Into the Wild Chapters 15-Ep

The intent of Into the Wild is tough to define. While we know that it is focused squarely on uncovering McCandless' last days, the inclusion of Krakauer's personal and perilous Alaska adventure makes this more complex.

The book isn't a mystery either, insofar, as we know when and where, and even how he died from the book's beginning.

While the text explores what may have driven him to search for a life absent of the materialism and commercialism his life had been made up previously, it never blames anyone or anything despite locating a definite turning point.

So, what do you, as a reader, believe / understand that Krakauer is attempting to do?

Does he succeed in doing so? If he fails, what would he have had to do to succeed?  If he succeeds, to what extent does the organization of this text help him to do so? 

Lastly, what role does Krakauer's lack of distance help or hurt this work and its goal (as you define it)?