Into The Wild Analysis
Into the wild symbols By John Krakauer
Mountains symbolize overcoming challenges One challenge McCandless faced was when he accidently entered Mexico on his canoe and got stranded. Another challenge McCandless faced was when he couldn't cross the Teklanika River in the Alaska Range, which eventually led to his death. In the book, Krakaur notes, "In his journal he wrote, ' Disaster...Rained in. River look impossible. Lonely, scared. ' He concluded, correctly, that he would probably be swept to his death if he attempted to cross the Teklanika at that place, in those conditions. " (Into the Wild, pg. 170)
McCandless chooses to abandon his beloved yellow Datsun after a rainstorm causes a river to overflow into the wash he was …show more content…
Moose meat could have prevented McCandless from starving to death. Because of his hubris, however, he isn't prepared for the enormous task of curing the flesh and ultimately fails at it. The consequences are fatal. In McCandless's journal, he reflects "...I now wish I had never shot the moose. One of the greatest tragedies of my life." (Into the Wild, pg. …show more content…
The odds of him finding an abandoned bus just waiting for him to live in while forging for berries are one in a million. However, McCandless also dies inside the bus, indicating that his luck has run out."...he stumbled upon the old bus beside the Sushana River...he was elated to be there" (Into the Wild, pg 163)
As with deserts and mountains, rivers test McCandless's survival skills. Ironically, rivers typically symbolize life, and unlike the other natural formations in Into the Wild, it is a river that defeats McCandless and aids in his death. Because he failed to predict that the river separating the "Magic Bus" from civilization will swell with melted snow, he cannot cross it in late summer when he intended to leave the woods. And because he has no map, McCandless is unaware of options for fording the raging
Mountains symbolize overcoming challenges One challenge McCandless faced was when he accidently entered Mexico on his canoe and got stranded. Another challenge McCandless faced was when he couldn't cross the Teklanika River in the Alaska Range, which eventually led to his death. In the book, Krakaur notes, "In his journal he wrote, ' Disaster...Rained in. River look impossible. Lonely, scared. ' He concluded, correctly, that he would probably be swept to his death if he attempted to cross the Teklanika at that place, in those conditions. " (Into the Wild, pg. 170)
McCandless chooses to abandon his beloved yellow Datsun after a rainstorm causes a river to overflow into the wash he was …show more content…
Moose meat could have prevented McCandless from starving to death. Because of his hubris, however, he isn't prepared for the enormous task of curing the flesh and ultimately fails at it. The consequences are fatal. In McCandless's journal, he reflects "...I now wish I had never shot the moose. One of the greatest tragedies of my life." (Into the Wild, pg. …show more content…
The odds of him finding an abandoned bus just waiting for him to live in while forging for berries are one in a million. However, McCandless also dies inside the bus, indicating that his luck has run out."...he stumbled upon the old bus beside the Sushana River...he was elated to be there" (Into the Wild, pg 163)
As with deserts and mountains, rivers test McCandless's survival skills. Ironically, rivers typically symbolize life, and unlike the other natural formations in Into the Wild, it is a river that defeats McCandless and aids in his death. Because he failed to predict that the river separating the "Magic Bus" from civilization will swell with melted snow, he cannot cross it in late summer when he intended to leave the woods. And because he has no map, McCandless is unaware of options for fording the raging