Notifications
Clear all
Into the Wild Chapters 10-14
3
Posts
3
Users
0
Reactions
183
Views
Topic starter
27/10/2025 10:18 pm
When Krakauer starts talking about his own trip to Alaska in Chapter 14, I was kind of confused at first. The book had been all about Chris McCandless, so it felt weird for the author to suddenly make it about himself. At first I thought it was unnecessary, but after reading it, I actually think it helps. He’s not trying to steal the spotlight he’s showing that he understands what McCandless might have been feeling because he went through something similar.
Krakauer says, “At that age, death was far from my mind. If I worried about anything, it was that I might live a long life without ever knowing the thrill of living close to the edge.” That really stuck with me because it explains why McCandless made such risky choices. Later, when he admits, “I was unprepared for the climb, but such unpreparedness was part of the point,” it reminded me of how McCandless went into the wild kind of unprepared too, but did it on purpose. It’s not about being careless it’s about wanting to feel something real.
Even though this chapter slows down the story a bit, I think it adds a lot of meaning. It made me see McCandless in a more understanding way. If I were writing it and had a similar story that helped explain my main character, I’d probably include it too.
28/10/2025 12:58 pm
I agree with being confused when reading chapter 14 and it being about about Krakauer and not so much Chris McCandless. I definitely thought it was unnecessary for him to insert himself into the book half way through but hearing your reason for it being helpful, I can agree. Krakauer did have a similar story to Chris and how he felt in the book. I really like your first quote because it does explain why McCandless did what he did and made such risky choices, just like Krakauer did. Quotes like these help show why Krakauer adding his story into the book is helpful to understand more of Chris McCandless mindset he was in. If Krakauer adding his own story that wasn't very relevant to the story, would you still believe it was helpful for him to insert himself into the book?
28/10/2025 9:42 pm
I definitely agree with how Krakauer definitely needed this bit of his opinion. I like how you said hes "not trying to steal the spotlight" because he really is not stealing McCandless's spotlight, he is just giving his opinion in his research. When reading Krakauer's thoughts, I found it extremely relevant to the story and what Krakauer is trying to figure out.
I also think I would include my own thoughts like he did, and so would many people. Everyone will always have their own thoughts and opinions and I agree that they can be helpful to include in some topics, this being one. Do you think the book would still tell the same story and have the same feeling it does now if Krakauer did not include his own thoughts?
