Coming of Age in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

by Noel Merino (Editor)

Overview

The subject of endless speculation, Chris McCandless abrupt journey into the American wilderness and his subsequent mysterious death play a central role in Jon Krakauer's 1996 nonfiction book Into the Wild. This comprehensive edition provides an in-depth analysis of the life, work, and career of author Jon Krakauer, focusing particularly on the theme of coming of age as it relates to Into the Wild. Readers are presented with a series of essays that tackle questions about McCandless' death, the substantiality of Krakauer's theories, and the parallels between McCandless' story and other travel-based coming of age stories. Modern perspectives on coming of age and travel narratives are also discussed, allowing readers examine concepts such as self-actualization, the relationship between travel and gender, and the dangers of inexperienced traveling.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780737769777
Publisher:	Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Publication date:	11/25/2014
Series:	Social Issues in Literature Series
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Chronology 12

Chapter 1 Background on Jon Krakauer

1 The Life of Jon Krakauer 15

UXL Biographies

2 Critics' Responses to Krakauer's Nonfiction Works 25

Concise Major 21st-century Writers

3 Krakauer as Both Writer and Mountain Climber 31

Authors and Artists for Young Adults

4 The Focus on Extremism in the Works of Krakauer 44

Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature

Chapter 2 Into the Wild and Christopher McCandless's Wilderness Adventure

1 Review of Into the Wild David Stevenson 52

2 McCandless Was Neither Lucky nor Stupid, but Foolish Suzan Nightingale 57

3 Adventures of Alexander Supertramp Thomas McNamee 62

4 The Lives of Krakauer and McCandless Have Many Parallels John Marshall 67

5 Like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, Krakauer's Into the Wild Taps Primal Instincts Dick Staub 72

6 McCandless Should Not Be Compared to Thoreau, Tolstoy, and Beat Writers Bill Gifford 76

7 The Film Version of Into the Wild Brings McCandless's Story to Life David Roberts 80

8 The Life of McCandless Was Remarkable and Inspirational Pete Mason 91

9 Krakauer's Theories About McCandless's Death Are Unscientific Dermot Cole 96

10 There Is Much Misunderstanding About McCandless and Into the Wild Ivan Hodes 101

Chapter 3 Contemporary Perspectives on the Wilderness Adventure

1 The Wilderness Adventure Offers a Path to Self-Actualization Stacy Taniguchi 107

Challenging experiences in nature lay bare the sublime nature in each individual and lead to profound knowledge of the self.

2 The Reaction to Young, Solitary Wilderness Explorers Splits Along Gender Lines Kate Turtle 120

3 Into the "Wild": How a Film and an Essay Reflect Our Changed Ideas About Nature Evan Eisenberg 126

4 Into the Wild has led to many Inexperienced Hikers Visiting the Alaska Wilderness Tim Mowry 133

For Further Discussion 140

For Further Reading 141

Bibliography 142

Index 145