Feeding by Starvation Olivia Kelliher 11th Grade

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is an interpretation of one devoted man's unwavering hunger for meaning in the world. In 1990, 24-year-old Emory graduate Christopher McCandless leaves society to venture into the wilderness with a goal of reaching Alaska and living on only his surroundings and sparse material resources. Hitchhiking and wandering his way there, he encounters a plethora of unique characters, some fueling but others attempting to dissuade his radical intentions. Once he reaches Alaska, McCandless finds intense struggles and obstacles in the environment in which he yearned to prosper, and he eventually perishes from starvation, ending his lengthy, two-year journey. The author Jon Krakauer restates and emphasizes the words “hunger” and “hungry” as a central motif in his interpretation. Krakauer contrasts physical and emotional hunger to display actions fueled by a belief in Romanticism as a mentally misguided quest for self actualization.

Christopher McCandless' hunger for meaning pushes him to reject all facets of modern society. Before his adventure, McCandless was simply a wealthy young man living in a world led by and concentrated with wealthy people. As his college friends began to get involved in stereotypical...