| Themes in Into the Wild: Within just the first three
chapters of Jon Krakauer's non-fiction book that chronicles the life of
twenty-four-year-old Christopher McCandless, the author lays out some
themes that will recur throughout his text. This is not meant to
be an exhaustive list, so feel free to add to your own list as you keep
track of the ideas that Krakauer is working with. Some of the
ideas below can also be considered motifs. In literary terms, a
motif is any particular recurring image or gesture or behavior.
Usually it is something concrete in the narrative. Themes are of a
more abstract nature and are derived by thinking about the significance
of particular events or actions of characters or even their utterances.
Below is our emerging list:
- identity: denial of the past and reinvention
of the self (Chris' multiple aliases)
- sadness--> search for self identity
- anti-establishment and particularly
anti-government
- conflict: man Vs. nature
- conflict: man Vs. man
- conflict: man Vs. society
- isolation and self-exile
- food/hunger/eating (this is more of a motif
than a theme; make margin notes any time you see a reference to this
motif)
Profile of Chris McCandless:
You will note from the small list
below that McCandless is anything but a simple person. To be certain, he
is very complex and at time you will find him to be contradictory in
character. As you gather notes for working on this next essay
assignment, be sure to add to this list of personality traits, for you
most certainly will find many more ways to characterize this enigmatic
individual.
- non-materialistic
- rebels against authority figures
- law breaker
- stubborn
- arrogant
- perfectionist
- self-sufficient (self-reliant-->influenced by
Henry David Thoreau's ideas that we will read later in "Life Without
Principle" and "Civil Disobedience")
- independent
- naturally smart (college educated)
- naive
- ethical/moral
- seeks excitement, adventure; doesn't want to
be "boxed in"
- afraid of complacency
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