of his last acts was to take a picture of
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himself, standing near the bus under the high Alaska sky, one hand holding his final note toward

the camera lens, the other raised in a brave, beatific farewell” (199). This shows that bravery

will help you get far and show you that you have reached for your dreams and goals.Before

McCandless heads to Alaska, he was a point where he could have ended his life, the journals

saids, “ he screams and beats canoe with oar. Alex has one spare oar. He calms himself. If loses

second oar is dead” (36). People believed that he was crazy and arrogant, but I look at it as him

just getting away from the society and it gave him lots of guts to leave everything behind to start

a new life.

However, he did not just leave for the sake of leaving society, he had a goal to what he

wanted to reach throughout this adventure; he wanted to start a new life to not be depending on

his parents, he would have liked to get away from people that were arrogant or greety. He

wanted to create a new life for himself and leave his past behind him, “ To Symbolize the

complete severance from his previous life, he even adopted a new name” (23). He wanted a new

identity that he created on his own and be a new pearson and did not want to be identified as

Chris.He was determined to get rid of his belongings, “ McCandless documented the burning of

his money ” (29). With his new name, he felt like he was new by presenting himself as a new

name, and have him live on his own in the wilderness, he did not want to depend on anyone or

anything.

One of his goals was also to find the meaning of life. In one of McCandless’ journal

entries, he wrote: “It is the experiences, the memories the great triumphant joy of living to the

fullest extent in which real meaning is found”(37). Roz Franz does not agree and tries to

convincing or advising Franz to change his life, McCandless writes to him, “ I think you should
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make a radical change in your lifestyle ad begin to boldly do things which you may previously

never have thought of doing or been too hesitant to attempt” (56). McCandless also believes the

meaning of life is this, “ It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to

have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living” (57).

In order to change things you need to be willing to change it and that could relate to what he was

achieving. While he was trying to accomplish his goal he found the meaning of life and that

means he needed to make chances.

McCandless did accomplish one part of his goal, which was the meaning of life during

his journey. On his last few days of living he had wrote some thoughtful thoughts: “I had lived

through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness” (169). This proves

that happiness needs to be provided in every single life for an individual. His last goodbyes were,

“ I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may god bless all!” (199). I think he

has an extraordinary life and found what he was looking for.

In conclusion, Chris McCandless was someone who was brave, his goal was to clarify his

own identity and the meaning of life. He had lots of courage for his actions like leaving his

family behind, burning his money, and living in the wilderness all on his own. That shows that

his goal was completed because he took those chances and it changed his life and found

happiness. I believed he accomplished the part of the meaning of life before his death. He has

used bravery to find his goal which it was the meaning of life.

Word Count: 965

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Work Cited

​ nchor Books, 1996.

Krakauer, Jon. ​Into the Wild. A