Into the Wild

Into the Wild is a nonfiction novel dedicated to the travels and adventures by Chris McCandless, or “Alexander Supertramp”. When I read this in high school, I was entertained and found his adventuress very interesting. Now that i have read it over again in college, I question it. Why do we teach this to high school teachers? 

This man can be seen as a brave transcendentalist, or a complete fool. I for one think he was somewhat of a fool, so why teach students about a fool. Maybe (this is my own interpretation) because it is a book about fitting in with society. The conflicts of finding oneself in society is a conflicting situation that kids in high school go through. This book is relatable in a sense. 

In high school, we were taught lessons on journalism by using this book with its journalism aspects. Now that i have read it over again, more learning lessons have sprouted up. Despite being a short read, I got a better understanding of the characters and their relationship with Chris. In class, we can teach students about character relationships and character development through Chris’s journey. Maybe even dive in to see the relationship Chris had with his father, which was very severe. On the side, I feel like this book can also teach students in the classroom what not to do when surviving in the wild. If a students read this and goes to Alaska, I would suggest they do the opposite of what Chris did. 

In the end, I think students will enjoy the journalistic aspect of the novel and the themes of nature and how someone in our time can find beauty in nature. Although, if I taught this novel in my class, I would very strict one it and give Chris McCandless a bad time. 

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