Gabe Poulos

Ms. Grubb

AP Lang

15 April 2017

Into the Wild was published in 1995, during the first term of the 42nd President, Bill

Clinton. Throughout his first term, he was known for his appointment of many women into

higher up positions, making up 44% of his cabinet, and his advocacy for a universal healthcare

system (Bill Clinton). During that time in the mid to early 90s, the HIV/AIDS virus was killing

thousands of people and the stigma around it was one of fear and ignorance. Nevertheless, there

were also positive changes occurring such as the Americans With Disabilities Act (AWDA)

passed in 1990 that helped prohibit the discrimination of people with AIDS (Eight Years of

Peace, Progress, and Posterity). Other important things occurred in the early 90s, such as the

increased use of the World Wide Web that was invented just a few years before in 1989, and the

release of the Windows 3.1 software in 1992, the same year that Chris McCandless was found

dead in a converted bus in Alaska (Conner Forrest).

This novel was written by author Jon Krakauer, a lover of nature and casual living. As a

child, he was very much raised in the outdoors. Growing up he spent most of his time as a

mountaineer, hiking and climbing freely in the forests of the American Northwest. Krakauer got

a degree at Hampshire College in environmental studies, and spent most of his time climbing as

well as being a carpenter on the side. In 1983 however, he decided to take a new path in life and

quit carpentry to focus on writing. His passion for the outdoors was what inspired his style of

writing and the topics he chose, including Into the Wild. He didnt quit climbing though, in fact
he took this passion for climbing so far that in 1996 he climbed to the top of Mt. Everest where

he was lucky enough to make it back down alive, unlike some of his other peers. Krakauer later

wrote an article published in the Outside magazine, as well as the novel Into Thin Air about his

experience, and how he watched many people around him die from a fatal snowstorm (Robert S.

Boynton).

Although deemed a national bestseller, not much information is available about how Into

The Wild was received by the public(About Jon Krakauer). There is, however, information about

the impact the story had on society. The novel brought the mystery of Chris McCandless to the

attention of the people, and made them wonder about how the death of the young man came

about, and if it was fully an accident. Many theories arose, such as if it was a planned out and

prepared suicide or some sort of a cry for help, but Krakauer claims it to be an unintentional

poisoning in an interview with Audie Cornish of NPR (All Things Considered). Either way, the

fascinating interpretation by Krakauer of McCandlesss private journal was a huge hit to readers

everywhere. It also became its own motion picture in 2007, in which Jon Krakauer played an

important role as one of the writers of the movie. This also contributed to the popularity of the

story of the young man who left his life behind and never came back for it.

Works Cited
Krakauer, Jon. "Into the Wild." Barnes & Noble. N.p., 30 Nov. 7319. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

"Jon Krakauer Menu." Jon Krakauer. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

"Into the Wild." Into the Wild: Into the Wild Author Jon Krakauer Biography | Book Summary &

Study Guide | CliffsNotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

The New New Journalism | By Robert S. Boynton. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

"Did Jon Krakauer Finally Solve 'Into The Wild' Mystery?" NPR. NPR, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 16

Apr. 2017.

"A Timeline of HIV/AIDS." AIDS.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Conner Forrest // May 8, 2015, 5:00 AM PST // Connerforrest. "Tech Nostalgia: The Top 15

Innovations of the 1990s." TechRepublic. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Conner Forrest // May 8, 2015, 5:00 AM PST // Connerforrest. "Tech Nostalgia: The Top 15

Innovations of the 1990s." TechRepublic. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

History.com Staff. "Bill Clinton." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 17 Apr.

2017.