After reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer our class had a final class discussion on several topics of the book. First of all I would completely recommend this book to anybody and I really enjoyed reading this book. One of the questions that were brought of was that who were the guilty parties, if anyone, in this tale? I had to go with Chris’ parents. I believe that they should have some sort of guilt from the death of Chris. Throughout the story Chris never actually opened up about his family. In my opinion his parents were not really there for him to raise him or have some sort of guide in his early stages of life. Sure they shouldn’t feel all the guilt towards them because they did provide the best they could. Chris’ parents would work endless hours to give their kids the best and that shouldn’t be overlooked. The problem of Chris leaving, in my opinion, originated in his childhood from lack of parenting. This also connects to another question, was it justified for Chris to leave without saying a word to his parents?
It was justified that Chris left without saying anything. His parents would have try and pressure him not to follow through on his journey to Alaska. Even though Chris was the type of person that once he selected his path, his parents could somehow talk him out of it. Many readers can point fingers at Chris’ parents, but it’s also Chris’ fault for his own death. One major mistake Chris made was being unprepared. I’m no boy scout nor do I know anything about surviving in the wilderness, but anyone can figure out that if you are planning on taking a very long trip.
One question I really want to discuss is why Chris wanted to leave such a good future for a trip to Alaska? In my understanding Chris left for an adventure, he wanted to experience this, and he wanted to go against his dad’s outline of his future. Chris was the kind of person that really was into the wildlife and seeing the different side of life. He wanted to experience something new, see what new challenges it brings. In my opinion the biggest reason for Chris departing on his own was his dad. After finding out his dad’s second life (family), Chris descended even more from his family. Also, his dad put high standards over Chris’ head like doing great in school and following the career path his dad chose for him.
One thing that Krakauer did not discuss was his own take about Chris. In a couple of sections Krauker opens up about his own past. Many can draw a conclusion that Krakauer had the same experiences and back round as Chris; Krakauer also went on an adventure like Chris. This story really opened my eyes, in the sense that a person who has a bright future ahead of them doesn’t mean the person is happy with their life. This means that a person is not totally happy with their life even if it seems like it to others, but happiness lays under what the person truly believes in and follows it until the end.
