Into the Wild Analysis
“Into the Wild” Example Analysis Writer and mountaineer, Jon Krakauer, in his book “Into the Wild,” describes how the adventures of Chris McCandless was similar to Gene Rosellini, John Waterman, Carl McCunn, and Everett Ruess. Krakauer’s purpose is to emphasize how all men were similar in how they lived their life. Writing for the general public, Krakauer adopts an informative tone in order to describe how the four men are similar to McCandless in regards to his adventures.
Krakauer begins his story by comparing McCandless to Rosellini. Gene Rossellini, a “wayward genius… nterested in knowing if it was possible to be independent of modern technology. ” After experimenting for “over a decade”, he concluded that “it is not possible for human beings as we know them to live off the land,” and although he did not seem devastated by his findings, he killed himself in 1991 by stabbing himself though the heart.
McCandless and Rosellini are similar because both were interested in the outdoor and finding life outside of the civilized society. Krakauer also compares McCandless to John Waterman, who made several ventures alone into the wild.A self-critical, compulsive character, Waterman was erratic and unstable, and when his “life’s work,” an “accumulation of notes, poetry, and personal journals” was destroyed in a fire, he hopelessly set out into the frozen mountains with minimal gear and was never seen again. McCandless is similar to Waterman because just like Waterman, McCandless died in the wilderness and having discovered after a few weeks. Another man who Krakauer have compared McCandless to is Carl McCunn. As a worker on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in the 70’s, McCunn was in Alaska already and in 1981 requested to be flown to a remote lake above the Coleen River.
He forgot to request a flight back though and soon ran out of food in his cabin. Rather than attempting to walk back out of the wilderness, he wasted away in his cabin and eventually shot himself. Krakauer goes on to compare McCunn and McCandless’ lack of common sense and foresight in their planning. He also states that McCandless was not mentally ill, but that McCunn and Waterman both were. Everett Ruess is similar to Chris McCandless.
Just like McCandless, Ruess left home at a very young age to explore the beauty in the world. He had a dream of himself climbing the ledges of cliffs.This inspired him to go on his adventures for months, and even years at a time. He is a lot like Chris McCandless in the aspect of his desire to escape human contact. They both yearned to be in a place where it was only them and nature.
Their survival was based solely on their own abilities. Both Everett and Chris changed their names. While Chris only did this once, and inconsistently, Everett changed his name many times. Unlike McCandless, Everett actually contacted his parents and let them know that he has been up to. The main comparison would be that they both died at such an early age.They both were successful in their adventures enough to convince them to take more risks, and I believe that this was the true end to them both.
Comparisons have been drawn between Chris McCandless and these other Alaskan adventurers, but differences between them appear to outweigh similarities. Although Chris was rash and incautious, he was not incompetent, nor was he an outcast. The four men were just like Chris McCandless, wanting to explore the beauty of the outdoor and to live a simple life that they did not find in the society they lived in.
