New Argument Essay

Romanticism is defined as a style of writing that emphasizes inspiration for writers and

the primacy of an individual. In the adventurous novel, “Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer,

romanticism is displayed in many ways as he describes his view of Christopher McCandless’

adventures in life. Krakauer portrays Chris as a young kid who needs to find himself and goes off

into the wilderness to accomplish that major feat. In the novel, “Into The Wild”, the author uses

romanticism to enhance his balanced style regarding individualism and self-reliance throughout

the novel to leave the reader with a sense of wonder about the adventures of Chris McCandless.

Individualism is present in this book in a major way as Chris goes off on his own without

any major personal belongings and his individual self to fix. Krakauer uses his research and

conversations with Chris’s sister, Carine McCandless, to show Chris as someone who kept to

himself and kept his feelings inside, but never felt comfortable within. In his adventures toward

the West Coast, Chris changes his name to Alexander Supertramp in a way to change his identity

and refresh his life: “No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander

Supertramp, master of his own destiny” (Krakauer 23). The author’s balanced style of writing in

this major topic of the book shows how Chris was completely on his own at this stage of his life

and only relied on himself.

Self-reliance is also present in this book as Alexander Supertramp learns to trust his own

instincts about where to go, what to do, and who to talk to. Jon Krakauer was helpful to the

reader in this section of the novel by describing how reliant Chris was on his research books that

he brought along with him. He also uses quotes from Chris himself to describe what kind of a

person he was: “My days were more exciting when I was penniless and had to forage around for
my next meal” (Krakauer 33). By using this style of writing and including personal quotations

from the main character, Krakauer can connect the reader to Chris in a stronger way.

In “Into The Wild”, Jon Krakauer uses his own unique style of writing to use romanticism

to show traces of individualism and self-reliance in an extremely impactful book. The author

perfectly explains the type of person that Chris/Alexander is and how his life can impact others

facing the same situations. Chris was searching for the truth about himself when his adventures

led to his untimely death, but his legacy will be remembered through this novel written by Jon

Krakauer.