Into the Wild by John Krakauer | Teen Ink

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

July 29, 2012
By Brotter BRONZE, Reno, Nevada
Brotter BRONZE, Reno, Nevada
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

It is unusual to start a book already aware of the abrupt ending. It is no secret that the outcome to this story is the death of Chris McCandless, but there was much more of a story to be told than his tragic passing. Chris McCandless was born and raised in what some would call, a privileged family. He had two very successful parents, and was also headed toward a life filled with fortune. Although, beneath the surface, his life was not as perfect as it seemed. He was unhappy, and wanted nothing to do with money. He wanted to prove to himself that he could insert himself into the vast Alaskan wild and survive a summer with no money and no human relationships. Then, he formulated the idea of his odyssey. After his graduation, he left, donating all of the money from his savings, abandoning his car, and burning the remaining cash in his wallet. Throughout his travels, he came across many people and developed many close friendships. He left many that cared for him dearly, whose lives he had impacted greatly, and changed forever.

In my eyes Chris came across to be a very insightful human being, and had a lot to tell the world. My opinion, which isn’t shared by some, is that he was not some selfish kid that didn’t know what he was doing or what he was getting himself into.

Chris planned on making it out of the Alaskan Wilderness alive. He proved that it is possible to return to your roots and live off the land. He also showed that money and material things are not what’s important. I think that in writing this book, the author, Krakauer, did the right thing by leaving Chris’s story open ended, so the reader’s can think about him what they wanted and come to their own decisions. The way the journey was represented lead me to feel sympathy for Chris and wish that the outcome for him and his family was different. Krakauer did a phenomenal job painting the way Chris impacted the people he met, and by Krakauer’s words you could tell McCandless was important to him as well without even ever having meeting him. As a reader, I felt a connection with Chris and it was a shame that he was so close to getting back to civilization, and had an very good chance of surviving, but happened to make a mistake that cost him his life.


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This article has 4 comments.


Rayna BRONZE said...
on Aug. 27 2012 at 12:48 am
Rayna BRONZE, Reno, Nevada
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Sarah is a stud muffin.

This is wonderful. Very well written, and good job at drawing people in to want to read the book. I know, I want to read it now.

srader said...
on Aug. 26 2012 at 5:33 pm
Sounds like a great book! You did a good job of explaining the book and giving your personal opinion. I liked all the details you used and that you gave your honest opinion about that book. The book sounds very interesting, thanks for putting up a book review of it!

Bbodine BRONZE said...
on Aug. 21 2012 at 5:56 pm
Bbodine BRONZE, Reno, Nevada
1 article 0 photos 4 comments
You did an awesome job of giving detail and your opinion of this book. You have really drawn me in so that I want to read the whole book. I really love how you put in there that you think the author left the story open ended so that we can make our own decision on how we feel about him.

Bbodine BRONZE said...
on Aug. 21 2012 at 5:56 pm
Bbodine BRONZE, Reno, Nevada
1 article 0 photos 4 comments
You did an awesome job of giving detail and your opinion of this book. You have really drawn me in so that I want to read the whole book. I really love how you put in there that you think the author left the story open ended so that we can make our own decision on how we feel about him.