Essay Introduction
Oprah Winfrey had dealt with many complicated situations throughout her public life, often intrusive questions about her sexuality, racism, and criticism about her weight, but she never let it get in the way of her ambition and drive. Throughout her childhood, Oprah was a victim of sexual abuse and was repeatedly molested by her uncle, cousin, and family friend. She became pregnant later on and gave birth to a child at the young age of 14, who passed away only two weeks later. But even though that, Oprah persevered, going on to finish high school as an honors student, earning a full scholarship to college, and working her way up through the ranks of television, from a community network anchor in Nashville becoming an international celebrity and maker of her own network.
Research Paper on Into The Wild
In the book Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer writes the true life of a young man named Chris McCandless who had his mind and heart set on a quest that would spark the beginning and the end of his life. Growing up, McCandless dealt with serious family trauma due to his father’s past life, but through this, he realized what he desired to do with his life, and it did not include the industrial life he had seen his parents live. He decides to then set off into the wild located in Alaska and continues his journey isolated from society while trying to survive with limited gear and food. He went through many obstacles trying to get to where he needed to go and learned many useful tips on survival while also meeting a significant amount of new people who he would call his friends. McCandless only survived one hundred and fourteen days in the wild before he passed away from starvation. Chris McCandless should be admired for his courage and noble ideas because standing firm in his beliefs and following his dreams with the risk of social criticism and the risk of being outcasted shows true bravery, heroic nature, and nobility.
Thesis Statement for Into The Wild
To begin with, many people who read about Chris McCandless can agree that he was an unusual human being, but not many will take the time to recognize the bravery he showed during his venture. As Jon Krakauer points out, he gave up a potential career as an athlete after being,’ one of the top distance runners in the region” (111). He could have possibly achieved anything he yearned for after his graduation, which he did and eventually fulfilled. Chris was also, “strong for his size and well-coordinated”(110), which shows that he was capable of earning a placement is top athletic sports and yet, the only distinction between him and a conventional American was that he chose to do something so none typical that people immediately wrote him off as a fool, but in reality, it takes a human being as spirited as Chris to take a large leap of faith into the wild for something he truly believed in.
Chris was willing to sacrifice everything and anything to experience life the way he wanted, and he did give everything when he died in the wilderness, but he had already accomplished what he set out to achieve and revealed his enormous level of courage in the making. To add, the wilderness is an extremely dangerous and risky location, especially when conquering it alone, but even with that being said, it was no obstacle in McCandless’s eyes, and his taking this expedition head-on shows his bravery.
Ideas: McCandless’ Nobility
In addition, the definition of a hero is a man of renowned ability or courage. Chris was extraordinarily talented and excelled in almost anything he attempted and let nothing stand in his way. He was a natural-born hero; he took a risk at something many people would never even have dreamed of attempting since the outcome is unpredictable. McCandless understood that “It is… the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found”(32); he did something so many could not. He set out on an adventure to enjoy what little time he had on this beautiful planet and seized the moment instead of killing themselves by working to live.
Chris hated the fact that money was the source of happiness in his life and realized quickly that his parents would subtly bribe him, “ They will think they have bought my respect”(21), which is the reason why he stopped accepting their ‘gifts’ for him. His heroic efforts can be distinguished by his strength and perseverance to live alone in the woods and determination to follow his dreams at such a young age no matter the consequences; he also shows courage by rejecting to conform to society’s norms in which he only saw hypocrisy and morals that were unjust. Chris McCandless carried traits a hero would have, which makes him a hero.
Finally, there is nobility in leaving this materialistic and vain culture for a simpler life where you live each day like it is the last. Chris wanted to follow in the footsteps of his favorite writers, such as Thoreau and Emerson, and desired to live for the moment and deliberately, which he proceeded to do. He writes in his journal, “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure”(41), in which he expresses that when we take the easy route, it takes away the real traveling experience and instead of exploring and actually consuming what we see, we tend to destroy and ruin the most beautiful things in life.
McCandless also, throughout his journey, meets many new people, and he keeps track and writes about them and their advice, “You will see things and meet people, and there is so much to learn from them”(67); this on its own is very noble because in order to live out this utopia, he dreamt he had to willingly cut off all of the stability that his life at home provided. McCandless was not insane, arrogant, or seeking attention for his actions, nor did he have a death wish; instead, he was a noble idealist that followed his wildest dreams.
Conclusion
To conclude, Chris McCandless was a respectable man who had everything but still chose a life that made him happy; even though it was filled with consequences leading up to his passing, he died fulfilling his dreams which are more than what other people can say. Society always tries to show people that you need to work and you need to earn a piece of paper in order to survive, and Christopher McCandless was one of the only souls that believed that we did not need to work ourselves in order to live but to enjoy the little things in life. McCandless had dreams, chased them, and achieved them, showing his true nature of bravery, heroism, and also nobility. All our dreams will come true if we have enough courage to pursue them.
