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‘Into the Wild’ is a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It is an expansion of Krakauer’s 9,000-word article on Christopher McCandless entitled “Death of an Innocent”, which appeared in the January 1993 issue of Outside. The book was adapted into a 2007 movie of the same name directed by Sean Penn with Emile Hirsch starring as McCandless.

Chris McCandless grew up in suburban Annandale, Virginia. After graduating in 1990 with high grades from Emory University, McCandless ceased communicating with his family, gave away his college fund of $24,000 to Oxfam, and began traveling, later abandoning his car.

In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked to the Stampede Trail in Alaska. There, McCandless headed down the snow-covered trail to begin an odyssey with only 10 pounds of rice, a .22 caliber rifle, several boxes of rifle rounds, a camera, and a small selection of reading material – including a field guide to the region’s edible plants, Tana’ina Plantlore. His backpack was later found to contain his wallet, containing multiple forms of identification, his social security card, $300, and library cards. A map of the area was also found in his backpack. He declined an acquaintance’s offer to buy him sturdier clothing and better supplies. After surviving more than 100 days, he is thought to have died on August 18, 1992.

On September 6, 1992, Christopher McCandless’s body is found inside an abandoned bus in Alaska (63°52?06.23?N 149°46?09.49?WCoordinates: 63°52?06.23?N 149°46?09.49?W). One year later, author Jon Krakauer retraces the young man’s travels that followed in the two years after McCandless’s college graduation. McCandless shed his legal name early in his journey, adopting the moniker “Alexander Supertramp”. He spent time in Carthage, South Dakota laboring for months in a grain elevator owned by Wayne Westerberg before hitchhiking to Alaska. Krakauer interprets McCandless’s intensely ascetic personality as possibly influenced by the writings of Henry David Thoreau, and McCandless’s favorite writer, Jack London.

Into the wild & Chris Mccandless

He explores the similarities between McCandless’s experiences and motivations and his own as a young man, recounting in detail Krakauer’s own attempt to climb Devils Thumb in Alaska. Krakauer also relates the stories of some other young men who vanished into the wilderness, such as Everett Ruess, an artist and wanderer who went missing in the Utah desert during 1934 at age 20. In addition, he describes at some length the grief and puzzlement of McCandless’s parents, sister, and friends, particularly an aged man, named Ronald Franz, who had befriended McCandless in the Mojave Desert and was very fond of him.

McCandless survived for approximately 119 days in the Alaskan wilderness, foraging for edible roots and berries, shooting an assortment of game—including a moose—and keeping a journal. Although he planned to hike to the coast, the boggy terrain of summer proved too difficult and he decided instead to camp in a derelict bus. In July, he tried to leave, only to find the route blocked by a melted river, which was tragically unfortunate as there was a hand powered tram just upstream. On July 30, McCandless wrote a journal entry which reads, EXTREMLY WEAK. FAULT OF POT. SEED… Krakauer hypothesized that McCandless had been eating the roots of Hedysarum alpinum, a historically edible plant commonly known as wild potato (also “Eskimo potato”), which are sweet and nourishing in the spring but later become too tough to eat. When this happened, McCandless may have attempted to eat the seeds instead.

Krakauer suggests that the seeds contained a poisonous alkaloid, possibly swainsonine (the toxic chemical in locoweed) or something similar. In addition to neurological symptoms such as weakness and loss of coordination, the poison causes starvation by blocking nutrient metabolism in the body. However, he realized that Chris had not confused the two plants and instead a more likely scenario is that he was poisoned by mold growing on the local flora he had gathered. However after further analysis Krakauer’s hypotheses were proved to be incorrect. The 2007 film adaptation by Sean Penn shows Chris confusing two different plants, and he chooses the wrong one.

The film is based on a true story and the bestselling book by Jon Krakauer and features an award winning cast that includes Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener, Jena Malone, Vince Vaughn, and Brian Dierker.

After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless (Hirsch) abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, he encounters a series of characters that shape his life and transform this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people.

While most of the people Chris McCandless met on his epic road trip were adults, he also encountered Tracy (Stewart), a young woman who had grown up most of her life in the unusual environs of Slab City, an RV camp in the California desert where free facilities draw all manner of vagabonds, renegades and non-conformists. Stewart won the role in an audition during which she played “Blackbird on the guitar with all the soulfulness of a teenage troubadour for Penn.

Into the wild and Chris Mccandless photographs

Stewart became fascinated by Tracy’s unusual life. “She lives in this place that is totally about people who’ve gotten away from society, who are sort of like Chris, yet they are still rooted in one place,” she explains. “But when Tracy meets Chris, she just falls for him. He has such a love for life. All she wants to do is be with him. Of course one of the things about Chris is that he didn/t really have girlfriends or anything like that. It just wasn’t something that mattered to him.

In addition to the challenge of embodying the mix of Tracy’s free-spirited lifestyle and romantic innocence, Stewart also had to do something she’d never done before in the role: perform as a singer before a live audience of actual Slab City dwellers. “I’ve never played music for anyone, she confesses. “But they were a very warm crowd – they were clapping and stoked to be there. That made it a lot of fun. Another highlight for Stewart was getting to work so closely with Catherine Keener, whose work she has long admired. “She had a few scenes that just gutted me, totally ripped me apart. Her performance is just so complete, she muses.

Kristen Stewart was first introduced to worldwide audiences with her outstanding performance alongside Jodie Foster in “Panic Room. She will follow “Into the Wild with a starring role in the independent film “The Cake Eaters for director Mary Stuart Masterson, the independent film “Yellow Handkerchief” alongside William Hurt and Maria Bello, and a supporting role in “What Just Happened alongside Robert De Niro and Sean Penn for director Barry Levinson.