Topic > Paternal Symbols in "Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer

"Each day humanity and the claims of humanity slipped further and further away from him. Deep in the forest a call rang out, and every time he heard this call, mysteriously exciting and attracted, he felt compelled to turn his back on the fire and plunge into the forest..." (London 33). With statements like this, Jack London's Call of the Wild embodies the inner urge for freedom and control that comes from embracing nature and abandoning social ideals. Describing the innate calling that Buck has to abandon humanity, Jack London shows Buck's revelation that leads him to reject modern society instead of living freely with the natural world of Alaska. Buck submits to his primal longing and calling to the Alaskan wilderness rather than return to live as a domesticated dog in the hands of a human owner. Learning to adapt and embrace nature and the wilderness proved to be Buck's true calling to freedom and happiness for himself. Like Buck, Chris McCandless, the maverick depicted in Into the Wild, has also found a calling in nature and learned to adapt to life alone within the confines of the wilderness, believing that happiness comes from living simply. Unlike Buck, who was initially forced into this decision, Chris has chosen on his own to reject authority figures and modern society, motivated both by his resentment of his father and his lack of freedom in everyday life. In Into the Wild, John Krakauer illustrates how Chris McCandless's relationship with his authoritarian father led him to resent and condemn authority figures later in his life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In his childhood, Chris often felt repressed and enraged by his father's authority; In fact, Chris visibly showed signs of annoyance and anger towards his father, often harshly submitting to his requests. While hiking together on a mountain, Walt ordered Chris to stop after a certain time, "but Chris wanted to keep going to the top. I told him no. He was only twelve then, so all he could do was complain " (Krakauer, 109). Walt's assertiveness contrasted profoundly with Chris's innate free spirit, as Krakauer shows with this example. Krakauer shows the reader that this was one of many experiences in Chris' childhood where Chris' requests to his father were met with harsh rejections and restrictions, leading Chris to complain and ultimately suffer in silence. Bossy and assertive, Walt consistently rejected Chris' requests which led Chris to learn how to deal with the lack of control, leading Chris to further suppress his visible anger: "Chris submitted to Walt's authority throughout high school and the university to a surprising degree, but the boy was raging inside himself the whole time" (Krakauer, 64). Krakauer offers this statement to show how Chris later allowed himself to be controlled, visibly showing no signs of resistance to his father's domineering personality. Despite showing no apparent signs, Chris possessed a deep-rooted contempt and resentment towards his father, alienating him psychologically from Walt and also leading him to condemn similar forms of authority. As Chris's childhood turned into adulthood, Chris began to find more reasons to resent his father, not only for his controlling personality, but now also for his moral character: "After Chris discovered the details of Walt's divorce passed..