Mentally and Spiritually Growing

             In the book "Into the Wild," by Jon Krakauer, the main character Chris, who's story is about a really person continues throughout the book to show what the real meaning of coming of age means to him and in general. Chris really makes coming of age understandable because you see it happening to him through many actually struggles that he gets through and also more common not so noticeable changes. As you follows his life in this book he grows from a very young man hating his wealthy brought up life to a man with a different idea of the world and the people he knows. Chris is very young man that through his very short life learns a lot and develops as a person in many ways.

             McCandless discovers his own ideas of life by going on a journey similar to a vision quest and before he dies has a major discovering and coming of age moment the whole book following along this journey finally reaches the peak of his understanding and then he dies. For example on pg. 134, "I want you to know you're a great man. I now walk into the wild." This sentence he wrote to a man he met along his adventures shows an earned bravery and strength in him. This is the last writing he sent out before ending his younger life/being trapped and babied by civilization. He now walks a free, grown man.

             The life of Chris McCandless is so unlike any others because you rarely ran across someone with so much wealth, brilliance, and opportunity that simply grows up into a life of spiritualistic thinking and want to leave everything he has behind.When doing this he encounters a lot of people and thoughts which are part of his process of growing. It shows this on pg.189, "Happiness is only real when shared." This is a quote found written by Chris while he was all alone coming up with his own ideas about life as his own went by. This quote is truly brilliant and shows a very smart thought about life which could only be thought of in time.

             In the end he dies though it is not necessarily sad or to show that life sucks. Quite frankly I think it shows the exact opposite that life is great and the struggles put in front of you are only to help you get a better understanding of your self and why things are the way they are. A lot of the problems of growing up he faces I understand really well because they are related to my life in a more subliminal way rather than directly related. This book and Chris' life really encourages me to experience life in different ways to really get the fullest out of growing up in my own way.