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What is a suitable thesis statement for Into the Wild?
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A suitable thesis statement for Into the Wild could argue either that Chris McCandless's death resulted from bad luck rather than poor planning or that his lack of preparation led to his demise. Another approach might be to explore the commonalities of the adventurers Krakauer profiles, such as their motivations or rejection of civilization, and the negative consequences of their actions in the wild.
Krakauer's book emerged out of an article for he wrote about Chris McCandless's death that created a hot debate over whether McCandless was a fool or a sage. Audiences were divided: some argued that Chris was a greenhorn who deserved to die because he went ill equipped into the Alaska wilderness—some on this side of the divide even argued he had a suicide wish. The other camp asserted just as strongly that Chris was on a search for self, made decent preparations according to his goals, and died because he met with an unfortunate series of circumstances.
Since a thesis statement must be arguable—that is, stating an opinion—a good thesis would come down on one side of this divide or the other. Krakauer very clearly defends Chris and feels he was a sage. Do you agree? Or after weighing the evidence in the book, do you think that Chris truly...
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behaved foolishly, despite have good intentions?
Whichever one you choose, marshal your evidence and gather quotes from the book to support you argument. You might say the following as a thesis: "Although Chris McCandless made some mistake in preparing for the Alaskan wilderness, in the end, it was bad luck, not bad planning, that caused his death." On the other side of the divide is the following thesis: "Chris had a good heart, but in the end the evidence shows he simply didn't adequately prepare for what he had to face because he had survived too often on slim margins and became careless."
In an "Author's Note" preceding the tale of Christopher McCandless, who forwent all the opportunities of the "American Dream," forsaking the promise of a lucrative career in exchange for a life of zero material comforts and a constant risk of disease and death by starvation or exposure, Jon Krakauer summed up his protagonist's life as follows:
"Immediately after graduating, with honors, from Emory University in the summer of 1990, McCandless dropped out of sight. He changed his name, gave the entire balance of a twenty-four-thousand-dollar savings account to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet. And then he invented a new life for himself, taking up residence at the ragged margin of our society, wandering across North America in search of raw, transcendent experience."
When formulating a thesis statement for Into the Wild, then, one would logically begin with that observation regarding the decisions McCandless made that shaped and prematurely ended his life. Chris McCandless, for reasons ultimately known only to him, was dissatisfied with the way his life was evolving within the conventional confines of society. He eschewed ambition and materialism in favor of living as close to nature and as far removed form society as he possibly could. He was alienated from his parents, who loved him, but who could never truly understand him. A thesis statement, therefore, could read as follows: "Christopher McCandless rejected the American Dream as traditionally defined and sought a more emotionally fulfilling existence in the wilds of Alaska. His demise from starvation or accidental poisoning was the result of underestimating the scale of distinction between "civilization" and the uncivilized wilds into which he retreated."
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As a writing teacher, I'm forever imploring my students to formulate their thesis statements in a positive way. In other words, think of a thesis statement in terms of a "position statement" or "opinion statement" (as thesis statements are also referred to). The thesis statement must put forth in a clear manner what position you are about to argue. The thesis statement must not be ambiguous. It must be an opinion (your opinion) on the subject that you will support with evidence (details, examples, quotes, etc.)
In the case of Into the Wild, a Wgood thesis statement might look something like, "In the story, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, the main character, Chris McCandless relinquished all ties to his 'world' because he had become disillusioned with his place in society."
And then, you'd spend the rest of your piece supporting that notion.
What is a good thesis for Into the Wild?
Into the Wild grew out of a popular article Jon Krakauer wrote about Chris McCandless's death for Outside Magazine. The article started a controversy, as some argued that Chris was a fool who went into the Alaskan wilderness unprepared and therefore deserved to die. Others defended Chris as a visionary who planned his trip, was aware of what he was doing, and died due to an unfortunate series of circumstances.
Krakauer comes down on the side of Chris as a visionary who do not want to die and who was not a fool, though he did make some mistakes. Krakauer states in the book that he identifies with Chris, and he paints a sympathetic portrait of Chris.
A thesis therefore would argue one way or the other about Chris's final adventure. Was Chris a visionary, or was he foolish in heading to the Alaska wilds as he did? Do you sympathize with him or not? Since Krakauer strongly defends Chris, you might want to argue that Chris made some foolish mistakes. You might focus on the writers, like Thoreau and Tolstoy, who influenced him, and note how they were more cautious in their search for a simpler life. You could argue that if he had followed more closely in Thoreau's footsteps, he might be alive today.
One of the strongest themes of this story is that idea that individual freedom cannot exist outside of one's involvement in society. In other words, one cannot remove oneself from the society of other humans or the structures of society in order to discover oneself, because it is our engagement with others and our place within the structure of society that helps define who we are. The fate of the protagonist could also be seen as a commentary on the effort to be at one with nature and how this is impossible to achieve in the modern world, because we have become too accustomed to surviving within a world of human conveniences, luxuries, tools and structures.