Into the Wild Chapters 10-14

I believe that it was ethical for Jon Krakauer to incorporate his own experience in the story. I can see how the interruption would be unethical if this were solely a report on the tragic death of McCandless, but Kraukuer went further than revealing the chain of events that occurred; he burrowed himself into exploring the life of a man he never knew, by gathering the accounts of people whom McCandless interacted with, to uncover McCandless’s mentality driving his actions.

 The addition of Krakauer’s perspective provides the audience with insight into McCandless's devotion to the Alaska bush. His experience allows the audience to vicariously experience the feelings of determination, vulnerability, and taunting doubt, “By and by your attention becomes so intensely focused that you no longer notice the raw knuckles, the cramping thighs, the strain of maintaining nonstop concentration” (Krakauer 142).  I think Krakauer's goal was to prove that McCandless's choice to pursue living in the Alaska bush was motivated by the thrill of testing his limits rather than being young and naive. “As I formulated the plan to climb the Thumb, I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head. But that only added to the scheme’s appeal” (Krakauer 135). This draws a connection between Krakauer and McCandless’s experiences as they were both self-aware that their plans were perilous, yet they continued with the risk, fueling their excitement. 

This element was surprising to me because the story is about a tragic death, and he incorporated a personal tale of his own “life-transforming" excursion through Alaskan terrain. While this technique was dicey, it was captivating. I could feel his anticipation and the range of emotions they could have experienced. The message could potentially be interpreted as the author encouraging his readers to take on dangerous activities for the thrill of it. If I were writing, I wouldn’t attempt to put a personal story in a biography like this because it feels, in a way, selfish. But overall, he pulled it off, and it enhanced the story.