Foster Coates

Grubb

AP Language (2)

21 April 2017

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer depicts the true story of a young man named Christopher

McCandless. Krakauer develops Chriss (Alexs) character in his own way. He does this by

quoting his real journal entries, comparing him to other survivalists, and spreading information

about Chris throughout the book.

Since this story is nonfiction, the author doesnt necessarily get to decide the character of

Chris, but Krakauer portrays it very well through comparing him to survivalists. Another

brilliant man known as Gene Rosellini with very similar childhood upbringings also ended up

dead after living a very natural life. Telling stories about other people allows comparison to be

done by the reader, as well as keeps readers interested.

Krakauer quotes McCandless journals and letters plenty of times throughout the novel.

He does this often after or during stories of Chris meeting other people. A very important

example is when Krakauer quotes one of Chriss last letters, ending with Now, I walk into the

wild. This allows people to relate and sympathize with Chris, seeing him as a real person who

wrote letters and not as just a character in a book. Krakauer also interviews plenty of people who

met Chris. Getting their opinions allows readers to get a better understanding of Chriss

character.

Throughout the book, Krakauer exposes information about Chris. For instance, the author

brings up Chriss father having a whole other family of wife and kids near the end of the book, a
crucial piece of information that was left out at the beginning when describing Chriss reasons

for leaving his family behind. Releasing information to readers late in the book allows them to

look at his situation from a new standpoint and makes them rethink their previous opinions about

Chriss reasoning.

Krakauer told the true story of a young man who traveled the countryside and developed

his character very well. He was able to do this through quoting Chriss journals, releasing

information about him throughout the book, and telling stories of people similar to Chris and

comparing them.