Into the Wild: Monthly Review

I. Introduction
Into the Wild is an adventurous travel essay by Jon Krakauer who traces the life of Christopher McCandless, a stubborn young man who decides to "live off the wild". In this book, Krakauer illustrates all of Christopher's travels around the mainland of the United States all the way up into the wilderness of Alaska. Krakauer also includes journal entries written by Christopher himself and flashbacks/interviews of those who have helped Christopher during his journey and his family.

II. What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell? How well was this purpose achieved?
Krakauer's purpose is simple, he wanted to go in depth with McCandless' journey and the effects it has left after writing an article on him. He clearly stated his purpose in the author's note: "...Unwilling to let McCandless go, I spent more than a year retracing the convoluted path that led to his death in the Alaska taiga, chasing down details of his peregrinations with an interest that bordered on obsession." Krakauer put Christopher's adventuring in chronological order with refurbished dialogue. With scenes and events supported by McCandless' journal entries and left over memories of those who met him, it truly puts you into heart and soul of Christopher McCandless.
Krakauer ventured the places Christopher has been to, which hard to describe without witnessing it yourself.
I believe Krakauer also had a personal purpose in this essay being a mountaineer himself. I believe he wanted to share the amazing things Christopher has witnessed and the hardships he has endured. He shows this towards the end of the book where he talks about the time he climbed a new route on the Devils Thumb. It was easy to see that this was his purpose although it was given, and I believe it was achieved perfectly. Krakauer took it to the fullest and made this essay so realistic and compelling. His fascination lead him to truly go into Christopher's heart and soul to achieve something no one can even imagine.

III. Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth.
Christopher McCandless or 'Alex Supertramp', the main man, is a typical yet abstract character. He came from a upper-middle class family and went to Emory University for four years majoring in history and anthropology. He received a high cumulative grade point average and was even offered entrance to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, an honors fraternity, but declined since he thinks titles are full of crap. McCandless was a highly spiritual and idealistic person with great endurance for whatever is thrown at him. Despite his heroic personality, his character has become a cliche. As I said in my first letter, his stubbornness of living in the wild is popular among many other young men who truly believe they can do it. The story of Christopher McCandless and Jon Krakauer himself have received much criticism. I'd have to agree with some of the things people have said.. calling McCandless a foolish man who underestimated nature unprepared or being a disgraceful child towards his parents concerns. Yet-- he knew the risks such as death and was quite aware of his lack of equipment. He wanted a challenge and in a way he wanted to prove something. It's hard to explain the true purposes McCandless wanted to achieve, but you can get a sense of it and it's just amazing. What I also appreciated about Christopher is the fact that he has kept contact with each person he has met during his travels. He would either phone them or send letters maybe even swing by for a visit. Those who have given him jobs let him know that he could come back whenever he needed the cash. McCandless was obviously a loved and sociable person and it made his travels a lot more unique.

IV. For what audience(s) is this book intended, and how can you tell? (In other words, for whom would you recommend this book?)
I'd say that this essay is perfectly appropriate for young adults who would be able to understand some emotion that is put into this book. I wouldn't say this isn't for a person who reads something like Twilight though. Definitely not for the kind of people who are into elementary reading. This is also perfect for anyone who has read Jon Krakauer's other works such as Into Thin Air which is about mountain climbing (so along the lines of travel and outdoor struggles).
This book is highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the hardships of living out in the wild or just travel. Into the Wild also gives a sense of preparation for an ordinary traveler to not underestimate anything and that there is no such thing as being too prepared. Although I'm not that interested in such things, I found this book astonishing. To put it in simple words, it shows how to "live life to the fullest" in a way. Christopher was a great kid who did good in school yet knew that there was more to it. He was the kind of person who wanted to escape from our modern society and try to do something new with his life. And with that, he met amazing people and left great memories. It's a great read for people who are curious about hitchhiking especially since it usually has a bad ring to it. Chris' encounters totally contradicts what you would typically think of people who would pick up hitchhikers or hitchhikers alone.

V. Conclusion
Overall, I believe Krakauer did an excellent job reporting about Christopher McCandless. Even though this is the third time I have read this book, it still raptures me. Particular stories about an individual's life intrigue me since everyone is obviously different. I rather look into their perspectives and ideology. Krakauer's ability to relive McCandless' life was done so flawlessly making this book seem too good to be true.