Essay On Into The Wild
The idea of a spontaneous adventure can spark the interest of anyone. Jon Krakauer's biography, Into the Wild, explores the life of Christopher McCandless, and his journey to the Alaskan Wilderness ultimately leading to his death. Into the Wild was written partially due to negative responses to an article written by Krakauer before the book about Chris was published. It was also written due to the connection he feels to Chris and his risk taking attitude because of the “unsettling parallels between events in [Chris’s] life and those in [Krakauers] own” (author's notes). Krakauer analyzes Chris’s mental and physical state before and during his time in the Alaskan wilderness, to disprove statements made towards Chris influencing readers that
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In Krakauer's 1997 version of Into the Wild, it is said to have been mold on the potato seeds or a toxic amino acid in the potato seeds that weakened Chris. Krakauer supports this by inferring that “pot seeds” in Chris’s journal entry on July 30th meant potato seeds, and that because Chris had eaten so many, it left him extremely weak. It is not confirmed that Chris was healthy up until July 30th but it is concluded he was. Krakauer then goes on to include chapters explaining events that went on months after Chris’s death including his parents visiting Bus 142 where Chris died. Chris kept the seeds in a ziplock bag, since it was raining for most of this time, the seeds began to mold inside the bag. Chris may have noticed this, but since it was one of his only food sources he had no choice but to continue to eat the seeds. The toxic amino acid that was also suspected to be the cause of his death was not known to be toxic at the time, Chris’s book on plants didn’t have any information on it either. Krakauer’s overarching argument about Chris is proven through evidence, background, and the organization of the book. Throughout the book there are hints of how Chris was clueless and semi-thoughtless about what he was doing, but he wasn’t purposefully like that. Eating potato seeds was his only resort to have some type of food since game was getting
In Krakauer's 1997 version of Into the Wild, it is said to have been mold on the potato seeds or a toxic amino acid in the potato seeds that weakened Chris. Krakauer supports this by inferring that “pot seeds” in Chris’s journal entry on July 30th meant potato seeds, and that because Chris had eaten so many, it left him extremely weak. It is not confirmed that Chris was healthy up until July 30th but it is concluded he was. Krakauer then goes on to include chapters explaining events that went on months after Chris’s death including his parents visiting Bus 142 where Chris died. Chris kept the seeds in a ziplock bag, since it was raining for most of this time, the seeds began to mold inside the bag. Chris may have noticed this, but since it was one of his only food sources he had no choice but to continue to eat the seeds. The toxic amino acid that was also suspected to be the cause of his death was not known to be toxic at the time, Chris’s book on plants didn’t have any information on it either. Krakauer’s overarching argument about Chris is proven through evidence, background, and the organization of the book. Throughout the book there are hints of how Chris was clueless and semi-thoughtless about what he was doing, but he wasn’t purposefully like that. Eating potato seeds was his only resort to have some type of food since game was getting