Into the Wild General Argument Essay Chris McCandless was an adventurous young man who journeyed into the Alaskan Bush to find a deeper meaning in life, the journey claimed his life. His story inspired Jon Krakuer, to retell it in Into the Wild. Now, there is much speculation on his deservingness of sympathy. Many people believe that Chris was insane for leaving behind his privileged life for the hardships of the wild. However, he was simply following his dreams, “…at least they tried to follow their dream.
Over a twenty-year period he had gotten to know the country well as carpenter, fisherman, journalist, and occasionally as an imperilled mountain climber. He is in a position to recognize that Chris' naive idealism was greatly responsible for the mistakes that led to his death, but he knows too that a dismissive off-the-rack psychoanalysis of the impulse to live dangerously in the wild can miss something important. That insight is not only good for the story itself but can encourage readers to confront issues we are inclined to
When he meets Rainsford and tells him about his idea for the most dangerous game, he tells him that he is going to hunt him. Zaroff thinks that putting Rainsford into the woods to fight for his survival will lead to an easy win for himself. Zaroff is wrong. General Zaroff is afraid of being bored. He is afraid that he will conquer every game there
Christopher McCandless and I have both gone through similar interests regarding our feelings about adventure, the urge to get away, and wanting to be independent. Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a story of a boy with strong feelings about the world. These feelings drive him to do what most people would never do, which is to go into the wilderness with little knowledge or experience on surviving
“There are times when it could save your life, believe me.”’ (Bryson p305) Bryson shows us that it is ridiculous the way we feel the need to “have” things to make our lives complete. This man is convinced that this product could someday save his life and that he absolutely “needs” it to survive in the wilderness. People seem to think that we need gadgets or “state of the art” things, in order to have a meaningful experience. At the beginning of the book, Bryson is attempting to prepare for life on the trail, but trying to be practical about the amount of things he “needs” as well as the cost of all of these items. Bryson’s wit reveals how a person’s “wants” gets in the way of them realizing they don’t need extra man-made items when nature offers so much.
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson Old Yeller is a story set in the wild frontier of Texas in the late 1860s. A boy named Travis met a stray dog called Old Yeller which stole his family’s food and at first thought it was a rascal. However, Travis grew to care for Old Yeller after he saved Travis’ little brother Arliss from a raging she-bear. Old Yeller proved to be a great asset, helping Travis and his family fend off wild animals on several occasions. Tragically, Old Yeller died at the end of the story due to a plague.
Jeremiah Johnson Us History I – MW November 14, 2012 Jeremiah Johnson Jeremiah Johnson is a story that takes place in the west, when a veteran of the Mexican war of (1846 – 1848) seeks solitude in the life of a mountain man. Jeremiah plans to live in the unsettled west in the Rocky Mountains and gets his lively hood through the trapping of animals for furs and food. Life in the old west was an untamed and difficult one and this shows in the struggles of his first winter. The journey of Jeremiah can be broken down into three phases, all of which are steps for him progressing as a better educated and more respected man. The three phases that define this, Jeremiah’s arrival to the mountains and the struggle that ensued, his family time, and the struggle with the Crow to revenge his family’s murder.
While in his hometown Guigemar is a great knight , the best of the best, but he is seen as the young man who has not entered manhood. Guigemar’s journey to manhood is in a liminal state, and is enhanced by his killing of the deer and learning that he must find a true love to become a man. Guigemar has to be “cured by a women who will suffer for your love more pain and anguish than any other women has known” (Page 44). The forest represents the in between, a part of the journey that Guigemar must go on in order to mature and move from his liminal state in life. The woods represents nature and how it is wild and untamed not bound by any laws of the ruling class.
George may sometimes come off as the manipulative character in this relationship because of certain attitudes that he exudes during particular events. For example, while George and Lenny were in the forest the day before they arrived at the ranches, George kept on ranting about how much of a better life he would posses, had he not have to carry
He then became completely and utterly unhappy. He was satisfied living in Alaska until he discovered that he was no longer living there by choice. His relationship with the wilderness then began deteriorating with his options. Throughout his life, Chris dreamed of being one with the wild. When he finally arrived to where he deemed to be “wilderness” he described himself as “lost in the wild,” “living amongst the wild” and “walking into the wild,” signifying that he was glad to be there.