In Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, we meet a young man named Christopher McCandless. He happens to be extremely smart academically, but after graduating from Emory makes the rash decision to take a few belongings and flee society on a trip to Alaska. We are taken on a magical and mysterious journey through the voice of Krakauer filled with wisdom, lightheartedness, and distress.  The film directed by Sean Penn helps bring Krakauer's story to the big screen and uses the plot of the book, while sculpting it into a well-balanced motion picture. Jon Krakauer uses many literary devices in Into the Wild to help paint a picture in the minds of the readers and to bring us deeper into the mind of the protagonist. Sean Penn's movie adaptation of the book uses film tactics, such as lighting and camera angles to carry us along the journey of Christopher McCandless while bringing Krakauer's book to life. 

The use of epigraphs in Into the Wild helps to enhance the overall picture of the book while giving the reader a clearer overview or preview of what they are about to read. When taking a close look at the meaning of each epigraph, as well as who wrote it or where it came from, we, as the reader, can get an idea of what the chapter's themes or storyline will be like. Epigraphs are a great tactic for authors to incorporate into their writing to be sure that their elements such as plot, background, and characterization come through clearly as they intended. The epigraphs are helpful because the book was not written in chronological order, therefore we can prevent ourselves from getting lost by briefing ourselves before diving into the next chapter. It is interesting to discover how a lot of the epigraphs are written by authors he admires or come from some of his favorite books. In chapter 5, one of the epigraphs is an excerpt from a book Call of the Wild, written by one of McCandless' favorite authors, Jack London. McCandless even carried this book with him and while he was staying with Jan and Bob at "The Slabs" he convinced several others to read it as well. "He'd try to convince every snowbird who walked by that they should read Call of the Wild" (Krakauer 44). This is important because epigraphs like this bring us deeper into the mind of McCandless and is first-hand evidence of what he values and whom he admires. In general epigraphs that are used in this way are helpful in allowing the reader connect with the characters in a deeper way throughout the story. To get into specifics McCandless even has certain lines highlighted in books he carries that Krakauer uses as epigraphs. Here we see how Krakauer used outside materials and incorporated them into his epigraphs to enhance the overall storyline and make important connections. This proves that he found these lines of great importance. McCandless is an interesting character and happens to be extremely brilliant, creative, and unpredictable, therefore it is important to read about things he finds are important before each chapter to debrief and inform us on his thoughts of what may happen. 

The book written by Krakauer is a nonlinear narrative, in other words, it is not written in chronological order. This tactic raises both problems and benefits in the format of the book for the reader. The nonlinear format keeps the reader on their toes and interested at all times, we must stay attentive because if we lose track of our own mental timeline, we may become lost. Krakauer may have done this on purpose so that he always has the reader's attention and awareness. The downfall to the nonlinear form would be becoming lost and confused quite easily while reading. It is difficult to keep track of all the different chapters and where they lie on McCandless' overall journey. We as the reader question why Krakauer made this brave decision, there were many risks to him doing this but he succeeded in a nonlinear format working for him not against him. While reading we must look at each chapter as if it is its own story, otherwise it is easy to have all the stories get muddled together. McCandless' journey to Alaska is extremely suspenseful and keeps us on edge. Every time Krakauer would switch topic or focus to a story about himself, it would become confusing as to where we are in the story or what is going on overall, but it made us want to keep reading to see what happens to McCandless. 

Descriptive language can be extremely powerful when used correctly. A lot of the time while we read we paint a picture in our head of what is happening, and the use of descriptive words and adjectives can help greatly in envisioning what is happening at that point in the book. The book can become confusing because it is not linear in format therefore the amount of detail Krakauer uses are key to a reader. Krakauer uses a lot of descriptive language to describe the various landscapes McCandless encounters on his journey. Krakauer demonstrates other forms of figurative language through his use of similes and metaphors, which enhance the overall feel and picture of the story. " ... sprawls across the flats like a rumpled blanket on an unmade bed" (Krakauer 9). With his use of this simile, and others, the reader can create a vivid picture in their head, which draws us into the story as if we are there. 

Throughout the book, we see this reoccurring theme of letters from McCandless popping up that he sent to various friends who he has met. These letters serve an important purpose, they help to remind the reader about previous events and keep us on track due to the non-linear format of the story. McCandless is a very creative and interesting person. It can be difficult at times to understand what he is feeling or thinking which is why these letters are such a key piece of evidence in retelling the story of Christopher McCandless. As we read the letters, we are brought into his mind and we see first hand what his thoughts are at that time. Because the story is nonlinear the letters help to put things into perspective, such as how long he has decided to stay in a certain place and where he is going next. It creates a more clean cut timeline in our head of his various encounters. It is interesting to read all the letters and to see how McCandless' thoughts change throughout the book, and how his emotions fluctuate with each chapter. Here we see a line from McCandless' letter to a close friend Wayne Westerberg. "As for me, I've decided that I am going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and simple beauty of it is just too good to pass up" (Krakauer 33). This line is key because we are able to see how McCandless is feeling at this point going to Alaska and we can make a mental note of this as we see certain behavioral and mental affects change along the way. 

One film strategy that stood out in Sean Penn's film adaptation was the use of close ups and certain camera angles. Close ups are important because they show raw emotion in the actors face and give the viewer a certain mood or tone of the scene taking place. We think back to the scene where Franz offers to adopt McCandless and he respectfully declines. At this point the camera takes a close up onto the old man's face as a single tear rolls down his cheek. This close up shot makes us get the feeling of sadness and we can see more closely how Franz is feeling. If the camera were far away at a time like this, we would not get this intense moment and the mood would not be the same. The use of camera distance can be a powerful feature when used correctly. Mood, tone, and feeling are all elements that a director wants to evoke from a viewer, and camera distance can bring out and enhance such elements. Aside from close up angles on the characters' faces, Penn's film has several close ups on nature like flowers, plants, or other wildlife to show depth. This could quite possibly be what descriptive language would be in a book. During the scene when Alex is picking berries, the camera gets up into the bushes and has sharp turns and switches to mimic Alex's frantic behavior. The closeness makes us, as the viewer, feel as if we are there in the bushes with him. Another form of close ups is when we see Alex writing in his journal each day. The camera gets extremely close on the words, or certain words, which make us think that these certain words could be extremely important and we must take note of this. Penn also uses the complete opposite of close ups, using panoramic shots a lot as well. 

The use of panoramas shows the surrounding landscape and makes the viewer feel just how vast the wilderness or space is that McCandless is in. This effect could also be given by the use of bird's eye view shots. The bird's eye view shot in the very first scene of the movie shows us just how "small" McCandless really is and the nothingness he is about to endeavor. 

Music is a very important element in the making of a movie, and Penn demonstrates his knowledge of the power of music as well as the power of silence throughout the film. The soundtrack in the movie contains a lot of instrumental music with the use of an acoustic guitar. An acoustic guitar is played by one person on their own which mirrors McCandless on his own throughout the film. It is interesting to see how when searching for the perfect soundtrack, it is possible that a director even takes the matter to which the instrument is played into account. The music mimics the mood a lot in the movie. In the scene where McCandless struggles to cross the river, we hear the music switch to a very dramatic and abrupt mood. Penn demonstrates how music in a movie can be key to the overall picture and feel of a film. There are also times when the absence of music is very powerful. When Alex enters the bus and we hear the tank and the sound of the seat when he sits down, it makes the whole experience feel more real and as if we are there ourselves. The music does mimic the mood so well in the film; it gives off both happiness and danger when the time is appropriate. 

Although some artificial lighting is necessary in certain parts of the movie, natural lighting or the effects of natural lighting are quite consistent throughout. Most of the movie does take place outside in which case the use of the sun is very valuable and the main source of lighting in many of the outdoor daytime scenes. We can notice that the outdoor night scenes often use lighting from a fire or dim lamp that the characters have. This affect allows just the faces of the actors to be lit, so we can see them talking but otherwise it is quite dark. When we experience flashbacks with his family, or parents in particular, the lighting is usually dimmer to represent the sadness or bad experience he had at home. We can also notice that the lighting affects the mood greatly. Whenever McCandless is happy and traveling, the lighting is bright and sprightly, but as soon as something goes wrong it immediately darkens or even rains. This is seen when McCandless struggles to cross the river; the weather and lighting immediately change to mimic the mood. 

Both Jon Krakauer and Sean Penn use literary and cinematic tactics to help the reader or viewer best understand the story of Christopher McCandless. Jon Krakauer uses many literary devices and writing tactics in Into the Wild to help paint a picture in the reader's mind and to bring us deeper into the mind of the protagonist. Sean Penn's movie adaptation of the book uses film tactics, such as lighting and camera angles to carry us along the journey of Christopher McCandless while bringing Krakauer's book to life. Without these certain devices this powerful and moving story may not have been as effective to us. With close studying it is evident that both Krakauer and Penn are skilled at their work and were able to relay the story of Christopher McCandless' journey to us in a way that had movement, clarity, and power. 

