My thoughts on Into the Wild…

I read Into the Wild in high school (I’m not sure what grade) and it was a great coming of age novel. This novel is about a young man who graduates college and donates all his savings to charity/gives away all his possessions to embark the Alaskan wilderness. Christopher McCandless was born to a wealthy family and chooses to travel the Alaskan wilderness instead of moving into a prestigious career after he graduates college. McCandless ends up using an abandoned bus as shelter and unfortunately, he does not make it to see the end of his travels in the Alaskan wilderness. Into the Wild follows the assumed journey of McCandless, and his coming of age story. This novel would be a great resource for a coming of age unit because it is about McCandless coming of age. I would most certainly teach this book, and a lot of good discussion can come from this novel. For example, a coming of age discussion, such as asking a student or group of students “would you go on a journey like the one McCandless did?” Personally, I would love to take a journey like McCandless did, however I would not give away my possessions. Maybe I would just travel to Europe or something for a few weeks. Another discussion could be hosted in a classroom that revolves around why McCandless felt the need to take such a journey. Did he feel overwhelmed with the real world? How long did he plan on staying in the Alaskan wilderness? This book could also add into a discussion on society today and mental health. For example, if McCandless felt overwhelmed, why did he feel such a way? What was he overwhelmed by? How is our society overwhelming? This discussion could contribute to a lesson on empathy, which seems to be a common theme in this class and in today’s classrooms. Students could talk about the empathy that they feel towards McCandless, not just because he died, but because he may have felt overwhelmed so that he felt the need to go on such a journey.

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