About Into The Wild

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer tells the story of a young man, Christopher Johnson McCandless, who gave up all his savings, hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness. His decomposed body was found four months later. Krakauer pieces together the last few months of McCandless’s life, as well as delving farther into his past, as he tries to determine the motivations of the young man and what compelled him to his ultimate fate. Can man conquer nature? What does it mean to live on the fringes of society? How do humans push themselves to the extreme, and why? In Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into the Wild,” these questions are explored, as well as the themes of wilderness, society and exploration, in a compelling nonfiction narrative.

A screenplay directed by Sean Penn and based on the Krakauer book was released on DVD on March 4, 2008. You are required to view the movie this semester. A copy of the movie is available in my office. Contact me for availability. View the trailer here.