Film into the Wild

The film Into The Wild, an adaptation directed by Sean Penn of the nonfiction novel by John Krakauer follows the journeys of Chris McCandless, a twenty-three year old who isolates himself from society and his family to search for the meaning behind his existence on earth. On his journey around North America, Chris McCandless visits many different places and forms companionship with various types of people who ultimately play a major role in the shaping of Chris’s identity. Throughout his journey, Chris changes progressively however there are four people who seem to have the largest impact on Chris’s identity. Four characters which ultimately shape Chris’s identity are Jan and Rainey from California, Wayne Westburg from South Dakota, and lastly Ron Franz, an elderly man from Salton City, California.

The first of Chris’s encounters along his “Alaskan Adventure” was with two hippies or as they call themselves, “rubber-tramps”, from California who embrace Chris as if he were part of their family. Chris quickly becomes very close with both Jan and Rainey who seem