Krakauer's "Into the Wild"

          Growing up with a very outdoorsy family had made me a nature lover and wild child by association. "Into the Wild" had resonated with me on that level as I understood Chris's need to find himself by getting lost. I don't necessarily mean lost as in, no idea where his orientation is, but needed to lose all associations, ties, expectations that come along with being a human of society. I believe Chris felt a need to reinvent himself and all his past values in order to feel enlightened and morph into the best version of himself that he could find. 

          This story embodies people trying to reinvent themselves and grow by challenging themselves. This concept is perfect to work into the classroom as students are still learning and growing and trying to figure out who they are. "Into the Wild" attracts a different crowd of readers that thirst for adventure but fails to be captured by fiction. This book is a good in-between for concepts such as individualism, existentialism, naturalism and applying them to your student's real lives. It tells a tale of someone actually doing what they dream of and applying these concepts that we often drone on about in class. 

          Chris sparks a sleeping wanderlust in most of the readers of the novel but also stands to be a testament of what we can work on individually. Chris was a person and people are flawed. One thing the author continues to point out is the fact that Chris had struggled taking and applying feedback/advice. Someone can argue that that was his Hamartia which ultimately caused his death. Someone else can argue that this is what made Chris unique and thirst to learn more about life unquenchable. Teaching this story can show that there is more than simply learning in school. Learning also applies to taking risks and learning from your (and other's) mistakes.