Into the Wild
Part 1
The author uses epigraphs to connect them with the respective stories. Chapter one, the Alaska Interior, begins with an epigraph from Chris to one of his friends, Wayne Westerberg. The epigraph is a post from Chris to Wayne showing his arrival at Fairbanks and the difficulty he faced while getting there. This mainly covers the theme of the environment. Furthermore, the post also details Chris’ unsure state of returning home as well as the possibility of him dying there. The post is short, but Krakauer has detailed it enough to create imagery enabling the reader to know Chris’ situation at the time of arrival (Krakauer, 1997:4). The epigraph further enables the reader to get a glimpse surrounding the later events in the novel as well as dwell on the theme of individuality versus conformity characterized by Chris’ decision to halt education and become a drifter to go against his father, Samuel Walter McCandless Jr (Krakauer, 1997:16). Consequently, the epigraph inscribed at the beginning of the chapter describes the tone and the mood the author wanted to associate with the theme of the chapter. Krakauer wanted to emphasize on the reader’s emotions by using a somber, regretting and melancholic tone for the whole chapter using the post. Additionally, the tone enables the reader to be empathic towards Chris McCandless as well as the emotional situation of his friend, Wayne Westerberg. This is testament to the theme of family and social relationships. The second chapter, The Stampede Trail, begins with another epigraph. The epigraph details a quotation from the White Fang by Jack London. The quotation gives the reader an overview or an image of harsh terrain, weather and environment comprising the Northland Wild. Consequently, the quote, “It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen- hearted Northland Wild,” emphasizes the possibility of death attributed to the area Chris had decided to explore (Krakauer, 1997:8). Though not related to the area Chris was hiking, the quotation presents the reader with an overview of the landscape and harsh conditions that Chris was subjecting himself (Krakauer, 1997:8). The third chapter, Carthage, illustrates two epigraphs at the beginning. The first epigraph is a quoted passage from a book by Leo Tolstoy’s, Family Happiness, which was part of the remnants found with Chris. The second quotation was from Wallace Stegner’s, The American West as living Space. The author indicates the relation between the two epigraphs further connecting them with the overall story of the third chapter. For instance, the passage highlighted in Family Happiness indirectly portrayed Chris’ decision to live his life behind and go hiking. This could be considered as related to the theme of rebellion. The lines, “I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life” indicated the emotions and reasons for his adventure. Additionally, Krakauer, (1997:12) uses the second epigraph from Family Happiness to amplify the reasons for Chris’ decision. The quote, “…that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom…” descriptively outlines metaphorically the motives for escapism (Goatly, 2011).
Part 2
The fourth chapter, Detrital Wash, begins with a quotation from Paul Shepard’s, Man in the Landscape: A Historic View of the Esthetics of Nature. The desert, according to the epigraph, has been described as the ‘environment of revelation’, which further describes the quote, “… Here, the leaders of the great religions have sought the therapeutic and spiritual values of retreat, not to escape but to find reality”. The end of the chapter shows what Chris gained by outlining a quote which states, ‘…experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found…’ (Krakauer, 1997:18). The epigraph at the beginning of Chapter five outlines the experience Chris had in Bullhead City (which is the name of the chapter) while on his adventure. The epigraph, a quotation from Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, amplifies Chris’ life in Bullhead City, where in a short while he got friends, had a place to stay and a job (Krakauer, 1997:27). Chapter six, Anza-Borrego, highlights the short paternal-like relationship between Chris and Ronald Franz. The epigraph highlighted by Chris from Henry Thoreau’s Life in the Woods, described the futile efforts of the life Chris’ lived. For instance, the end quote states that, “…The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening…” (Krakauer, 1997:33). The author uses this to emphasize Chris’ thoughts on his tumultuous traveling efforts, which seemed to produce little results, thus denoting regret. Various thoughts are kindled in the chapters 4-6. Krakauer attempts to ensure that the reader understands Chris’ difficult experiences. Thinking about the experiences influences one to sympathize with Chris. The questions, why subject himself to the cold and torturous outside when he had a home to go?, what were the thoughts recurring his mind as he slept in the cold, were all the relationships he forged with other characters beneficial?, are likely to be posed by every reader after reading chapters 4, 5 and 6.
The first six chapters of the novel, Into the Wild, provide a suitable read for the reader in order to understand the flow of the narrative. The author’s use of epigraphs is a characteristic of the author’s diverse use of literature due to the various selections in different chapters attributed to different works of literature such as Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy, Life in the Woods by Henry Thoreau and The White Fang and The Call of the Wild, both by Jack London. By using such literature, Krakauer is able to connect the individual stories in the book further indicating his literal prowess in the novel structure and composition. Furthermore, the connection of the epigraphs to the chapters’ narratives ensures that the plot flows with the novel making it simpler for the reader to deduce, comprehend and follow the novel.
References
Goatly, A. (2011). The language of metaphors. London: Routledge.
Krakauer, J. (1997). Into the wild. New York: Anchor Books.
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