"Your Life on Earth" Personal Philosophy Project
Into The Wild Intertextual Analysis Essay
Over the course of this project we read Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild, along with many other texts, and watched Into The Wild the movie. At the end we were tasked with writing in essay analyzing the intertextuality of two or more sources. intertextuality is the idea of what the writer wants you to know, wants you to infer, or in some cases purposefully leaves out information and how two sources on the same story can have very different perspectives.
Over the course of this project we read Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild, along with many other texts, and watched Into The Wild the movie. At the end we were tasked with writing in essay analyzing the intertextuality of two or more sources. intertextuality is the idea of what the writer wants you to know, wants you to infer, or in some cases purposefully leaves out information and how two sources on the same story can have very different perspectives.
From birth, all the way through his childhood until he left the house Chris McCandless felt the negative impacts of his parents, in their every action, Chris’ parents unknowingly pushed their child further away from them. The movie Into The Wild reveals important details of Chris McCandless’ childhood that were left out in Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild; these details explain a lot while adding a whole new layer to the story.
While portrayed as relatively normal in Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild, Chris McCandless’ childhood was one of much trauma and domestic violence. A scene of Chris and Carine’s childhood is portrayed in the movie Into The Wild, where we see their parents, Walt and Billie McCandless get into an argument which escalates into a physical altercation where Walt is physically abusing Billie all while Chris and his sister are watching. While much of Walt's abuse was directed at his wife, Billie, it can be very traumatic as a child growing up in a house where this violence is a common occurrence. In an interview with Outside Magazine, Carine McCandless is quoted as saying, “Walt was a violent bully who drank heavily and sometimes flew into rages that ended with whippings and beatings for his wife and children. Billie was the primary victim.” Carine writes, “but she was also a victimizer, belittling and betraying both kids at crucial junctures.” Later in the interview, her book is quoted: “My feet crossed over the threshold without touching it, my sandals falling to the floor as he lifted me by the neck and shoulders, repeatedly slamming me against the wall. A deep, fierce roar escaped him as he threw me onto the couch and trapped me under his weight.” Walt soon let Carine go, but not before putting his hands around her throat and calling her a “fucking bitch.” Billie was away that night, at a family beach house in Maryland. Carine says that when she got Billie on the phone and told her what had happened, her mother said: “You know what, Carine? I think you’re a lying bitch.” As Carine said, Billie was the most common victim of Walt’s anger, both Carine and Chris were the target at times. Carine also highlights that Walt wasn't the only one who contributed to their childhood trauma and that Billie only made the situation worse in many cases. While these traumatic experiences contributed to Chris’ disdain for his parents that wasn't the only reason he distanced himself from them.
As he found out later in his life, Chris’ childhood was also filled with lies and deception coming from both of his parents. “Walt's split from his first wife, Marcia, was not a clean or amicable parting. Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret, dividing his time between two households, two families. Lies were told and then exposed, begetting more lies to explain away the initial deceptions. Two years after Chris was born, Walt fathered another son—Quinn McCandless—with Marcia. When Walt's double life came to light, the revelations inflicted deep wounds.” (93) Chris and his sister were left in the dark about this for their entire childhood. After he graduated high school Chris traveled back to his hometown and after reconnecting with old family friends he found out about his father's second family. Chris never told his parents that he knew but he did tell his sister and made her promise to never tell them either. While Carine was able to come to terms with this it was something that Chris was never able to forgive his parents for.
Both the events and traumatic experiences from his childhood and what he found out later in life forged strong disdain for his parents, a distance of which Chris deemed unforgivable and may be a part of what sent him into the life he choose. In her book, The Wild Truth Carine McCandless Quotes a letter from her brother where he says, “I’m going to completely knock them out of my life … I’m going to divorce them as my parents.” Chris was obviously so revolted by his parents by the time he graduated college that he realized he wanted nothing to do with them and wanted to be nothing like them. There is a scene in the movie, Into The Wild where, when in the Alaskan wilderness, Chris vividly relives a moment from his childhood that had been burned into his mind. In this scene from his childhood, Chris narrates as he asks his dad if he can light the barbecue then his dad instantly turns him down. He then narrates his mom who agrees that Chris should be able to light the barbeque. His dad then goes on to verbally abuse Chris’ mom for speaking up and trying to help Chris. While they may not seem like major events these are the things that stuck with Chris for his entire life, reminding him that he wanted to be nothing like his parents. In his quest to distance himself from his parents Chris did everything he could that he believed his parents would have hated, he did his best to become the opposite of who they were in every aspect of life.
While out of respect for the family, in his book Into The Wild Jon Krakauer leaves out vital details that when brought to light explain a lot about Chris, his journeys, and the choices he made. While good and respectable people on the surface Chris McCandless’ parents, Walt and Billie McCandless, had many flaws. Chris deemed these flaws unforgivable and these flaws are what ultimately led Chris down the path he chose.
While portrayed as relatively normal in Jon Krakauer’s book Into The Wild, Chris McCandless’ childhood was one of much trauma and domestic violence. A scene of Chris and Carine’s childhood is portrayed in the movie Into The Wild, where we see their parents, Walt and Billie McCandless get into an argument which escalates into a physical altercation where Walt is physically abusing Billie all while Chris and his sister are watching. While much of Walt's abuse was directed at his wife, Billie, it can be very traumatic as a child growing up in a house where this violence is a common occurrence. In an interview with Outside Magazine, Carine McCandless is quoted as saying, “Walt was a violent bully who drank heavily and sometimes flew into rages that ended with whippings and beatings for his wife and children. Billie was the primary victim.” Carine writes, “but she was also a victimizer, belittling and betraying both kids at crucial junctures.” Later in the interview, her book is quoted: “My feet crossed over the threshold without touching it, my sandals falling to the floor as he lifted me by the neck and shoulders, repeatedly slamming me against the wall. A deep, fierce roar escaped him as he threw me onto the couch and trapped me under his weight.” Walt soon let Carine go, but not before putting his hands around her throat and calling her a “fucking bitch.” Billie was away that night, at a family beach house in Maryland. Carine says that when she got Billie on the phone and told her what had happened, her mother said: “You know what, Carine? I think you’re a lying bitch.” As Carine said, Billie was the most common victim of Walt’s anger, both Carine and Chris were the target at times. Carine also highlights that Walt wasn't the only one who contributed to their childhood trauma and that Billie only made the situation worse in many cases. While these traumatic experiences contributed to Chris’ disdain for his parents that wasn't the only reason he distanced himself from them.
As he found out later in his life, Chris’ childhood was also filled with lies and deception coming from both of his parents. “Walt's split from his first wife, Marcia, was not a clean or amicable parting. Long after falling in love with Billie, long after she gave birth to Chris, Walt continued his relationship with Marcia in secret, dividing his time between two households, two families. Lies were told and then exposed, begetting more lies to explain away the initial deceptions. Two years after Chris was born, Walt fathered another son—Quinn McCandless—with Marcia. When Walt's double life came to light, the revelations inflicted deep wounds.” (93) Chris and his sister were left in the dark about this for their entire childhood. After he graduated high school Chris traveled back to his hometown and after reconnecting with old family friends he found out about his father's second family. Chris never told his parents that he knew but he did tell his sister and made her promise to never tell them either. While Carine was able to come to terms with this it was something that Chris was never able to forgive his parents for.
Both the events and traumatic experiences from his childhood and what he found out later in life forged strong disdain for his parents, a distance of which Chris deemed unforgivable and may be a part of what sent him into the life he choose. In her book, The Wild Truth Carine McCandless Quotes a letter from her brother where he says, “I’m going to completely knock them out of my life … I’m going to divorce them as my parents.” Chris was obviously so revolted by his parents by the time he graduated college that he realized he wanted nothing to do with them and wanted to be nothing like them. There is a scene in the movie, Into The Wild where, when in the Alaskan wilderness, Chris vividly relives a moment from his childhood that had been burned into his mind. In this scene from his childhood, Chris narrates as he asks his dad if he can light the barbecue then his dad instantly turns him down. He then narrates his mom who agrees that Chris should be able to light the barbeque. His dad then goes on to verbally abuse Chris’ mom for speaking up and trying to help Chris. While they may not seem like major events these are the things that stuck with Chris for his entire life, reminding him that he wanted to be nothing like his parents. In his quest to distance himself from his parents Chris did everything he could that he believed his parents would have hated, he did his best to become the opposite of who they were in every aspect of life.
While out of respect for the family, in his book Into The Wild Jon Krakauer leaves out vital details that when brought to light explain a lot about Chris, his journeys, and the choices he made. While good and respectable people on the surface Chris McCandless’ parents, Walt and Billie McCandless, had many flaws. Chris deemed these flaws unforgivable and these flaws are what ultimately led Chris down the path he chose.
Rhetoric and Ideology Project
For this project my partner and I decided to have a political style debate about a topic that we were both passionate about. We chose to debate Climate change and more specifically what the governments responsibility is when it comes to combating global warming. We debated this by each taking a different political stance on the issue, one of us being liberal and the other conservative, and representing their beliefs and ideologies the best we could.
Reflection
Reflection
- After looking into both sides of the political spectrum about this issue I have come to realize that many of the ideas that I previously held are not entirely true. I have realized that most people on both sides want mostly the same thing in the end but don't necessarily agree on how to get there. For example most liberals believe that it is the governments responsibility to start the fight against climate change while many conservatives believe that government intervention only makes the problem worse. I have also comet to realize that rather than doing the research I had previously made assumptions about the other side based on public figures that do not represent a large majority of people that align with them politically.
- I have learned how strong and prevalent rhetoric and ideologies are in our society and how it can have a profound impact on a person. Rhetoric can be used for both subjectively good and bad purposes. For better of for worse it is strong enough to change ones perspective and ideology on a topic, it can reinforce ones preexisting ideology to a point of extremism and no return. Rhetoric is used in so many aspects of our life from news to advertisements to the labels on our food.
- The idea of the "willingness to be disturbed" is an interesting one and I do not believe that it is not prevalent enough in our society. The "willingness to be disturbed" is the concept of ones openness to new or different ideologies. I thing that our society is so split at the moment that people automatically discount and disregard ides and words coming from the "other side". This phenomena is just resulting in more division and separation because people cant even open their minds to ideas and ideologies just because of who or where it is coming from.
Climate Change Debate
Question One: What do you believe the timeline is on climate change, what actions need to be taken, and when.
Speaker 1 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I believe that climate change is the most pressing issue in our society today, nearly everything we do contributes to it in one way or another, and the longer we put it off the worse it’s going to get, therefore I think that dramatic actions need to be taken as soon as possible if we want any chance of fixing it.
Question Two: What role has the government played in climate change up until now and what role should they play moving forward?
Speaker 2 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I think people have been trying to get governments to mandate eco-friendly acts but not look at how they can be part of the solution people look to this powerful figure of authority for hope when its small local communities and individuals that will make the most change.
Question Three: If left alone and unregulated do you think companies will take responsibility for their actions?
Speaker 1 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I do not believe that companies will take responsibility for their actions because looking back in the past half-century big oil as a whole has covered up countless accidents and have poured millions into false advertising.
Question Four: How do you believe the media has skewed the public perspective on climate change?
Speaker 2 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I believe climate change has been turned into a type of panic porn its been closed down to two words, climate change and it gets everyone riled up. When in reality the problem is much more than the changing of the climate and oil and gas there are many other factors at play leading to the state the world is in today.
Question Five: Should climate change be a problem solved by governments and people of power or an individual/l local solution?
Speaker 1 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: While in the end, it is the private sector that will end up being the change I think that the government has a responsibility to spark that change and without their influence, I do not think that the proper action will be taken by the large companies that are the main polluters of this world.
Speaker 2 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond:
I feel that government mandates don't help local communities find solutions to their unique situations, mandating eco-friendly acts complicates fragile businesses and causes more confusion. It is up to the companies causing the pollution to decide how they want to solve it.
Question One: What do you believe the timeline is on climate change, what actions need to be taken, and when.
Speaker 1 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I believe that climate change is the most pressing issue in our society today, nearly everything we do contributes to it in one way or another, and the longer we put it off the worse it’s going to get, therefore I think that dramatic actions need to be taken as soon as possible if we want any chance of fixing it.
- I agree that we need to learn how to be more efficient but I just believe that these things need to be developed and put into use on a much more urgent timeline.
- I don't deny climate change
- However, I feel the only way to move forward is to change the way we grow and develop with more efficient and eco-friendly technology
- I feel government mandates don't achieve this and only cause smaller businesses to be pressured into making costly decisions
Question Two: What role has the government played in climate change up until now and what role should they play moving forward?
Speaker 2 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I think people have been trying to get governments to mandate eco-friendly acts but not look at how they can be part of the solution people look to this powerful figure of authority for hope when its small local communities and individuals that will make the most change.
- I agree that most government intervention has been politically motivated
- However, I believe this to be the case in most countries as well you can see it on the news that its not government organizations but nonprofit people-led organizations making the most change.
- While I believe that government action is part of the solution, the more important part is changing the way the government goes about this change.
Question Three: If left alone and unregulated do you think companies will take responsibility for their actions?
Speaker 1 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I do not believe that companies will take responsibility for their actions because looking back in the past half-century big oil as a whole has covered up countless accidents and have poured millions into false advertising.
- Even today when the effects of climate change are apparent companies still aren't making changes because they will always take the cheaper option.
- I believe certain organizations and individual groups/businesses will and have taken action to fight climate change
- They are companies dedicated to finding cheap eco-friendly solutions that larger companies can take after
Question Four: How do you believe the media has skewed the public perspective on climate change?
Speaker 2 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: I believe climate change has been turned into a type of panic porn its been closed down to two words, climate change and it gets everyone riled up. When in reality the problem is much more than the changing of the climate and oil and gas there are many other factors at play leading to the state the world is in today.
- While many oil companies have tried to cover their tracks others have made huge steps in making their products more efficient leaving less waste behind
- Their purpose for this advertising was to convince the public that climate change was real because the other side had convinced them to believe that it was no threat.
Question Five: Should climate change be a problem solved by governments and people of power or an individual/l local solution?
Speaker 1 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond: While in the end, it is the private sector that will end up being the change I think that the government has a responsibility to spark that change and without their influence, I do not think that the proper action will be taken by the large companies that are the main polluters of this world.
Speaker 2 you now have 1 uninterrupted minute to respond:
I feel that government mandates don't help local communities find solutions to their unique situations, mandating eco-friendly acts complicates fragile businesses and causes more confusion. It is up to the companies causing the pollution to decide how they want to solve it.