Hey guys, we're doing into the wild and tracks for our comparing unit, so i thought I'd do a practice essay on Into the Wild. I've only done an introduction and my first body paragraph so far but i thought I would post it anyway to get some feedback. Please give me as much critical feedback as you can, I'm looking to improve and I don't mind if you're harsh!!
Into the Wild presents vivid landscapes. How does the landscape develop our understanding of Christopher McCandless?
Throughout Sean Penn’s haunting film Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless’s journey of self-discovery is displayed by his interactions with various landscapes and their accompanying individuals. Through this, it becomes exceedingly obvious that McCandless has vastly different views on nature when compared to his views on civilization, especially that of the upper class. McCandless also has a dismissive view of the government and law in general, preferring to live outside their reach in his own set of (admittedly very high) moral standards. This moral standard is same one with which he judges his family and any friends he chances on.
It can be contended that McCandless’ wildly differing views on nature and civilization provide deep insights into his character. For him, civilization represents consumerism and wealth and hate and racism; all the things he thinks are wrong with the world. Contrastingly, nature is where everyone and everything is treated only for what they are worth. That is, when one escapes the confines of the city, one has a chance to find out about their character. McCandless uses this belief as a reason to go to Alaska; as “the great frontier”, he hopes to make up for his privileged childhood by testing himself in the most extreme environment available. However, McCandless shows a desire to test himself in nature throughout the film. The first-time McCandless makes Ron Franz climb up the hill, Franz gives up halfway, saying, “Getting a little steep, isn’t it?”. In reply, McCandless, McCandless states, “you can see the Sultan Sea from here.” This blatantly associates Franz’s caution with being trapped, and juxtaposes it with McCandless’ personal freedom allowing him to experience new things (such as seeing the Sea). Conversely, it is also possible to glean information about McCandless’ ideals from his deep mistrust of “Society!”. His abused and tedious teenage years had forced him associate wealth with greed and blindness, leading to McCandless’ deep mistrust of money. Therefore, he is happy to spend all his remaining cheque money on a canoe: he believes the only meaningful thing he can do with money is spend it as quick as possible for the possible experiences it may lead to. This also explains McCandless urging the other wheat harvesters to go all-in in poker: he saw no value in them keeping their money and only wanted to experience the exhilaration of risk.