Into The Wild Analysis

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Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild is the memoir of Krakauer discovering the meaning as to why Christopher McCandless, a young man from California, ventured through North America alone, later being found dead in Alaska. From what readers know, the 24-year-old had an easy life; his family obtained a steady income, and he had acquired multiple close friends. Throughout the book, the reader follows Krakauer as he retraces the steps of the journey made. This includes a plethora of new cities, new people, and a new name to call himself-- Alex. Before Alex’s departure to Alaska, he was staying and working in South Dakota. While waiting to depart, he writes to Ron Franz, a friend he made in California. Throughout this letter, McCandless’s passionate…show more content…
Alex is currently working at a grain elevator.“I enjoy working here and things are going good”, he assures Ron (Krakauer, 56). This short sentence imitates the persona of a happy lifestyle, but the simplicity of it gives it a monotonic ambiance, as we find out a few sentences later that he is eager to leave for Alaska. Soon after, he mentions his plan, while being slightly more confident than expected. McCandless asserts “providing I get through this Alaskan deal in one piece you will be hearing from me again in the future”(56) This sentence stands out to readers, it is a fake hope to them considering that they know of Alex’s death from the very beginning. Although he is humorous about dying on the trip, the irony adds emphasis to this sentence. Despite learning his desire to leave for Alaska and Alex planning on talking to Ron after the trip, there is not a clear sentence that shows why Alex wants to go to Alaska, however, we can eliminate some of the choices through these sentences. These strategies show readers the excitement Alex has to leave for Alaska, as well as his mask of mental stability, giving the impression that it was not a suicide…show more content…
He starts by being slightly rude and makes Ron’s lifestyle seem uninteresting and repetitive. Using his own experiences, Alex then gives him advice. Telling him to “hit the road” and “move around” multiple times, even addressing his own repetition when he says “I’d like to repeat the advice I gave you…”(56) The use of repetition is Alex trying to get it in Ron’s head to flee, giving a nostalgic feel to Alex possibly being hesitant in the past. Almost giving an annoying tone to the letter, while still being efficiently aggressive. He then adds “...it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into an entirely new realm of experience.”(57) Alex addressing the opposition by using more emotional words then makes his position sound more logical and any opposition to it sound absurd. By inconspicuously making Ron feel his lifestyle is unhealthy, Alex is slowly thriving towards persuading him. These excerpts can be seen as Alex writing to himself in the past, as well as expressing his happiness for the choices he has made through persuading Ron to make the same

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