Man in Nature

Man's role in Nature is the predominant theme of Into the Wild. The subject of the book, Chris McCandless, believes that man's ultimate joy can only be found in communion with nature. McCandless is an avid reader, and his favorite authors are quoted frequently to support McCandless's romantic view of natural communion. Jack London and Henry David Thoreau are two of McCandless's favorite authors, and their immense respect for nature influences the impressionable young man. However, nature is a fickle beast, turning from friendly ally to cruel enemy in the blink of an eye. McCandless is not insensible to this fact. His personal experience and the literary accounts he enjoys reading both teach him that nature's laws do not change for any man. Natural cause and effect can work just as easily against a man, as it can in his favor.

McCandless's adventure in the Alaskan...