| Into The Wild |
Article Index for Into The |
Website Links For Into |
Information About ™Into The Wild |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT INTO THE WILD | |
| 1996 books | |
| american biographies | |
|
''Into the Wild'' by Jon Krakauer is a best-selling non-fiction book about the life and the death of Christopher McCandless . The book was published in 1996 . Krakauer intersperses McCandless's story with a discussion of the wilderness experiences of people such as John Muir and John Menlove Edwards , as well as some of his own experience. SYNOPSIS ''Into the Wild'' is the story of Christopher McCandless; who shortly after graduating from college abondoned his car, burned all of his money, gave away his savings of $24,000 to OXFAM , and disappeared, only to be found two years later by moose hunters, dead in the Alaskan wilderness. A man named Jim Gallien dropped McCandless off at Stampede Trail in Alaska. There McCandless headed down the trail to begin his Alaskan odyssey with only 10 lbs. of rice, a .22 caliber rifle, a camera, and some rifle rounds. The book begins with Christopher's body being found near an abandoned bus and retraces where he traveled during the two years he was missing, including time he spent in Carthage, South Dakota with a man named Wayne Westerberg and in California under the name Alexander Supertramp. He also meets up with a "rubber tramp" named Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob. Another person he meets along the way is an old man named Ron Franz. After becoming close with Franz, Franz asks McCandless if he can adopt him because Franz is lonely and has no one to carry on his family line. At this sign of emotion and closeness, McCandless begins to run and distance himself. After McCandless has left Franz successfully avoiding another personal relationship, he sends him a letter telling him to change his life, sell his things, and live on the road. Franz follows this advice and waits for McCandless among hobos and bums for months. When he finds out McCandless had died, he tries to kill himself by drinking too much. Krakauer relates McCandless' intense personality as possibly influenced by the writings of Leo Tolstoy and Thoreau . In addition, the author explores the similarities between McCandless's experiences and motivations and his own as a young man. Krakauer describes, in fairly great detail, his attempt to climb Devil's Thumb in British Columbia, Canada. He also recounts the stories of other young men who disappeared in the wilderness, such as Everett Ruess , an artist and wanderer who disappeared in the Utah Desert in 1934 at age 20. McCandless died after 112 days in the Alaskan wilderness, apparently after having eaten Wild Potato seeds. As Krakauer describes it, the toxic seeds were mistaken for an edible variety. In short, these seeds prevent the absorption of glucose into the body, causing starvation. In other words, someone who consumes these seeds could eat 10,000 calories every day and still starve. The author also points out that it is possible for someone to consume the seeds and live. This can happen when the body already has enough stored glucose to essentially ride it out. However, in McCandless's case, this was not possible, given his rather poor diet at the time. |
|
|