Nonconformism In Into The Wild

Academy Award-winning director-actor, Sean Penn initiated his 2007 biographical film version of Into the Wild, with saying “There is pleasure in the pathless woods, There is rapture on the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea and the music in its roar. I love not man the less, but Nature more”, which relates to the theme of non-conformism and being “one” with nature. Penn’s directorial decisions in Into the Wild has been well received by critics, with well-known critic, Roger Ebert saying “the move is so good because it means so much to its writer-director, Sean Penn”. The author, Jon Krakauer, draws similarities with the director of his book adaptation, as he passionately investigates on the adventure his subject,
Christopher McCandless is enamored with transcendentalists such Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, with the idea of connection one’s spirit to the simplistic aesthetics of nature itself. In each chapter, Krakauer explains this connection by using an excerpt from his piece to introduce each chapter to assist elevate McCandless’ description to the audience. McCandless exhibited transcendent behavior through holding a reverence for nature, avoiding dense population, and his escape from the apprehension of modern society that by exposing himself to nature, he can formulate his own reality, and not live by anyone else’s. Krakauer accounts McCandless’ childhood to foreshadow his time in Alaska and influence on why he was so continuous in authoritative aversions. After his body was found, Krakauer reveals Chris was multi-talented to a prodigious level, yet he had a strong resistance to being coached or following obligatory rules in sports like cross country and track. At age ten, McCandless began running competitively and became a top distance runner to “run away from the evil and darkness in the world” until his coaches and team captains seemed to controlling for his free-spirit behavior (Krakauer, 112). This flashback in this nonlinear documented investigation enhances what one knows about McCandless and what one can imply. Not only
Krakauer was able to reveal the dynamics of an adolescent’s characterization and how they develop in understanding the reality of society. The subjectivity was truly relevant to the piece to understand the daring minds of those who wants to establish a connection with nature and helps those audience members who shame them to psychologically enter the mind of a hiker in a journey of self-discovery and