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.

Developing and Making it Through

             Coming of age is something everyone has to deal with and the story "Into the Wild," by Jon Krakauer is a story that shows the choices and struggles of coming of age through a young man originally named Chris McCandless. This book powerfully shows growing up and experiencing completely new things because the character moves out to live on his own and have great new experience which are very noticeable in his life because there aren't distractions like civilization and people. Chris is a very interesting character and seems like he was an interesting person as he grew up and wrote very interesting quotes which he came up with over time alone. Coming of age can sometimes have terrible experiences and sometimes have amazing, great experiences but everyone goes through and experiences many common feelings along the way.
             McCandless' character implies coming of age has new and strange experiences which come up as life goes along. An example is on pg. 28, "But there was a way to avoid such aggravation: He could simply abandon the Datsun and resume his odyssey on foot. And that's what he decided to do." This is how Chris is coming of age and represents a type of experience that many people face. As time progresses you see that this decision he made was a good, growing-up decision he made which made his journey more of what he was looking for and by making this choice he developed luckily in a good way. Some choices may be forced upon you sort of like this one though there is a lot where it is simply up to you and you still can't really change what happens after the fact.
             Another coming of age event that happens to many people is as you feel and live through new things you develop new views on life and come of age more. Throughout the book in many different places Chris experiences something that changes his views of things. When he is there at his destination the lack of food and comfort give him visions like a vision quest which allows him to interpret life differently and how he wants to believe things. As time goes on peoples' visions and ideas become more solid and more of a change in the way you live. This is shown very strongly in the story because these examples of it happening are much more obvious and clear about what is going on.
             Coming of age has its ups and downs with everyone the main way to make it through the changes is to just try to enjoy what you have and what you pick up and learn as life goes on. I saw a lot of what Chris and people go through in my own life. I am also changing as I grow older and there are many changes that I like and also a bunch that I wish didn't have to happen. The main thing that I feel I have in common with a lot of people is that when things like this go on later on when you've accepted how your life is now it becomes okay. All of the changes people face are for the better in someway.