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Intothe Wilds: Article and Movie Analysis
JonKrakauer’s book, Intothe Wild,examines the life and death of Chris McCandless. The publicationseems different from Penn’s movie that appears to celebrate Chris’sjourney. Contrary to the arrangement of the film in chapters, thearticle’s sections refer to the different places that Chrisvisited. Some of the events in the movie depict his life during“adolescence” and “youth.” The fact that Carine, Chris’ssister is, the narrator in the film, gives the account a differentfeel as compared to the article. On his travels to Alaska, Carinerefers to the travel as the “magic bus” or the “bus” in themovie. Apparently, this seems confusing to an individual watching thefilm that did not have background information about the article. As aresult, the movie portrays Chris to be crazier than the article.There are several instances in the film that describe Chris to betalking to himself. Therefore, the viewer gets a more feel andunderstanding of Chris’s nature than the reader of the articledoes. This paper argues that the movie represents Chris McCandless’slife in a positive light as opposed to the publication.
Themovie appropriately covers all relevant aspects of his journey andlife as compared to the article. In essence, the film clearly revealsChris’ journals including how he considered writing and literatureto be significant to him. It can, therefore, be stated that thenarrative technique employed in the movie is more suitable andefficient as compared the approach adopted by the article. Anegative aspect of the narrative technique applied in the book is theuse of shifting perspectives in describing events. According to myopinion, the decision of the author to compare Chris with otheradventurers such as Waterman and Ruess was not necessary. Theinclusion of other travelers in the book elicits confusion to thereader thereby making it difficult to discern the character that isdiscussed and the subject matter of the narrative.
“Thepeculiar thing about Everett Ruess was that he went out and did thethings he dreamed about for months and years in the very midst ofwonder…” (Krakauer 63). The passage reveals that the book alsoconcentrated on other adventurers and the lives of differentcharacters in an attempt to compare them to Chris’s adventures. Asa matter of fact, Chris should be the center of focus of the book.Therefore, delving into the escapades of other voyagers wasinappropriate. From the story given in the article about Ruess, it isapparent that there is a minimal connection between the story andChris’s adventures. The perspective implies that Everett Ruess’snarrative does not bolster the understanding of the article hence theunsuitability. It is evident that the narrative style employed inthe book is confusing to the reader.
Onthe other hand, the narrative technique used in the film was useful.Carine McCandless, Chris’s sister, is the only narrator in themovie. The effectiveness of the narrative technique used in the filmemanates from the fact that the use of one narrator makes the storyto be less confusing and easy to understand on the part of thereader. In the movie, Carine would only speak about Chris and thefeelings exhibited by the other members of the family when he leftthe family including the coping strategies that family membersemployed to deal with his decision to exit the household to ventureon missions. Carine provides clear descriptions of the feelings ofher parents and her feelings towards Chris whenever he was gone. Fromthe descriptions, the reader can identify the different issues thatarose following the decision of Chris to vacate from home despite thesignificant role that Chris played in the family. When Carinenarrates about the relationships that Chris had with everyone in themovie, it makes it easy for the reader to understand the characterand importance of Chris in the family.
Moreover,the book and movie portrayed Chris’s realization of the mistakesthat he made differently. It is also clear that the film describedthe awakening in a more efficient manner as compared to the book.According to the book, Chris stands out as a very stubborn personthat only does what he deems appropriate from his perspective.Moreover, the book does not highlight moments of realization andregret. Chris’s act of snapping publicly at the decision of hisparents to buy him a car provides evidence of his stubbornness in thebook (Krakauer 21). The book depicts Chris as a man who is inconstant arguments with his family and a man who goes wild and wouldonly consider his thoughts without any regrets.
Thebook’s author discloses Chris’s behavior before his expeditions. In essence, the writer depicts him as a suborn man that cannot changehis mind. In the novel, Chris recommends the essence of being free toRonald Franz and mentions that all individuals should consider theimportance of granting freedom to an individual. It is apparent thatthe author of the publication does not bring out Chris’s regretsand realization of his mistakes. Personally, I opine that it wasnecessary for the author to bring forth moments of Chris’s regretsand acknowledgment of his mistakes. The recognition of individualmistakes is vital to any person particularly if the blunder’s hemade can cause one’s death as in Chris’s case.
Accordingto my opinion, the moment when Chris realized his mistakes andregretted his actions was the most crucial moment of the story.However, the novel does not disclose this event. The film, on theother hand, reveals the incident. It shows that Chris eventuallyrecognized and lamented for his past actions after deciding to leaveeveryone and everything. While in Alaska towards the end of hisadventure, Chris started to freak out in the movie after realizingthat he was running out of food. The fact that Chris went crazy andscreamed for several hours in the film indicates that he had realizedhis mistakes.
Themovie also portrays the relationship between Jan Buress and Chrismore appropriately than the novel. The book does not disclose theeffect of the affiliation on shaping Chris’s development ofcharacter. The author focused on meager events, rather than in-depthexplanations that influence the personality of the main character.The book only indicates that Chris paid more attention to Buress andflirted with her whenever an opportunity presented itself (Krakauer45). The incident was the only hint of an existing relationshipbetween Chris and Buress. The movie, on the other hand, provided moredetails about the relationship.
Inconclusion, the movie provided a more interesting and detailednarration about Chris McCandless’s life. In my opinion, recountinga story in the film is better than writing a book. Consequently, moremovies should be produced after conducting in-depth research about anindividual’s life.
WorkCited
Krakauer,Jon. Intothe Wild.Pan Macmillan. 2011. Print.
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