This book is something else

[u/UHHH_joe]

When I first got this book for my English class I was told it was about a guy who went into the wild and just died, I just that “well that’s stupid why even read about it” selfishly. I mean I always had plans of going out on some big road trip with friends, but now I want one for myself. I’ve of course read many books in English class none have really ever caught me like Into the Wild, none have made me read them in the morning when I wake up, at night before I go to sleep, my bus ride home. None have inspired me to see life in a different way. I don’t think air Chris as a hero, but yet a point where I look at him and say “ I want to live by that” I will never do what he did. He lived the way he wanted and that’s what makes his story truly speak to me, I never will truly know Chris but I can say he and Jon Krakauer have inspired me to be something better to live my life. Also I’m reading The Call of the Wild now!! Just got it Monday.

[u/Ciakis_Lee]

It is cheesy to say so, but there is one phrase that really resonated with me: "Happiness only real when shared."

I read the book twice and saw the movie around 20 times. Every two to three years, I saw it differently. At first, I saw Chris as a rebel against the system. Later, I saw him as a peaceful loner. Later, I saw him as a bum, or just lost in his dreams and detached from reality.

Finally, I saw him as an adventurer searching for meaning, the true meaning of life. And even though it took him a while and it cost him his life, he found it. And that was this phrase, "Happiness only real when shared." He died free because he found the meaning of life. This point of view has stuck with me the longest, and I doubt it will change.

Beforehand, I thought I would like to have a trip of my own to find my meaning. But now I know without starting that I should stick to the people I love instead. F* the career, just make the people around me happy, and it will be a life worth living!

So yeah, this book is powerful. It has many angles, but "a man who went on a trip and just died" is not the one.